Review: Thor: The Dark World (Plus Why Marvel Will and Is Beating DC)

Originally Posted on Crap Load of Movies

When Iron Man originally came out I said to my buddy that wouldn't it be cool if they did more Avengers characters in movies and then had a team up.  Then Captain America and Thor was announced and well I peed myself (partly because I had to pee but was excited too).  Then The Avengers came along and all was well in the geek universe. But then more was planned. Sequels and new characters...my mind reeled from all the dorkiness. Now we will talk about all this Marvel goodness later but for now let us get into the latest installment Thor: The Dark World.

So Thor was a great movie. It did what it needed to do.  Here is Thor, he is arrogant, he is banished, he is shamed and now he is selfless...yeah Thor returns and saves the day. 

Then comes the Avengers. Thor and company do not get along, Loki is a pain, big tragedy, aliens attack everything and Avengers form and Thor kicks tail. Again great movie.

And now Thor: The Dark World....I am more then happy about this movie I am estatic, overjoyed, giddy and just plain loved it. The movie was not only as good as the first but I would go so far as to say it was better. This is why I think this. Thor was a great movie but it is the start of a franchise so it had to be an origin story.  Not everyone knows the story of Thor from the Marvel comics so they had to fill everyone in. And the first movie was a great origin. The actors and actresses chosen were great. And the story was good. Here is hero, here is conflict, here is resolution and here is hero again. 

Thor 2 (easier to call it that) has more because we all now know who Thor is so the writers let him be Thor and he got to do that in spades. Every time that hand went out I knew the hammer was coming and someone was getting smacked. And because we now knew Thor we got to focus a little on the other characters. Zachary Levi as Fandral was incredible and got a ton of well deserved screen time. And Cat Dennings had more time to just be her loveable sarcastic self. And she gave some of the best funny moments of the movie (I am rooting for her and the intern). Last and far from least Idris Elba who can just be awesome by being there. Acting so good he did not even need to do anything.  Who knew a silent stare could say so much and be wicked cool. 

But of course there was also Tom Hiddleston. This man is now and forever Loki. He actually has you believing he could be a good guy and then turns on a dime to evil badass. When are we getting a Loki movie? Throughout the whole movie you just expect him to wrap his arms around Thor and everything be forgiven just so he could whip out a dagger and kill his brother. And that smile he pulls just drags you in. He is Loki god of mischief and more. Can not wait to see what he does next. 

Now being that this movie is part of the Phase 2 to the Marvel Cinematic Universe I am sure we will see all of these characters again in some capacity and this is why this universe that Marvel is creating is working so well. There is a plan. You look at it and see it is going somewhere. People, places and things keep coming back and teasing you. Warner/DC is kind of flying by the seat of their pants and hoping everything will fall into place for a Justice League movie.

Here are my suggestions to Warner/DC to make a movie universe just as incredible.

1) Slow down.  The cinematic universe has already happened and has proven to be a hit. If you take the time to make a couple great movies to focus on key characters then the rest will fall into place. Man Of Steel was awesome because it focused on Superman but all the rumours following the sequel make it sound like the movie is going to be bogged down in trying to introduce characters. Remember this does not work Warner/DC we have all seen Batman and Robin. 

2) There are more main players in the DC universe then Superman and Batman. Make a Wonder Woman movie (so far Marvel has not focused on any of its major women heroes in a movie) which will work because the character is dipped in Greek mythology. So much Greek mythology is already ingrained in our heads. Percy Jackson is full of it. Hunger Games is based on it. Give her a movie. And how about a Flash, Aquaman or even a Green Arrow movie. These characters need their stories told. And they are all intertwined.

3) Don't be afraid to sign unknowns to major roles. Let's face facts in terms of box office hits and name brand Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansen and Samuel L Jackson were it. All the others had some small hits or were known but they were not leading role people. Marvel took a chance and got gold. Even with Fox and the X-Men franchise they focused on lesser known actors and actresses to begin with and now most of the actors and actresses are household names like Hugh Jackman. Take the risk.

4) And lastly do not try and reinvent the wheel. This has been done and a wonderful cinematic universe is forming. Pick the right characters, get the stories correct and plan plan plan.....do not try to do too much at once or you will quickly hit a wall.