Writer: Dzamira Dzafri

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Watch this if you liked: "Thor", "The Avengers" and "Captain America".

Sequels usually don't bode well but the case is very different when it comes to any Marvel film. Their stories will capture your attention and their characters will stick in your heads because, well, they're comic superheroes! Who wouldn't want to see a movie about comic book superheroes these days?

While "Thor: The Dark World" is nothing short of a spectacle to see in theatres, some of the plotline can be described as a little bit dull. After the tremendous high of "The Avengers" and even "Iron Man 3", Thor's story the second time around wasn't as entertaining, nor did it really give us the feel that it affected the Marvel Universe as a whole, and that's what we felt like it needed.

Though the plotline can be a little poorer than when it is compared to the first film, the second one didn't lose its charm and personality and that is where the film shined most of all. It had the same brotherly banter from Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), and it can get more fun and violent as time passes which is all most of the audience has ever asked for in "Thor: The Dark World".

And this brings us to the highlight of the film, as there is no denying that Tom Hiddleston's Loki stood out from the rest. His playful trickster personality and his character that is often described in comics can be seen at its full glory in "Thor: The Dark World", but that's not all that he can be seen doing. Hiddleston brings a lot of heart and grief into the character, and it is difficult not to sympathize with the villainous brother who more than once tried to ruin worlds.

The artistic impressions and the designs of the 'bad guys' were also very impressive, along with the sceneries, costumes and set designs of the whole film. Most of the bad guys, or the 'Dark Elves' looked like they were plucked from "Fantastic Planet" and Christopher Eccleston who played the evil Malekith also had a strong design and the almost cartoonish designs really came to life.

As for the mortals, Natalie Portman expectedly played her character well and it didn't seem like her character was just there to be Thor's love interest which is good because it kept her character from being too one-dimensional. Kat Dennings was given an even bigger part to play as Darcy compared to the first film, and she shone possibly brighter than Portman herself! Stellan Skarsgard also reprised his role as Erik Selvig and his role was funnier and accurate after what he had experienced in the last film!

Another great advantage of this film is that they have so many brilliant actors and characters and it is a wonder how they were able to fit all of them and have enough screen time. Zachary Levi replaces Josh Dallas in the role of Fandral in "Thor", Idris Elba of "Luther" and "Pacific Rim" reprises his role as Heimdall and was given a cooler part to play, and even Sif played by Jamie Alexander was given a lot more personality. The only disadvantage to so much screen time for the minor characters was that the story needed more juice and it felt like it ended too quickly.

It might not be as up to par as the first movie, "Thor: The Dark World" held its own and it is a definite must watch for fans of Marvel for great cameos (oh yes!), Thor and Loki dialogues and for anybody else who just wants to have a good time at the cinema.


Cinema Online, 31 October 2013