HOLLYWOOD, CA – NOVEMBER 04: Cast and crew arrive at the premiere of Marvel’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’ at the El Capitan Theatre on November 4, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
To many fans, ‘Thor: The Dark World’ is considered the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However to say that it is a bad film is completely incorrect.
Thor: The Dark World came out in 2013, and was the second movie to be released by Marvel after The Avengers. So much like Iron Man 3, it had a lot to live up to. But also like Iron Man 3, it ultimately crushed under the pressure.
The movie takes place a year after The Avengers, with Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three managing to bring peace back to the nine realms. Once they manage to do so, they return to Asgard, hoping to continue life peacefully.
Of course, things don’t go that way, as back on Earth, Thor’s love Jane Foster has made a discovery. Working now in London, she manages to come across a secret passage that brings her to the Aether.
The Aether, which we learn later is actually an Infinity Stone, consumes Jane. This then causes Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves, to awaken and try and find it.
He manages to locate it in Asgard, where Thor has taken Jane at this point. There, he places his right hand man Kurse as a trap inside Asgard. He then launches an attack on Asgard, to try to capture Jane but fail, killing Thor’s mother in the process.
Afterward, Thor consults the help of his brother Loki, who is imprisoned for his actions in The Avengers. Together, the two take Jane to Svartalfeim, aka the Dark World. There, they plan on confronting Malekith, who ends up taking the power of the Aether away from Jane for himself.
Maleketh then escapes, and Loki supposedly dies in the process. Thor and Jane then travel to Earth, where Malekith plans on using the powers of the Aether, and stop him. And when Thor tells Odin he plans on staying on Earth, it is revealed that Loki is actually alive and posing as him.
Thor: The Dark World features returning roles from Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins. The movie also features Christopher Eccleston as Malekith.
So now the question is what went right, and what went wrong, and how will the movie impact Infinity War?
What worked?
While the movie had its flaws, there’s no question that the best moments came from when Loki was on screen. Tom Hiddleston of course has always been charismatic as the god of mischief, and this movie was no different.
But what was interesting for his character was the fact that we got to see Loki’s character from a different perspective. Before, he was only seen as the villain in both Thor and The Avengers. But this time, while he wasn’t the main hero, he was more of a hero nonetheless.
It’s not just Loki that shined in this movie. The on-screen chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston was probably the highlight of the movie. They act like brothers, they fight like brothers. They convince the audience that they are brothers.
And sure, it may not be the best Marvel movie, but it is still an enjoyable one. The goal of any movie is for the audience to go in and expect to have fun. And whenever that happens, that movie can be considered well done. That can be said for Thor: The Dark World.
Sure, it has its flaws, but every movie does. And this movie still has plenty of enjoyable action in it. In the opening fight sequence, we get to see Thor fighting alongside Sif and the Warriors Three. There’s some fun action there, and we even get our first look at a Kronan, the same type of people that Korg from Thor: Ragnarok!
The scene with Thor and Loki escaping with Jane from Asgard is also a fun moment. It provided the movie with a fun chase scene, and once again, there was a bit more of that back and forth chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston.
And while the final fight scene between Thor and Malekith made little sense, there were some fun moments nonetheless. The two going through portals made the fight unique, and the way Thor defeats Malekith is different if not interesting.
The movie may have its flaws, but it’s still a fun movie nonetheless.
What didn’t work?
Speaking of flaws, Thor: The Dark World was not without its fair share of them. It may have been a fun movie, but there were still a few problems with it.
Probably the biggest problem with the movie is the infamous “Marvel Villain Problem”. This of course is the claim that Marvel puts little to no effort in building their villains. Not only that, but for the most part, they only last one movie.
To be fair now, there is no argument against this. Malekith does fall under that category of “forgettable villains” alongside Whiplash from Iron Man 2 and Killian from Iron Man 3.
Visually, Malekith looks like a really cool villain, especially after half of his face gets crisped. Not only that, but his army of Dark Elves also look threatening with those creepy looking masks they wear.
But of course, it’s not just the look that makes a villain. It’s also their plan. And Malekith’s plan more or less falls under the plan of acquiring a single power to conquer the entire universe. It’s a plan that we’ve seen time and time again, to the point where it becomes generic, and quite frankly, cliche.
The movie also suffers more or less from some of the supporting roles. Quite specifically, it is the humans that are the problem. Jane Foster is not the problem, as she has an important role in the movie. Instead, it is people like Darcy and Eric Selvig who are more or less just kind of there.
They are more of a filler for the movie, which is fine. However, at points, it seems as if they are more taking away from the movie rather than adding to it. It is not always a problem, but there are instances of it happening throughout.
Thor: The Dark World may have fun moments, but it is not without its flaws. And some of those flaws really hurt the movie.
How will this impact Infinity War?
With as many complaints as the movie gets, Thor: The Dark World has a major part to play in setting up Avengers: Infinity War.
As mentioned before, the Aether just so happens to be the Reality Stone, one of the 6 Infinity Stones. Of course, the whole point of Infinity War will be Thanos acquiring each of the Infinity Stones.
Clearly, the people of Asgard know this, as seen what happens in the post-credit scene for the movie. In it, Volstagg and Sif visit The Collector, and deliver the Aether to him.
The whole reason they do this is that, as Volstagg says, “The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It wouldn’t be wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together”.
In fact, this was the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that the Infinity Stones were ever mentioned. So if seeing Thanos appear at the end of The Avengers didn’t kick off the road to Infinity War, this certainly did.
So where is the Aether now? Most likely, it is still on Knowhere, where the Collector resides. However, after what happens in Guardians of the Galaxy, that question is still up for debate. After all, after the explosion that destroyed the Collector’s place went off, it’s likely that something has happened to it since.
However, since Thor: The Dark World, there has been barely any other mention of the Aether. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t have a part to play in Infinity War. Since the Aether is considered the Reality Stone, that allows so much to be done with it.
It is unknown how the Aether will come into play in Infinity War, but there is no doubt that whenever Thanos gets his hands on it, the Avengers will certainly be in trouble.
Next: Iron Man 3 review: How will it impact Infinity War?
While Thor: The Dark World was ultimately a forgettable movie, it may just have some of the biggest impact on Infinity War.