A Trifel: Under Developed Epic Cinema
Thor: The Dark World is a fun enough watch and trifle . A nice change of pace for the movie going public looking for something that isn’t 12 Years A Slave or The Counselor but not Free Birds.
In the context of its peers, Thor: The Dark World stands out as being heavily plot driven with the barest of emotional signifiers and character. They are built up just enough, as to work for the kids. Who will hoot and holler as Thor and Malekith have a portal fight through Greenwich. For the parents or anyone watching with a brain, well, they will have checked out 20 minutes earlier if not sooner. Alan Taylor brings a competent directorial hand having worked extensively in television. Other than a overuse of melodramatic slow motion (for us to really feel the empty emotion on screen) and a bit of grit Taylor brings no appreciable artistic signature. Which is what Marvel wanted when they hired him, he continues the tradition started by Kenneth Branagh just without the Shakespearean conviction?
As the superhero genre continues to set up, mixing in other genre and having authorial directors is becoming a must to stand out. So when you have men like Joss Whedon, Shane Black, and James Gunn making other Marvel films; each leaving their own distinct stamp, the fact that Thor: The Dark World is plainly studio quality left me wanting.
It's been two of our years since The Avengers and the rest of the nine realms have erupted into chaos in its wake. Thor, along with Sif and the Warriors Three have been kept busy bringing peace to them. This pushes Thor out to the galactic public, showing him as a great leader and soon the rightful king of Asgard and protector of all realms. The overall design of the nine realms and this science fiction fantasy world Marvel has created is this film's strongest attribute. The visual treat makes the more mundane earthly moments already more boring thanks to the poor script.
On Midgar, Jane Foster has been searching for a way to connect with Thor again. Darcy and Selvig are along the ride. The search brings them to an out of the way warehouse in London where the laws of physics are not as solid.
All the nine realms are being drawn together in an event known as The Convergence; an event that only few like Heimdal realize is happening. Fewer have even seen it like Odins father Bor. Who used it to end the long and bloody struggle against the dark elves led by Malekith . The dark elves are older than this universe, from a time of darkness. Their leader Malekith wants to use the Aether to return the universe to darkness, resurrecting his civilization.
Thor is plot driven in a very literal sense and in this film there is no room for moments of introspection, no matter how much the frames slow. The Dark World features two very distinct halves. The first half is plodding and just a bit dead. There is an odd dissonance between the merriment shown and the heaviness everyone seems to move with, Than Loki is sprung from prison and the plot begins to bludgeon the viewer. Event after event as the series barrels to the big battle.
The engine driving this plot, the Aether, is a really sound device. The finer points as to what the Aether is, are only hinted at during the film. Concrete explanation of the MacGuffin isn't necessary for the story to function. The characters treat the Aether as serious business so it we treat it as serious business. The reveal of its true nature in the mid credits sequence is excellent for the machinations of phase 2 and 3 but the normal’s in the audience will just stare at an oddly dressed character with a recognizable face and wonder “huh?”.
The third act of Thor isn't bad. It is plenty fun to watch there is a levity to these climatic battles that only Marvel seems to have. The large amount of kids in my theater just loved it. For anyone older than 12 there was is an emotional grounding and setup that is missing.
Thor: The Dark World’s problem in a nutshell: it wants its third act portal fight but doesn't want to set it up emotionally. Just smash the action figures together like the kids in the there will once they leave the theaters. Most of Marvels Studio films have felt like there was not a lot left on the cutting room floor that was of importance. Thor feels like it cut about half of the second act in order to get to unleashing Tom Huddleston much sooner. Christopher Eccleston is underused and missing that typical bad guy monologue that shows how he thinks himself the hero. There is no echo of Thor’s fish out of water experience with Jane and Asgard. Mere lip service paid to the idea and responsibilities of being King of Asgard. At the start of the Asgard attack there is an emphasized shot reverse shot stare between Sif and Jane that by its very happening implies importance. I just don't know what they are playing at since it wasn't set up. When the hollow payoff happens, I’m left wondering if some vital piece of emotional material was left out. There is a rather beautiful sequence that you’d simply want to see more of visually but there is an emotional heart to it that goes undernourished. The emotional crux of the entire film is under developed with no room for the film to hang on.
Thank goodness for Tom Huddleston. He makes the barrage of plot enjoyable. Hiddleston's hamminess is perfectly calibrated. A counterbalance to Hemsworth more solemn and stoic demeanor. As a character Thor is largely characterized by those around him and once they’ve been pushed away you are left with the physically large but not exactly charismatic singular presence of Hemsworth. This is surprising given how fun he can be to watch in his other films. The acting isn’t this films problem. The fact Rene Russo makes such an impact with the little she is used is a testament to it.
As we move into Oscar season Thor: The Dark World is an excellent counterpoint for headier films. It just comes off like feeling summer blockbuster lite and not the genuine article. A couple of fun sequences but just missing that emotional core.
