Bathos–a word associated with the sensation one gets when, upon opening a tasty looking bag of chips, one finds that bag is miraculously 75% air. This is not to say that Marvel’s newest installment is disappointing; however, there are more unexpected elements present than the expected. How so, you ask? To begin, the audience is given a vague notion of the main villain’s tool of reckoning– lest things get complicated—and over fed Marvel-niche humor that glosses over moments that should stick with viewers and once again the story jumps back seat and the running time lends itself to colorful personalities and gags and not, you know, the treatment of the plot.
Thor picks up, just like Iron Man 3, after the events of The Avengers. Thor’s mischievous brother Loki, god of sass, has returned to their home realm Asgard under lock and key as punishment for trying to enslave the human race. As usual, their father Odin isn’t having any of his mess and promptly tells him to shut up and go sit in a corner to think about what he has done. But that just happens to be subplot, what the movie is really hinged on is the return of an ancient evil and Thor and gang’s wacky race against time to stop it from destroying humanity.
Chris Eccleston’s (Doctor Who) Malekith is sadly and surprisingly usurped in favor of other elements and becomes background noise in a story that should be about the looming threat of his return. He seems to want something and that something is to simply make the world dark. Why is he here again? Why should we care? Loki should not have been a more present opposing force. I wanted more from him as an aristocratic and superior villain and that more, I’m guessing, was cut in the editing room.
Now in its second phase, there are two things that have become synonymous with Marvel movies—end credit scenes and humor. Both of which it happily supplies. Despite the implied malevolence, Thor is neither tonally or visually serious as the trailer suggests. Where the humor hits its mark is with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston’s brotherly squabbling and the barely clothed Selvig gags, but is often hard to swallow when a character has just died. Sometimes it is better to just let the comedy breathe.
Where the first outing lacked in atmosphere and depth, this one definitely made up for it. It is absolutely character and special FX driven. One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was an invasion scene that felt oddly reminiscent of Star Wars and the battle of Hogwarts. In the same vein, the effects can be used for the greater good, too. There is one funeral scene that is particularly gorgeous and moving and is undoubtly one of the highlights in this cluttered film. In fact, the person sitting beside me, who had begun to fall asleep through much of the beginning, woke up to whisper their approval and decided to stay awake for the rest. If you can get just one movie goer to stay awke, you have done your job.
Do not take these criticisms for hatred. Thor, as a whole, was light-hearted and enjoyable as both a family movie and a comic book movie. In the end, I walked away with a lot more questions than answers—which is not necessarily a bad thing—a renewed sense of exhaustion towards Jane Foster, an ignited interest in Guardians of the Galaxy (per the mid-credits scene) and knowledge of the fact that Marvel has changed its logo. Bravo Marvel, you have pleased us.
Zhana Johnson
Features Correspondent