Thor: The Dark World, Movie Review

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

. . . now that I've seen Thor: The Dark World twice, IMAX 3D and regular 3D, I can now write a proper review . . .

When the first Thor movie came out I was concerned the Ice Giants were going to be Power Ranger style villains, but what could have come across corny ended up sophisticated and interesting.  I was impressed.  In this movie we have the Dark Elves, wearing masks that remind me of the jabbawockeez dance group . . . that's not a bad thing.  The masks are affective, and those who don't wear the masks fearsome.  A few thousand or so years ago the dark elves had a weapon called the Aether, trying to send darkness to the nine realms (in which Earth is apart) when all the realms align, creating epic space anomalies of the astrophysics variety.  They failed then, when Thor's grandfather won the battle, and the Aether was sent to Earth . . . because we're that kind of planet.

And then there's Loki . . . LOKI!!!  The God of mischief and mayhem.  And a character that is, hands down, the greatest villain of all time, is back and more interesting then ever, played by the talented Tom Hiddleston.

I personally prefer the second Thor movie to the first, which is quite the achievement, since I saw the first three times opening week.  The humor remains, the CGI impressive, star-scapes more Hubble like, great battle scenes, etc, etc, all in the first movie improved in the second.

Thor: The Dark World is a great, fun romp.

Most of the original cast is back: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) brooding, Loki scheming, Jane (Natalie Portman) searching, Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) crazy, Darcy (Kat Dennings) silly, Frigga and Odin (Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins) protective, and the threesome Sif, Volstagg, and Fandral (Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson , and newly recast (and honestly better (no offense Josh Dallas, because you were great, too) Zachary Levi) gallivanting . . . though Sif's a bit more jealous.

I loved the second viewing of this new Thor movie more then the first viewing . . . and if I see it again on Monday with my Grandmother, who loved the original, I think I'll love it even more.  It's a gift that keeps on giving.  All my friends who have seen it love Thor: The Dark World.
     

I wasn't going to see this movie again today, but my Mom really wanted to, even with my Grandma postponing.  I asked her if she could see this movie three times this week, and my Mom said she could see it everyday, easy, she loved it that much.     

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content.

As a note, when the character Eric is crazy like, he runs around naked in a news telecast, blurred in the right places.  This newscast is shown twice in the movie, and it shocking.