Can you find Malekith the Angry Elf? He's waaaaay down there at the bottom!
Thor: The Dark World
- The follow-up doesn't quite live up to the original but does maintain the balance of humor and nicely executed action sequences that has come to define the Avengers saga. Thor 2 (for brevity's sake) benefits greatly from the presence of Loki, who provides much of the cleverness and trickery in an otherwise Gladiator-dominated world. The world of Asgard (and the other realms which are occasionally visited by characters throughout the film) remains incredibly beautiful. It's truly masterfully crafted CGI that becomes even more immediate in 3-D. Chris Hemsworth continues to epitomize his role and seems irreplaceable as Thor himself. He's supported nicely by fine actors (Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston as the aforementioned Loki, Stellan Skarsgaard, and others).
- To those of us naive to the nuances of the comics (myself included), Malekith is the film's super villain. He's basically a really angry elf with a superiority complex. The plot hinges around control of the aether, a gooey substance that's really cool to look at in 3-D and would give Malekith the ability to turn the lights out (hence the DARK world) on his neighbors in the other 9 realms. As far as super villains go, he's not particularly menacing or even that memorable. I suppose the true die hard comic fans would enjoy his presence in the film, and I will say that his army of drones with those creepy masks was pretty cool.
- All in all... Thor 2 continues to excel at what it's good at, offering Gladiator-style battle sequences juxtaposed with effective comic relief, all the while advancing the on-going Avengers plot line with seemingly no end in sight.
- Stick around for mid-credits and post-credits bonus scenes.
- Recommended in 3-D.
- Rating: 3.5 out of 5
- About Time earns the distinction as one of the most enjoyable romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. The premise (or at least the handling of it) is somewhat original for the genre, and effective. All the actors are engaging in their respective roles, especially Tom Hughes as the lead. This was my first introduction to the actor, and he just nails it. His performance shines both on screen and as the film's narrator.
- The film's plot seems to falter slightly around the exact "rules" of time travel and doesn't really make sense completely… typically if a character time travels BACK in time, their actions impact the FUTURE (as in a certain 1985 classic starring Michael J. Fox). That doesn't entirely happen here. But I tried not to rack my brain around that aspect of the film too much.
- Just as 500 Days of Summer is a story about love (not a "love story"), About Time is chiefly a comedy about romance (and therefore, NOT a stereotypical "romantic comedy"). Regardless of the exact genre that film falls into, it makes for an enjoyable and clever trip to the movies.
- Rating: 4 out of 5
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