Thor: The Dark World (2013)

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'Thor: The Dark World' follows in the footsteps of 'Iron Man 3' inasmuch as it is one of the MCU's weaker films, altogether. Although I will give this some credit for having some pretty funny moments, it's just not enough to save this from finding itself near the bottom of the proverbial MCU barrel. Of all the 'Thor' films, I would easily claim this chapter to be the most forgettable, even though it introduces us to our next Infinity Stone, gets the saga moving, and has audiences guessing what more was to come.

At this point, it can be noted that following the events of 'The Avengers,' the Tesseract (or "Space Stone") was brought to Asgard to be stored in Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) vault for safekeeping, whilst Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was imprisoned for his crimes on Earth. While away from Earth and the rest of the Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his Asgardian friends have become protectors of the Nine Realms of our universe. Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) tries to move forward from her relationship with Thor, as Thor can't always be on Earth for her.

With that set up, the film opens with a backstory taking place ages ago. Odin's father, Bor (Tony Curran), clashes with Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), a Dark Elf, chasing after another potentially powerful weapon called the Aether (aka the "Reality Stone"), which Malekith could use to alter the universe into having eternal night, thus allowing the Dark Elves to thrive. Bor manages to safeguard the Aether within a stone column after defeating Malekith's forces, buried where it will "never be found" (which always means it'll be found). Malekith and several other dark elves manage to escape.

On Earth, Jane and her intern and friend Darcy (Kat Dennings) discover an anomaly that, long story short, leads to the Aether, which, upon Jane discovering it, manages to conceal itself within her body. With Heimdall (Idris Elba), the all-seeing, all-hearing guardian of Asgard and the Bifrost Bridge no longer able to see Jane, Thor heads to the Earth Realm to find her and bring her to Asgard to be looked after. However, the presence of the Aether awakens Malekith, who still wishes to find and use the Aether to bring everlasting darkness to the universe. The whole thing feels like a plot straight out of 'Care Bears.'

The anomaly in question has to do with the Convergence, which, according to Odin, is an extremely rare event in which the Nine Realms align, causing odd portals around the world. Jane stumbles into one of these portals, which leads to the location where the Aether was sealed away by Bor. It then conceals itself inside of her, acting as some sort of sentient parasite, requiring a host in order to defend itself. Thor is thrust into the role of her protective bodyguard, as the Aether cannot be removed from her, and it provides a target for a Dark Elf raid, led by Malekith.

As I mentioned before, despite some gripes I have with this movie, it's not without its moments. I can appreciate the role Loki plays here, having recently unleashed chaos in the city of New York on Earth while still asking for the audience's sympathies. Somehow or another, I have to admit, he even gets it to some extent, and really starts shaping into the anti-hero type. However, I can't help but feel like this chapter of 'Thor' asks you to take it a touch too seriously, despite its sense of humour. It still feels a bit like what the early 2000s thought was awesome, but it's not quite at the fun level of 'Ragnarok' yet.

When all is said and done, 'Dark World,' more than anything, seems to be meant to introduce us to the second known Infinity Stone in an attempt to get things rolling. I can also credit it for further developing Loki's character. But the rest of it feels like an old Saturday morning cartoon, complete with an over-the-top and, frankly, forgettable villain. It was around this point in the MCU that I began to wonder if things were a little too buried under the spectacle of 'The Avengers.' Luckily, however, 'Iron Man 3' and 'Thor: The Dark World' turned out to be mere hiccups in what was to come.

​2/5

MID-CREDIT SCENE - Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Sif (Jaimie Alexander) deliver the Aether to The Collector (Benecio Del Toro) with the thought that having it so close to the Tesseract in Odin's vault could prove dangerous. The Collector is heard to say, "One down, five to go". The scene is a tease to events that may occur in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

POST-CREDIT SCENE - Thor returns to Earth to see Jane, and they embrace with a kiss. Meanwhile, it's shown that a creature that emerged through a portal in the film's climactic scene is still running around London, England.

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