ADVENTURE; 1hr 51min
STARRING: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston
If I had a hammer… Hemsworth
As it should be, the Marvel Comics legend of Norse god Thor (Hemsworth) is at once hefty and preposterous. But to cut to the chase: with peace restored to the Nine Realms and Thor’s worrying adopted brother, Loki (Hiddleston, twinkling evilly), in an upscale prison, the hunky one should be kicking back with a brewski. But nope. Bad juju and combustible visual effects are afoot, with the unspeakable Dark Elves leader, Malekith (Eccleston), descending on planet Asgard with the disagreeable plan of wrecking everything by unleashing dark force Aether and hurling the universe into pitch-blackness. Hiss!
Malekith has dead-fish eyes and the personality of a gravedigger. “I would have what is mine,” he furiously intones. Of course he would! Has he reckoned on Thor, King Odin (Hopkins), Thor’s battle-ready father, or plucky astrophysicist Jane Foster (Portman)? Not as such.
Go, Asgard! With Thor and Loki forced to band together, the outcome would be dicey in any cosmos but this. Fans will get off on director Alan Taylor's showy bone-crunching — plus, when they’re not busy slaying, these dudes can be a hoot. Mostly, though, slaying is pretty much It. After all, there are worlds to be saved.
