We are getting pretty close to the end of April, which means we are getting pretty close to Age of Ultron. I already have my ticket to see it on Friday evening in IMAX 3D. I’ll be going with my brother, J. Leonard Dietz, also known as The 90s Kid. I can’t wait to see it. This also means I need to wrap up my Revisiting the MCU series here pretty quickly. The good news is today I am reviewing Thor: The Dark World,  which means I only have a couple more left. In fact, this has been the stretch of films I have been waiting for while doing this project. Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy may just be my three favorite MCU films.

Thor: TDW is just a lot of fun. It was everything the first Thor film should have been. Full of action and great, massive battles, while maintaining its wit and charm. I loved it. The story was great, and it introduces us to another Thor bad guy not named Loki. The dark elves are a staple in the Thor comics, so it was great to see them on film. Male kith, the leader of the dark elves, was just masterfully played by Christopher Eccleston, even though I couldn’t help but hope he might sneak a “fantastic” in there somewhere. It was also fun to see the relationship between Thor and Loki continue to develop. It is a complex relationship, where Thor continuously tries to trust and forgive Loki, while Loki continues to give him every reason not to. Loki sitting on the throne of Asgard, I’m sure, will have something to do with Ragnarok coming.

We also get to see our favorite misfit band of scientists as they continue to study whatever it is that happens whenever the Rainbow Bridge connects to Earth. Dr. Selvig has apparently all but lost his mind, or more accurately, maybe he never got it all back after the New York incident. Jane is still looking for Thor, and is quite upset when she finds him, slapping him in the face twice! Not too upset, though, that she won’t let him take her back to his place. Of course, part of that has to do with the Aether being in her body, selecting her as its host. The Aether, course, is one of the Infinity gems or stones, or whatever, except it is neither a stone nor a gem. It’s a liquid. This is our first glimpse of one of the 6 Infinity stones not called the Tesseract. This is where we find out that Marvel’s powers that be are really taking us down a path leading to the Infinity War.

Overall, I felt like this film was well written, and well performed. The actors all did a great job, and the whole thing really came together. I feel like Thor’s character progresses, realizing that he doesn’t want to be king, instead he just wants to be with Jane, regardless of how short his time with her will be. We also see Loki continue to develop more and more into a man who is obsessed with gaining power any way he can get it. Loki will stop at nothing until he has a kingdom to rule over, and then he probably still won’t stop. The story of Thor is moving closer to Ragnarok. Odin, we assume, is dead. Fridge is dead. Loki is left in power, and Thor is busy fleeing to Earth to be with Jane. All of this will add up to trouble back in Asgard, and I have a feeling it will spill over into Midgard. Just call it a hunch.

One of the best parts of watching Thor this last weekend has to do with this photo:

This is my middle daughter, Lucy. And what I did not know prior to this screening of Thor: The Dark World, is that my two older girls, Eliza and Lucy, love Thor. I knew Thor was Eliza’s favorite, and when we said we were watching Thor after dinner, she got very excited about it, even a little red in the cheeks. My wife and I joked about it being her first crush, as much a 6-year-old can have a crush. We had no idea, though, that Lucy was so attached to Thor. When she saw what movie we were watching, she went into our toys and found a 12″ Thor figure that we have and brought it over and sat with me in my chair to watch the movie. She was pretty proud of herself and excited as she sat there with Thor in her hand and Thor on the screen. This photo was taken just after Eliza stole Thor from Lucy. She was devastated. As you can see, i am not exaggerating. It got to the point where we had to have the two of them taking turns with the figure so they wouldn’t fight, and even that didn’t work. It would appear that two of Chris Hemsworth’s biggest fans happen to live at my house, and they may be two of his youngest. As a fan of the comics and the superhero movies, part of me was pleased with their choice for a crush. As a father, I am nowhere near ready for this kind of behavior. This is why the grey in my beard has been increasing lately.

What did you think of Thor: The Dark World?  Did it live up to your expectations, or was it not one of your favorites? Let me know in the comments. We love to hear from you. Check back later this week as we revisit Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Jake Dietz

the geeky mormon

Jake Dietz is a father, husband, Latter-day Saint, movie lover, and all around geek. He considers himself a member of many fandoms including The Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson, The Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Star Trek, Star Wars, and many, many more. If it has a good story, Jake is interested in it.