Thor: The Dark World (12A) - 2D (or 3D)

Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring Rene Russo, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Natalie Portman
FACT, Liverpool
1st - 14th November 2013

Reviewed by Joe Coventry

Frigga'n Hell!

Queen of the Gods, Frigga (Russo), is unfortunate enough to be married to Odin (Hopkins) and the mother of two brothers, Thor (Hemsworth) and Loki (Hiddleston), who could not have been sired by the same father.

Nevertheless its all hands (plus Thor's hammer) to the pump, to save not only the Nine Realms but also Earth from the rejuvenated Leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith (Ecclestone). He is set on returning the Universe to the darkness from which it first materialised.

To achieve this he must regain control of 'The Aether', a malign energy source, which was buried after his last altercation with the Gods. Now deep in The Dark World, it must never be found again.

As Thor whizzed through the space-time continuum, saving whole worlds, whilst gamely trying to keep his limp love life alive with London-based scientist Jane Foster(Portman).

It becomes harder when she stumbles through a strange plasma field and into the Dark World, right next to the evil force which consumes her.

Time warped back to Asgard to seek his father's unforthcoming help as Malekith circles for the kill, Thor must escape with Jane from Odin's complacent shackles.

With the help of his duplicitous and trickster brother Loki he re-enters the Dark World for a face off with his nemesis's champion Algrim. Crossing through the plasma field thanks to a lost set of car keys and back again to Earth, the final battle takes place outside Greenwich Observatory.

As the Heavens come into alignment, who will win the day?

Surreal and fantastical beyond comprehension, director Taylor's film has it's moments but not many. It is too long for the thin plot line and the acting is either lethargic, hammy or wooden, especially in the case of Odin ; no wonder Frigga opts for an early death in eternity half way through the action.

The coda, after the credits and lacklustre soundtrack, introduces Benichio Del Toro into the fray for a taster of the next instalment, 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'. Lets hope they can get their tesseracts together for that one!

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