Plot
When Jane Foster finds the Aether it brings about the return of Malekith, who wants the nine realms to return to eternal darkness.
Review
This was an amazing film and a brilliant follow-up to both Thor and The Avengers, also being a brilliant stand alone film in it's own rights. The main thing I noticed whilst watching this film was that it had a completely different mood and tone from the first, though that is expected when there is a different director at the helm, with Alan Taylor who's best known for his work on Game of Thrones taking over from Kenneth Branagh. Taylor would do a brilliant job of putting his own stamp on Thor, as although the change in tone took a bit of getting used to, it would add much more depth to the story, as although Branagh did a good job on the first film, I felt that Taylor was able to capture much more emotion in this one, mixing it with the action and excitement perfectly.
Most of the cast from the first Thor film would return, with Chris Hemsworth once again playing Thor, Tom Hiddleston returning as Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, Rene Russo as Frigga, Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig and Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis. It would however see Zachary Levi replace Joshua Dallas as Fandral, also having Christopher Eccleston as Malekith, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Kurse. Now all the returning actors did a wonderful job, as did Eccleston as Makekith and Agbaje as Kurse, though I didn't like Levi as much as Fandral, preferring Dallas' performance in the first film. It would however be once again Hemsworth and Hiddleston that stole the film, with both their performance being just as good if not better than they were in the first Thor film or The Avengers.
The main villain in this film would be a Dark Elf named Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston. Now I have to say I was in too minds whether I liked this version of Malekith, as although I was slightly disappointed that the film went down more of a sci-fi route than a fantasy route, it worked well in the film, and added a lot more impact and drama, whereas the fantasy tone may have been a bit unrealistic during the scenes set on Earth. Eccleston did however do a brilliant job of playing Malekith, as although it's probably not his best performance ever, he did have some malice in his emotions, though I personally would have preferred the ruthless and mischievous version that we get in the comics, though much like the fantasy feel may have not worked, this may also not have worked as well.
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| Malekith The Accursed |
The thing that Malekith would be after in this film would be a relic known as the Aether. This would be a very interesting addition to the film, and the revelation about this relic at the end of the film would make things much more interesting for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I will however avoid spoiling that, and talk about the role that the Aether would have in the film. Basically Malekith wants to use it to turn all the nine realms into constant darkness. I found this to be a very interesting development point for the film, as it would add a lot of suspense and tension to the film, as well as more drama. On top of that I really enjoyed the fight scene at the start showing Odin's father Bor defeating Malekith and hiding the Aether.
This film would also see Jane Foster take a trip to Asgard. Now I won't go into details as to why she landed up going to Asgard, but I will say what I thought of her time there, and her interaction with other Asgardians. First of all I really enjoyed the scene were Jane and Thor are reunited, as it managed to be both very dramatic as well as slightly humorous. I also really enjoyed the reaction that Odin had to Jane being in Asgard, and Jane's reaction to the reference Odin would used to her being in Asgard was very funny. I also enjoyed that the film would show subtly that Sif also isn't happy about Jane's presence in Asgard, as well as the interaction between Jane and Thor's mother Frigga.
Now what would this film be like if it didn't have Loki in it. Originally I wasn't sure if having Loki was a good idea, as he'd already been used in both the first film and The Avengers. I did however feel that he was used perfectly in this film, with it showing how he was punisher for his crimes in The Avengers, and I was happy that he didn't overshadow Malekith as the films villain. The best thing about Loki's appearance in this film however would be that we got to see him work along side Thor against Malekith. Now I won't go into any detail over how this affected the plot, but the interaction between Loki and Thor during this was simply amazing, and I loved how it showed the mistrust that Thor has for Loki. There would however be other interesting factors about Loki's appearance, and it would also show a different side to him, which was extremely interesting to see.
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| Brothers in Arms |
Much like all the previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this film would have a post-credits scene, also having a mid-credits scene just before that. Now I won't give any details as to what happens in either scene, but the mid-credits scene was very interesting, setting-up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe nicely, though the post-credits scene was rather unnecessary, as although it was a nice addition it didn't feel worth the wait.
Final Verdict
This is easily the best film based on a Marvel comics that's been released this year, being just as good as the first film if not better. It has a much more emotional and deeper tone to it than the first one, and although the start is ever so slightly slow the film if overall very entertaining, being very exciting for most of the film. It would also have some brilliant character interaction, and would continue to build-up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe whilst still being an amazing stand alone film. Due to this I'd highly recommend this film and can't wait for Thor's return in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
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