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Thor returns in 'The Dark World'


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SALT LAKE CITY — Since last we hung out with our friend Thor, he's been a busy guy.

Fighting on behalf of Asgard, the hammer-wielding God has brought peace to the seven realms, much to the pleasure of dear old dad, Odin. The king too has been busy relegating his wayward adopted son, Loki, to an eternity in the lower dungeons for rebellion and numerous treasons. Plus, the aging king seems very concerned about succession to his throne and always seems ready to retire.

Ah, but all is not as peaceful as it seems.

Odin's father won a long-fought war with the Dark Elves, the guys that have a hang up with light and with a super-power they called the aether. The goal was to suck all the light from the universe. Odin's dad found that the aether could not be destroyed so they deep-sixed it so as to never be found again.

OK, this is where, finally, Earthlings come in. Poor old Thor — despite his victories and glory, has been moping around Asgard pining away for Jane Foster, the lovely scientist he left behind during his last foray to Earth. Odin reminds him that mortals have a short shelf-life and where's the future? But, alas it's a matter of the heart.

Well, the fates come in to play when — and I can't go into all the details or adequately explain this, because frankly I don't get it — but Jane ends up being the host of the aether, and everything resets as the seven realms come into alignment. The Dark Elves are back on the loose, we bounce back and forth between worlds and realms and my head started to spin.

Even good old Loki gets a new lease on life while others do not.

Soon, I discovered that I just needed to roll with it and not over-think it. I'm sure that the true comic aficionados have insights and clarity that your humble critic can only dream of.


The film is entertaining. It's fun to have all of the great characters back and all do a great job.

I will say that the film is entertaining. It's fun to have all of the great characters back and all do a great job, especially Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He is diabolically delightful.

And then, we have the special effects, which are simply superb, bordering on overwhelming.

Remember my formula for a successful sequel: characters we love with new developments, new characters that add to the story, and it must be able to stand on its own even if you haven't seen the preceding movie. Well, two out of three ain't bad. "The Dark World" falls short on standing on its own.

Basically, I was entertained by "Thor: The Dark World" and I'm giving it 3 stars. It's rated PG-13.

By the way, don't leave during the credits because you'll miss not one, but two embedded "final" scenes.

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Doug Wright

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