Thor The Dark World Review: You Must Be Truly Desperate
Prairie Grown Reviews is reader-supported. When you purchase something through our links we may earn an affiliate commission.

Thor The Dark World
Director: Alan Taylor
7.5
Where to Watch Thor The Dark World?
After Phase 1, the MCU would release three sequels in a row to start their second Phase which was a new turn for them. Besides Iron Man 2 , every MCU film had been an original film typically introducing a new character. Now in general, sequels are tricky because they are trying to recapture what was successful about a previous film because to warrant a sequel the previous film would generally be well-liked. A common struggle for sequels is trying to balance elements from the first film and still introducing new things. This brings us to Thor the Dark World.
Like with basically all of the MCU before about 2017, I have a lot of nostalgia for this film. I was 11 when it came out and I saw it in theatres with my family and enjoyed it quite a bit. I mean, after all, it was a new Thor movie so I was hyped. Upon getting the DVD it joined the cycle of MCU movies that I would watch on rotation during a rainy day or when I was sick. As more and more films got released, I did find that I was coming back to this one less than I used to.
It wasn’t until recently that I started to wonder why that was. In the past four years, I have rewatched this film twice and a couple of things struck me. For one, I think this film is way over-hated. The amount of people who talk about it like it’s one of the worst films ever is crazy. Since starting this website I have watched movies much worse than this one. I know it’s not high on many people’s MCU rankings and honestly, it’s not high on mine either but it isn’t as bad as some people say. Secondly, with that being said this film is a bit dull.

Like upon rewatch, this film goes through real peaks and valleys. For the first 10-15 minutes I am engaged and then slowly my mind wanders. Until Thor grabs Jane and takes her to Asgard where I lose my focus up until the prison break and Frigga gets killed. Then I am well engaged up through when they get back to Earth. The final battle is all right, but certainly not one of the better ones in Marvel’s catalogue. The best part of this film for me is easily Loki.
Just every scene that he is in has so much charm and wit, Tom Hiddleston is amazing. Plus, we get to see him working with Thor for a change and their banter is so awesome. The best sequence in the film is when Thor breaks Loki out of prison and they have to flee Asgard. The action and the energy in that fast-paced chase really make it all come alive and it just is my favourite scene in the movie.
Even with the negatives of this film, Chris Hemsworth is not one of them. He still does a great job as Thor and his performance is consistent with his previous two appearances. The character’s big growth and change comes in the next few films. Here Thor is honestly kind of tired. Ever since Thor and The Avengers,Thor has been cleaning up the 9 realms and ending many wars and battles.
At the same time while he wants to continue being the hero and living up to his duty he also wants to be with Jane. Speaking of which Jane, Natalie Portman is back and she gets to go to Asgard this time. It’s cool seeing her interact with this more mystical world as she is such a woman of science. The last good thing I want to mention is some of the future MCU setup done in this film. I liked how they started discussing the infinity stones that’s true importance wouldn’t be relevant until 2018 so that was good worldbuilding.
After now talking about what I did like let’s move on to my negatives. The first one isn’t as big as the others but I just think Darcy and Selvig are fun characters but their scenes in this film were not as enjoyable as in the first. Up until the third act, their scenes consist of walking around London and talking. Half of the time they are discussing things we already know from the other plotline so it’s just not as interesting the second time around.
My second negative is that the action in this movie feels pretty boring in comparison to the first film. I just feel that besides the escape from Asgard, most of the action feels like standard Lord of the Rings fantasy battles with no real creative weapons or fight styles. My biggest negative for this film is that it has the most dull villain in the entire MCU. Like I know that the MCU sometimes gets flack for its villains not being as well-defined as its heroes.

Honestly, though, who remembers anything that Malekith says? Like he’s no Loki or Obidiah Stain, I mean he’s not even Whiplash from Iron Man 2. I don’t even blame the actor necessarily because the character has nothing to do. For most of the movie, he just stands around talking. He’s not that physically imposing so when he does fight he doesn’t really stand a chance even with the Aether. Even in 2024 with like 35 movies and 10 TV shows, Malekith is still just the weakest villain and that makes a lot of the movie less memorable. Like I barely remember the scenes where it is just him.
So all in all, this might be one of the low points in the MCU. It may not be their greatest box office or critical success though it is not their biggest failure either. It is simply an average movie with dull moments and some fun moments. It is not one I watch all the time but I am content to revisit it every now and again when I am doing a rewatch. So check it out and tell me what you think!