Just watched Thor The Dark World. Yeah, kinda late to the party. Heard a lot of conflicting statements about this movie. Lots of people liked it, while a lot of people seemed to hate it. I didn't know what to expect, but I did enjoy the first Thor for what it was, which was a fun, popcorn, summer action flick. These Marvel movies all tend to pretty much have the same light and breezy tone/mood.

Okay, first thing I really noticed in this movie... the delineation between sci-fi and fantasy. This is of course open to debate but I always felt like the first Thor was fantasy with a thin layer of sci-fi, while this movie seems to go in the opposite direction and looks much more like sci-fi with a thin layer of fantasy. They lean quite a bit more into the sci-fi realm this time: you've got laser rifles and deflector shields and predator-esque cloaking devices and anti-aircraft batteries and heat seeking missiles and singularity grenades that all feel right out of a sci-fi first person shooter. The holding cells underneath Asgard almost feel like the brig of the Enterprise D, equipped with thinly-veiled yellow force fields.

Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with this approach, in and of itself. I can't say I'm a fan of the Thor comics so I'm no purist, someone beholden to the traditional comic book interpretations. But the problem with the new sci-fi emphasis is that as the movie continues, it makes some things look ridiculous and illogical. Asgardian soldiers clad in D&D armor and weapons made sense when this was all a fantasy setting of sorts, but it's a lot harder to swallow when you see them all getting gunned down by Elves wielding sci-fi looking laser rifles spewing hot red death, while throwing their black hole generating grenades. The Asgardian armor doesn't seem to do anything to protect them (Stormtrooper syndrome), so you're left wondering why they're equipped so poorly. Hell, you're left wondering how these Asgardians ever defeated the Elves in the first place, all those countless centuries ago. Surely the Elves with these powerful ranged weapons could've gunned down all the sword-wielding armor-wearing Asgardian soldiers.

The world of Asgard is more fully fleshed out this time around, with lush gardens and parks in addition to the pure metallic alloy spires of the last movie. Maybe it's just because I knew the director worked on Game of Thrones, but the way Asgard is shot and decorated this time around does make it look more Game of Thrones-y. There's more of a warmth and natural rustic beauty here then the modern art museum-like construction that Branagh presented us with. You see carved wood and ceramic pillars and it all conveys an earthy interior that feels more welcoming and human.

I like that they're still maintaining the subplot between Thor, Sif, and Jane. Jamie Alexander was one of the great surprises of the first Thor and the tension in this pseudo-love triangle makes for a compelling thread to follow through the greater tapestry. I kinda figured that Sif was the writers' fallback if Natalie Portman, the accomplished dramatic actress she is, decided not to come back for Thor 2. But since she has, they still acknowledge that there is this uncomfortable situation and that it's not going away anytime soon for our hero Thor.

Tom Hiddleston is his usual impeccable self, as expected. What I appreciate is how they've written Loki just as human as they did in the first Thor, instead of portraying him as the monster of a massacre in NYC. When you see him mourn in his own way after learning of the death of his adopted mother, you're nodding because it feels real and rings true. Even a villain like Loki is bound by certain obligations and ties and that's when you glimpse that he isn't completely irredeemable. The closest comparison I can make is the relationship between Prof. X and Magneto. Should we still hold a hope that he and Thor can mend their relationship? Thinking rationally with our heads, probably not. But Hiddleston's performance, with generous support from Hemsworth, gradually nudges us in that direction, despite ourselves.

The Dark World is an appropriate subtitle, because it is certainly a darker movie this time. Which isn't to say that they dropped the humor and one-liners from the first, because they haven't. They went and did something I didn't expect... Thor's mother dies. I thought Rene Russo was kinda wasted in the first movie, with Anthony Hopkins given the lion's share of the work. But this time around, she does get to show off her talents before dying and I appreciated it because Russo is a legitimately great actress and perfectly conveys a gentle maternal presence combined with a warrior queen side that we never suspected but probably should have.

Now, while I do think the story is effective when taken as a journey to avenge the death of a mother... I can't say I comprehended the main plotline involving the evil red blob thingy hiding in the center of a giant stone block. I haven't read the Thor comics, but I suspect that this red evil globule was created specifically for the movie. Why they thought it'd make for a compelling story, I have no idea. It's in Jane, and it's gonna kill her, but the main evil Elf wants it, so he takes it into him, thereby saving Jane. But it's probably not gonna kill the Elf dude, it'll make him stronger somehow... it's all just a confusing mash of empty nonsense. I didn't comprehend just how Jane was able to manipulate the gravity wells surrounding the metal spike things on her handy dandy tablet computer. And frankly, the movie is designed in such a way that you're simply too distracted by the crazy shenanigans surrounding Thor's fight into and out of the different realms to be able to think about much of anything. It's quirky and entertaining in how fast the scenarios change and morph around, but I would've preferred if I'd known exactly what was happening.

Chris Eccleston's Meleketh(?) isn't the worst villain ever, but he's further down the list then you might expect. He's not as aggressively atrocious as Eric Bana's Nero, for example. But... I didn't really find myself captivated by his presence. There was nothing to latch onto, which I suppose you can blame on the scriptwriters who gave him absolutely nothing memorable to say. I just knew that he wanted that red goo a whole lot. How that was supposed to help his race of Elves... god only knows. Why did he decide to crash his giant ship into the center of a university, Speed 2: Cruise Control-style...? I couldn't tell you. But going beyond the dearth of meaty dialogue from the writers... Eccleston himself just doesn't exude any personality or villainy in particular. He just seems hamstrung by being stuck in elf makeup and clumsy armor. Oftentimes, an actor will imbue a role with something beyond the page, making it come alive from sheer performance and force of will. Eccleston does nothing of the sort in this movie, and I found myself more entertained by the CGI of the red shards shooting from his body (which wasn't much) then I did by his delivery.

Thinking about the movie as a whole, I have to judge it as being passable entertainment on a lazy afternoon. But compared to the first Thor, it sits a notch lower. The humor and one-liners from Skarsgaard's Selvig and Darcy continue to work, though that one scene of Thor riding a Subway felt incredibly British and took me out of the moment. But when you think about it, Thor 1 had actual character development and growth for Hemsworth's Thor. He's an arrogant prince who learns to humble himself and do right by others, instead of yielding to his own passions. Not the most innovative character arc ever conceived, but it worked well and got us to root for the guy.

Here... I can't really detect anything like that. The movie merely had me asking myself questions like "Why isn't this cloud of red goo doing anything to Thor when he walks through it?" "Why are these spikes strong enough to teleport Meleketh's limbs away when Mjolnir couldn't do anything?" "Is this red goo meant to do anything when it reaches the other realms?" "How many buildings will Mjolnir crash through to return to Thor's grasp?" and "Why is this guy playing Darcy's intern so bland and dull? Is he returning in Thor 3?" Really inane stuff, right, but what else could I think about... there didn't seem to be any real growth to Thor. I mean at the end, he does decide not to be King. But what that had to do with the previous battles with Meleketh, I couldn't say.