If you have been counting down the days until you can buy Thor: The Dark World on DVD or Blu-ray, the wait is now over. Being a Thor fan myself, I will be buying a copy. The sequel to Thor (2011) and the eighth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, T:TDW once again follows The God of Thunder, this time in his quest to save the Nine Realms from the Dark Elves, lead by Malekith The Accursed. The only problem is, to do this, Thor must make an unlikely ally; his arch-enemy and adopted brother Loki. Add to the mix that Thor's love interest Jane Porter comes across something one would not wish to come across, Thor has a lot on his hands in this film!
Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston reprise their role as Thor, Jane Porter and Loki respectively, and learn that Thor's return to Asgard at the end of the previous film has hit both the superhero and Jane Porter hard. While Natalie Portman makes for a comically sulky Porter, whilst Kat Dennings' character Darcey Lewis (Porter's intern on her wormhole project) is a great pick-me-up in this film. The Warriors Three (Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral) are featured again as Thor's closest comrades. Along with fellow Asgardian warrior Sif (based on the Norse Mythology deity of the same name) the love rivalship between Porter and Sif for Thor's affections is both sorrowful and very real, again, giving T:TDW characters depth and substance.
In the first film, we watched as Thor was a 'fish out of water' on Planet Earth. Hemsworth plays his character effortlessly and gives Thor flaws, making him sweet and lovesick, and not just brimming with god-like confidence as he was at the beginning of the first film. On the other hand, in Thor: The Dark World, we see Jane Porter being thrust into Asgard, a place that she only is familiar with because Thor had mentioned it, calling it his home. It is nice to see her struggle with the terms of being on a different planet, as we had seen Thor doing the same previously. It gives their story prospective, and their characters believability.
Thor's relationship with Loki after the events of Thor is almost non-existent. We see Loki imprisoned for his war crimes in the previous film, and his cool exterior is impenetrable. Tom Hiddleston is brilliant, and portrays a very intelligent and calculating supervillan, who is on nearly all levels, the total opposite to Thor, making their forced alliance evermore interesting and will no doubt have you on the edge of your seat throughout the film.
Layered characters, an epic world and an alliance with an enemy is what makes this film a definite Hit Play.