Thor: The Dark World

Well, the trailer certainly looked good and coming off the frenzy of The Avengers is certainly a lot to live up to for the second Thor installment.  This time around, the god of thunder must deal with the threat on his own world from beings awoken who use dark matter energy to destroy the universes of Earth and Asgard that are now coming into orbital alignment after thousands of years. For this to happen, Thor must reluctantly recruit his brother Loki to help. Understanding better what dark matter is, via the recent Cosmos episodes, it's an intriguing plot for sure.  I'm glad we to see Heimdall (played by Idris Elba) in action this time around and the pivotal plot concerning Thor's mother (played by Rene Russo) were nice additions to the series. Add to that, the charismatic and sinister Loki, played so well by Tom Hiddleston, and it sounds like a nice mix.  Turns out, Hiddleston is actually the best part of the movie as the humor with him and the further fleshing out of his complex character, is a relief from the other rather boring plots that take place with the other characters on Earth and Asgard.  But then again, this type of typical earth humor seems to be a bit overwrought and also out of place at times too, given it's coming from a being who's not human. For all it's special and visual effects pomp, Thor: The Dark World is a bit disappointing.  Was the Earth story even really needed given the relationship with Thor and Jane is rather tepid at best?  She seems to only be there to exacerbate the problem and be saved by Thor.  I didn't like the way her character of all people, just happened to stumble into this portal and get transported and infected.  That was just too contrived. In fact, Natalie Portman's role is more akin to to Kristen Stewart's role in the Twilight films.  Minus the increased intrigue and humor of Loki, it's a typical formulaic action film with the world always at stake. Better than most, yet lacking in balance.