The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World | Movie review
23 October 2013
Timothy Bano
Avatar
Timothy Bano
23 October 2013

Thor: The Dark World is the eighth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – one that is sprawling ever wider. The difficulty, especially after the phenomenal success of The Avengers, is how the studio can keep hold of a coherent cluster of characters, stories and films while coming up with new and increasingly exciting ways to put the world in danger. This film succeeds. It follows a very similar plot to Thor: the evil king of one of the Nine Realms, thought to have been defeated, returns to threaten Asgard and earth with a very powerful weapon. Thor intervenes.

Director Alan Taylor was keen to give this sequel more of a Viking feel, and initially he succeeds. The swords and armour are Game of Thrones-esque, especially when set on the dust and sandstone streets of Asgard. This contrasts wonderfully with the grey London cityscape where half the action takes place; it is this clash between the world of humans and the world of alien gods that provides the humour in the film. There are some very funny moments, particularly from Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis.

Taylor, replacing Kenneth Branagh, seems to have directed episodes of every major television programme in the past 15 years: Oz, The Sopranos, The West Wing, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones. Even without Branagh there is still a clique of excellent British actors that dominates the film’s cast: Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins return as Loki and Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and Christopher Eccleston joins the cast as Dark Elf Malekith. Even comedy actors Chris O’Dowd and Justin Edwards make appearances.

In fact the film has a surprisingly British focus. The Asgardians have English accents and much of the action takes place in London. After New York was destroyed in The Avengers it seems fair that London has its turn, with the Old Royal Naval College and St Paul’s suffering during the final battle (perhaps Malekith has something against Christopher Wren).

Fans of the Marvel films will love this. It has all the necessary elements: self-deprecating humour, a cameo appearance by Stan Lee, post-credits sequences. Those unused to the Marvel Universe may find the surfeit of Norse names overwhelming, but The Dark World is an intelligent action epic with a stellar cast and a twinkle in its eye.

Timothy Bano

Thor: The Dark World is released nationwide on 30th October 2013.

Watch the trailer for Thor: The Dark World here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Coming 2 America

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

Eye of the Storm

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

The Dissident

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Moxie

★★★★★
Emma Kiely
Read More

Notturno

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

The Winter Lake

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Lucky

★★★★★
Jacob Kennedy
Read More

Justine

★★★★★
Abbie Grundy
Read More

Foster Boy

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Brixton Tale
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Surge
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • The Old Ways
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Women in film introduce favourite female-directed features for new BFI series on 8th March
    Cinema & Tv
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Dissident
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Short Vacation (Jong chak yeok)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

It’s a Lot premiere: A chat with the cast on the red carpet in London
London Restaurant Festival Awards 2013 celebrate in Piccadilly