Distributor: Walt Disney Studios (Marvel Studios)
Opening Weekend Box Office: #1 with $85,737,841
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $193,711,187
Gross Revenue: $610,411,187
Production Budget: $170 million
Director: Alan
Taylor
With the superhero movie Renaissance Era showing
absolutely no signs of slowing down, San Diego’s Comic Con has become an
invaluable trade show, gauging area, and marketing campaign launch platform;
and while Fox and Warner Bros. wowed with the panel for X-Men: Days of Future Past and the announcement of a
Batman/Superman crossover respectively, no one made as strong an impact as Thor: The Dark World. Tom Hiddleston’s
appearance as Loki and performance in-character became a viral sensation, and
between that promotional stunt and the utterly brilliant mock AT&T
commercials of the villain arguing with children, it was clear that Marvel knew
exactly how to leverage what is arguably their most popular character. Another clear indicator of strong receipts
for this newest superhero movie involved the interest of the female
demographic: one shot of Chris Hemsworth shirtless in trailer guaranteed
theater attendance from members of the fairer sex who had never touched a comic
book (Paramount utilized Channing Tatum in a similar way to pique interest for
2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Personally, I was most excited to see how Thor: The Dark World would tie back to
the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially since many were disappointed
in Iron Man 3’s tie-ins, and ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now offered an
unprecedented chance to bridge film and television diegetic worlds. So, ticket and 3D glasses in hand, thoroughly
jealous of the children sporting winger-helmets and replica Mjolnirs, I was
ready to enjoy Marvel’s newest juggernaut, one which was primed to set records
and live up to its tremendous potential.
Thor:
The Dark World begins with the legend of the Dark
Elves of Svartalhheim, an ancient evil who sought to destroy the universe with
a powerful weapon known as the Aether, only to be defeated and driven into
exile by the Asgardians. Jump to
present-day Asgard, where Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns that a rare alignment
of the Nine Realms known as the Convergence has caused a temporal instability
in the universe, one which has, by mere coincidence, infected Jane Foster
(Natalie Portman) with the long-thought-lost Aether. Seeking to help Jane, Thor transports Jane
from Earth to Asgard for treatment, but their happy reunion is short-lived, as
the activation of the Aether has awakened the Dark Elves and their malevolent
leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who launches a full and brutal assault
on Asgard in a bid for his ancient weapon, claiming many lives in spite of the
valiant efforts of heroes such as Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Lady Sif (Jaimie
Alexander). Enraged, Thor decides to
pursue Malekith in spite of the protests of his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins),
so he seeks help from the one individual with extensive knowledge of this
hidden evil: his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston); still imprisoned for his war
crimes committed during the events of The
Avengers, Loki accepts a tentative alliance due to a mutual thirst for
vengeance. Traveling across different
realms, Thor and Loki will need help from every ally, whether that includes The
Warriors Three or Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan
Skarsgård), in order to stop Malekith before he gets to unleash a truly
terrifying Apocalypse.
Given the depth of background and the vast mythology
surrounding a character like Thor, one has to respect the commitment it took
for filmmakers to delve deeper into comic mythos with The Dark World…expanding on the world first established in 2011 could
easily have ended in disaster, but thankfully, the gamble paved the way for
considerable entertainment. The scope of
this superhero film is utterly massive, and with the narrative transporting the
viewer to so many different worlds and settings, the pacing and energy of the
film remains creative and exciting, all while paving the way for stunning
battles and visual effects. And while Thor: The Dark World was entertaining
enough with its closer look at the Asgardian Universe, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki helped
push quality into the upper atmosphere; charismatic, humorous, and downright
treacherous, Loki delivers his best performance in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe
and is imbued with a new depth and pathos that help cement the God of Mischief
as one of cinema’s top villains. In
spite of all these accolades, hardcore fans have to be most excited about
acknowledgement of the shared universe and the future that Marvel’s newest
property teases, whether that involves brilliant cameos or hints towards new
heroes and battles…don’t you dare leave before that mid-credits scene! Combine all these elements, and Thor: The Dark World represents a successful,
if slightly flawed, continuation of a complicated character, one which will please
even the pickiest of fans.
Though the positives far outweigh the negatives, the
flaws present in this sequel are hard to ignore or forgive in light of how many
other complicated elements the movie actually got right. For as much as I enjoyed Thor: The Dark World, I have to admit that the first act represents
something of a chore to process; it was a necessary evil, as fans would have
been up-in-arms had the narrative modified elements of a comic book backstory,
but even they have to admit that the exposition of the Dark Elves and the Nine
Realms represents an information dump that could easily have irreversibly soured
the experience for casual viewers. Also,
for as deep as the narrative delved into comics mythos, I was disappointed to
see the writers abandon effective utilization of Jaimie Alexander as Sif…the
Asgardian warrior is an incredibly important love interest in the comics, and
even though there were a few hits of this storyline in both the trailers and
finished film, the story arc is abandoned and both inexplicably and shamefully ignored. This omission is altogether more infuriating
when you consider the phoned-in performance of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster:
Portman is a fantastic actress, she is just not altogether memorable or
engaging in this role of naïve damsel-in-distress, and screen time would have
been much better utilized adding depth to stronger female characters like Sif,
Frigga, or even Darcy. Still, in spite
of these errors, Thor: The Dark World
is miles ahead of many entries within the Marvel studios film vault and is an
exciting adventure that should not be missed.
Well, as even the most amateurish of box office
analysts could have predicted, Thor: The
Dark World hit theaters like a hammer (pun intended), striking literal and
figurative gold with audiences to claim top debut with over $85 million. Such numbers represent a 30% improvement over
the God of Thunder’s first debut, and even though these kinds of receipts aren’t
even close to those boasted by Tony Stark, they can be attributed to the
lasting influence and popularity of The
Avengers. Week-to-week drop-off was
expected to be steep due to the debut of The
Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but thanks to foreign receipts, Disney is
already looking at a worldwide gross in excess of $600 million against a $170
million budget…not too shabby. Looking
forward, we still have plenty to anticipate on the horizon, whether that
involves Captain America: The Winter
Soldier in April, Guardians of the
Galaxy in August, or the final-second hints of a major conflict struggle
for power in Thor 3 and the
post-credits tease that will likely cause big problems for S.H.I.E.L.D…rest
assured that it’s a good time to be a comics fan. So, in case it isn’t perfectly clear, do not
hesitate to see Thor: The Dark World,
as I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed in this display of
no-holds-barred entertainment.
Overall
Recommendation: Very High
