There’s only one major movie opening nation-wide this weekend, and that’s Thor: the Dark World. Apparently, nobody else was a match for Chris Hemsworth’s impressive muscles.
Thor: The Dark World
Another installment in the Marvel comic book series, Thor: The Dark World, finds our Nordic blond God (Chris Hemsworth) battling against Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who wants to make the world all dark and evil again. Though this foil might be interesting, never fear, the scene-stealer of the Avengers, Loki (played with delicious glee by Tom Hiddleston), who is Thor’s bad half-brother, is also on board, this time working in tandem with his bro. For some reason Natalie Portman got lost on her way to a Star Wars movie and stars as Jane Foster, the love interest. Whole buncha Hollywood heavies collecting easy paychecks here, including Anthony Hopkis, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, and Kat Dennings.
Perfect For: Fanboys; comic book geeks (redundant?); people who want two hours of Hemsworth eye-candy; Loki aficionados.
What the Critics Say: They are mixed-to-negative. And everyone agrees: Needs. More. Loki. Rolling Stone writes: “Not enough Loki. Too many tacky 3D effects. And then there's the hard fact that everything old isn't necessarily new again just because the bottom line wishes it so.”
Says the Arizona Republic: “Thor is an interesting superhero and all, but really, people, we need a Loki movie.”
And says the Boston Globe: “How do you know that Thor: The Dark World is for the fan-boys and absolutely nobody else? The opening exposition is sub-Tolkien balderdash that merely has the power to put you to sleep in seconds.”
Our Take: Only if you fall in one of the “Perfect For” categories. Otherwise, there’s plenty of stuff still in the theatres that looks miles better than this—Gravity, Ender’s Game, Captain Phillips, even Escape Plan, looks more fun.
