'Thor: The Dark World' (12A)

****

After the events of Avengers Assemble, Thor and Loki return to Asgard, where Loki is flung into prison for his crimes against humanity, and Thor goes about restoring peace to the Nine Realms. On Earth, Jane Foster stumbles across an ancient weapon called the Aether, which reawakens the Dark Elf, Malekith, who had been defeated thousands of years before. With the Convergence of the Worlds fast approaching, Thor must reunite with Loki to save the Nine Realms…

The first thing to say is that this film is utterly ridiculous from start to finish, and if you are unable to accept the comic book side of it then you are unlikely to enjoy some of the more preposterous plot points. One of the rather clever ways in which new director Alan Taylor combats the ludicrous nature of the film is to have it laugh at itself – at no point does the film take itself seriously, and it has multiple joke moments to ease the extremely far-fetched plot. And the jokes themselves are indeed funny and come from well observed angles, such as having Thor hang his Hammer on a coat-peg when he comes to Earth, and then having the catch the Tube to get back to Greenwich. (Yes, Greenwich… the moment where the team discover that London will be the location for the showdown between Thor and Malekith is one moment which had myself and other audience members literally putting our hands to our heads in disbelief – it is surely the most contrived plot point ever!)

The relationship between Thor and Loki is obviously one of the main draws of the film, and it does not disappoint. Hemsworth and Hiddleston are excellent in their respective roles, and the scenes with Loki drew a lot of emotion from the audience, without a doubt down to the investment that Hiddleston has placed in the part. As a pair they provide comedy and heartache, as well as moments that made my inner fangirl squeal with delight, although the issue of ‘trust’ is seriously over-egged in one scene. Natalie Portman is back at astrophysicist Jane Foster but this time her character is rather annoying and it’s somewhat a relief that she spends some of the film unconscious. Stellan Skarsgård also revives his role as Dr. Erik Selvig and is on excellent form, this time obviously slightly troubled by what he witnessed and experienced in Avengers Assemble. Skarsgård is a terrific actor, though, and this role shows that he’s not afraid to play the comedy parts as well. Christopher Eccleston also deserves a mention for his part as Malekith - he is truly rather menacing.

Yes, this film is immensely problematic but I smiled from start to finish and became emotionally invested in the characters all over again. There are sections which are completely ridiculous, but then the premise of the whole film is ridiculous and if you accept this, then you’re in for a great time. It doesn’t outstay its welcome and mixes action with more emotive scenes, to make an excellent blockbuster.