Thor: The Dark World (2013) - 6/10

Another MCU movie came through the randomizer so we will trust the process. I will say though, watching these out of order does somewhat help force me to look at it more like a standalone feature. T:TDW is the second in Thor's solo series and is chronologically just after the release of the first Avengers film. This was also pre-Waititi, so, its got a lot working against it here. Let's get into the rubric though.

1. Acting 

The acting is mostly fine with some good sprinkled in. In particular Rene Russo's far to brief appearance as Frigga, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.

Russo is lovely as Frigga. She plays possibly the most interesting character of the film and for some reason she gets killed almost immediately. Now, killing a well liked character can sometime be a great way to up the stakes of the movie. However, her death is poorly timed. I was dying to learn more and see more from her, but not yet attached enough for the death to carry the weight it seemed to want to. 

Hopkins really isn't dong anything special in this film considering his capabilities, but I just love that I can absorb a massive exposition dump and still enjoy it simply because Hopkins is the one delivering it. 

Hiddleston has always been in important figure in the MCU. Not only is his character one of the more interesting villain turned anti-hero types, but Hiddleston has all the smarmy charm needed to make him likable. He does a lot with a little in this movie and really helps elevate the acting overall. 

2. Cinematography 

The shooting felt generic. I don't really have a ton for this.

3. Production/Costume Design

I really like the look of the Dark Elves. They were creepy and mysterious. In fact, all the costuming in the movie is great. I especially like that the costumes appear to be 100% physically made (no CGI augmentation). It makes a difference.

Asgard, as usual, looks great. MCU movies, even at the beginning, blurred the lines between real and digital environments. Obviously with the cityscapes, the assets are all or at least heavily CGI. But most of the interior sets appear to be a mix of both and the result is great. 

One of the cooler things I learned after the fact was that the floating cement truck from early in the movie was done mostly practically. VFX supervisor Jake Morrison revealed “What we did in the end...was have an unbelievable hydraulic rig attached to the back of it – like a spit roast – orchestrated by special effects supervisor Paul Corbould. There was a massive structural bar through the heart of this truck. The end of the hydraulic section was programmable so we could dial in speeds and moves. And then we did a huge amount of rig removal.”

As far as filming locations, London makes for some beautiful locales, but I fail to see exactly why it was chosen as the setting. There is a throwaway line about it being the focal point of the convergence with a map that the 'ancients' left behind. But they literally could have made the same bullshit up about any other place in the world too.

 4. Writing 

Again, the writing is fine. It fits the MCU formula, is mostly a sound script as far as it 'tracking' and has a mostly formed structure. I just didn't get much out of it except for a little entertainment. 

The script at least brings some sillier moments. Kat Dennings, as always, brings her comedic chops with dry wit and quip-y delivery. I also always like seeing typically dramatic actors like Stellan Skarsgard play against type and bring the humor as well.  

However, most of the script is a very mixed bag. For example, in the first act we first see Jane while she is on a date. Throughout the relatively short scene, the writers convey plot information in a funny and enlightening way. Through her interactions with Chris Dowd we learn that she is trying to move on, but still mostly hung up on Thor (learning about the character). Then when Kat Denning shows up we learn why they are in London and get hints at where the plot will go (world/plot building). Its short and simple but its better than a lot of other scenes which are just blatant exposition dumps with little to no character building or authentic dialog. 

Speaking of info dumps, how many fucking times do we need to hear about the 'covergence'. The script really seems to want to beat you over the head about it. The 'science' aspect of it too (which is mostly an excuse to have Jane and her team in the movie) is just the generic science gobbledygook. Obviously you don't have the time or need to build actual science into the script, but I hate it when movies just throw out nonsense buzzwords and expect you to nod along like it makes sense. 

Now, I know this isn't a 'just this movie' problem. Lots of screenplays use this type of short hand. In particular, MCU and other superhero movies have an inherent problem to solve most of the time; there is too much lore to cover. Most general audiences are not going to know obscure details from the comics, so the filmmakers feel like they have the play to the lowest common denominator. It is something that can be done well, but is easy to fumble and end up alienating the audience. As for the diehards - you'll probably alienate them anyway so fuck it.

Another part that was annoying was the scene where Thor is laying out his plan to sneak out of Asgard. It plays a lot like a heist movie where the lead character is telling everyone his 'master plan' and is interwoven with visuals of the heist going down. What was so dumb here though was that as Thor was explaining, several of the characters at the table are pointing out 'issues' that the plan has. Thor then already has an answer ready to go for each thing. I know what they are going for in the scene, but at the same time if you have it this planned out, then just tell everyone the plan. Why are we constantly creating 'problems' that already have a solution. 

One last complaint and I promise I will move on. The Thor comics are heavily steeped in Norse Mythology. The movies however, seem completely disinterested in exploring that at all. The Dark Elves for example, are very cool figures from actual Norse texts. Except after spending two hours watching this movie, I don't think I could really tell you anything interesting about Dark Elves. It just feels like a missed opportunity to not focus more on the lore of your characters and instead just exposition dump your way to a bland conclusion. 

Ok I lied. One more. What was Thor's journey character arc here? From the very beginning all he wants is to shirk his duties as the next King of Asgard and be with Jane. And in the end he gets the thing he wants. He makes no growth. He just fights a bunch of things. I just feel like we didn't learn anything new about Thor and he doesn't really change in any significant way by the end. We just watched a bunch of people fight and the status quo didn't shift. The only really progression was it gave the MCU a change to introduce an Infinity Stone.

5. Sound Design 

 I actually liked some of the new scores they created for this movie. The more forlorn aspects of the score in particular were really nice. Frigga's funeral scene for example is scored beautifully.

6. Editing 

 I cant put my finger on exactly why, but the editing feels very clunky. The pace and plot structure is fine. But they either the order of the scenes, or the style of edits felt awkward at times. 

For example, early in the film Jane calls Eric while driving in the car. He doesn't answer and Jane remarks how he has been missing since they arrived. They then cut to a news report of Eric getting arrested at Stonehenge. Then cut back to the car. The order is not necessarily bad there - its basically just a cutaway edit. The problem is that the edit feels off. There's no actual transition, just abrupt cuts. I feel like there could've been a different way to ease that transition. Maybe pan away from Jane making her call to a TV showing the news report somewhere in the background? That way its not audience being in a car with the characters, cut to audience suddenly watching a random news report, and then thrown back into the same car we just left.

7. Visual Effects

A strength of the MCU films is always the VFX work. With their budgets though, expectations are set higher than other films. The VFX should look good. Where these films can shine then, is how they choose to employ all that sweet sweet VFX cash. 

One small example - as Odin delivers one of the many exposition dumps about the Dark Elves and convergence, they are looking at a book that is showing the story as Odin narrates. Its not a VFX shot the necessarily blew me away - but at least it was a more creative use of VFX instead of more laser blasts or explosions. 

In a larger example - the entirety of Asgard looks fantastic. In particular, the attack on the city and the flying scenes are very well done.

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation 

 I don't believe there is a direct Dark World version in the comics. From what I can tell, the screenwriters took some loose inspiration and mostly tried to create their own thing. The results are middling. Its an odd choice since I imagine there was at least some more iconic Thor stories that they could have lifted more directly from.

9. Stunt Coordination 

 Much like the VFX, the expectations for the stunt team is always going to be higher on a movie like this. For that reason, I am mostly disappointed in this aspect of the film. The fight scenes seem very bland. 

Frigga probably has the best choreo in the whole film and she immediately dies so, there's that. 

10. Direction

Alan Taylor has worked on some of the greatest TV shows that have ever been created. Judging by his credentials, I would have expected more here. I will note though that Taylor has stated in interviews that he was not happy with the final product and bemoaned excessive studio interference.

Legacy/Final Thoughts

T:TDW is one of the weaker movies from the MCU's run. Despite my review, there are some bright spots here. But expectations should be higher when films are given budgets this big and employ people this talented.