Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddlestone, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Christopher Ecclestone, Idris Elba, Chris O'Dowd
Certificate: 12
Genre: Superhero
Awards: None

So it's been a year after the events of The Avengers, and it's time to see how our favourite norse god is doing. Other than moping over his human girlfriend, he seems to be okay, creating peace throughout the nine realms and all that.

Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Portman) is stuck on earth and - other than moping over her alien boyfriend - she seems to be doing okay. However, when she finds a portal to another dimension, she accidentally activates a special weapon called the eather that possesses her while also waking up Malekith (Christopher Elf-eston) and his army of dark elves who want to bring the world back into darkness. Oops...

So the two get back together and go to Thor's place for some Asgardian operation to get rid of the eather. However, with Malekith on their tales, Thor has to ask for help from the one he trusts the least - His brother Loki (Hiddlestone)

Like Iron Man 3, Thor 2 (or is it 3? does The Avengers count?) is filled with humour. Although Loki gets the big laughs, almost all of the human cast get a few funny lines. This a complete contrast to our main baddie. Malekith is an underused, underdeveloped villain who could have been so much better. Ecclestone is a good actor, but the film is too focused on Loki to give anything for him to do.

That said, this is the film that won me over to Loki's character. In The Avengers, he seemed too smug to like. But now he has been behind bars and is really a prisoner, he seems more of an ankle biting, playful brother to Thor: the brooding hero.

Thor 2 is a darker chapter in the character's story and is better because of it. Garish CGI Asgard is swapped for gritty CGI Asgard while dreary London replaces sunny Mexico. But the humour keeps the mood up as things get smashed up. Thor 2 is a step up from the original and miles more enjoyable than The Avengers (which I feel is the weakest of the Marvel universe films).

****Good