Thor: The Dark World (2013)

When Dr. Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful entity known as the Aether, Thor is heralded of the cosmic event known as the Convergence and the genocidal Dark Elves.

Director:

Alan Taylor

Writers:

Christopher L. Yost (screenplay by), Christopher Markus (screenplay by)

Stars:

Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

3 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Hemsworth	...	Thor
Natalie Portman	...	Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston	...	Loki
Anthony Hopkins	...	Odin
Christopher Eccleston	...	Malekith
Jaimie Alexander	...	Sif
Zachary Levi	...	Fandral
Ray Stevenson	...	Volstagg
Tadanobu Asano	...	Hogun
Idris Elba	...	Heimdall
Rene Russo	...	Frigga
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Algrim / Kurse
Kat Dennings	...	Darcy Lewis
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Erik Selvig
Alice Krige	...	Eir

Storyline

Thousands of years ago, a race of beings known as Dark Elves tried to send the universe into darkness by using a weapon known as the Aether. Warriors from Asgard stop them but their leader Malekith escapes to wait for another opportunity. The warriors find the Aether and since it cannot be destroyed, they try to hide it. In the present day, Jane Foster awaits the return of Thor although it has been two years since they last saw once another. In the meantime, Thor has been trying to bring peace to the nine realms. Jane discovers an anomaly similar to the one that brought Thor to Earth. She goes to investigate, finds a wormhole, and is sucked into it. Back on Asgard, Thor wishes to return to Earth but his father, Odin refuses to let him. Thor learns from Heimdall, who can see into all of the realms, that Jane disappeared. Thor then returns to Earth just as Jane reappears. However, when some policemen try to arrest her, an unknown energy repulses them. Thor then brings Jane to Asgard to ...

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Plot Keywords:

open ended | end of the world | adopted brother | funeral | shapeshifting | 

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Taglines:

There was darkness.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marvel Thor: The Dark World

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$170,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$85,737,841, 10 November 2013, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$206,362,140

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$644,783,140

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marvel Studios,Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat Dolby Atmos Auro 11.1 SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One action scene involved one hundred forty marauders, an assortment of weapons, some from the aliens in The Avengers (2012), a mix of Roman, medieval, and nearly every Earth culture. The idea is that the gang of space pirates would have taken possession of an assortment of many types of weapons from their adventures. They use axes, swords, spears, morning stars, whips, and guns.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 30 mins) Thor is shown boarding the London Underground at Charing Cross station, asking a commuter how to get to Greenwich. She says he can "take this train three stops," but that's not possible. Two lines pass through Charring Cross. One is the Bakerloo Line, where three stops one way would arrive at Regent's Park, and three stops the other way is Lambeth North, and the Northern Line, where three stops one way is Goodge Street, and three stops the other way is Kennington, none of which are near Greenwich. The nearest stations to Greenwich are either Greenwich or Cutty Sark on the Docklands Light Rail. To get there from Charing Cross, Thor would have to go one stop south on either line to Embankment, then take the Circle or District line five stops east to Monument, then change for the DLR Lewisham Branch and take that to Greenwich.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Odin: [narrating] Long before the birth of light, there was darkness... and from that darkness came the Dark Elves. Millennia ago, the most ruthless of their kind, Malekith, sought to transform our universe back into one of eternal night. Such evil was possible through the power of the Aether, an ancient force of infinite destruction. The noble armies of Asgard, led by my father King Bor, waged a mighty war against these creatures. As the Nine Worlds converged above him, Malekith could at...

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Crazy Credits

Part of the closing credits are a sequence of illustrated scenes from the film.

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Connections

Featured in Loki: The God of Mischief (2014)

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Soundtracks

Captain America March
Composed by Alan Silvestri

User Reviews

An unfocused mess

The first Thor was probably one of Marvel's more trickier movies since it centered heavily around Norse mythology. To make it work in the "real" world was a massive task. Integrating a billionaire playboy who doubles as a tech-powered superhero, or a scientist who turns into a green rage monster was easier to accomplish than the fantastic world of Asgard, Gods & Monsters.

Credit must go to Kenneth Brannagh who found the right balance between the fantastic and "real" (that's a stretch anyways) world. Furthermore, Brannagh focused on the characters instead of bombastic vfx (he still provided tons of beautiful shot visuals though).

His replacement Alan Taylor however goes in the opposite direction and favors stylish visuals over character development. Worse still, the pacing and tone are all over the place.

The Dark World tries to hard to provide the same brand of humor Joss Whedon is known for but fails to deliver the laughs, or they are rather misplaced.

Bottom line: It's a too unfocused movie that suffers from a weak script and a director who tries too many things at the same time.