By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
Thor (Chis Hemsworth) wields a mighty hammer.
The second one is way better than the first. I have this on good authority, as I didn’t see 2011’s “Thor” with its dual directors Kenneth Branagh and Joss Whedon.
“Thor: The Dark World,” straight out of the Marvel comic book studios, has no less a figure than television’s shooting star Alan Taylor (six episodes in “Game of Thrones,” four episodes of “Mad Men”) in charge.
The whole gang of actors is back from the original “Thor”: Chris Hemsworth in the title role, Tom Hiddleston as gallactically evil Loki, Anthony Hopkins as their father Odin, Natalie Portman as good girl scientist Jane Foster, Kat Dennings as Kate the intern Darcy Lewis and Stellan Skarsgard as the eccentric scientist Erik Selvig.
While Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth gets the most descriptive adjectives from movie reviewers, what makes “Dark World” work is its sweeping special effects filled with one rolling interstellar art work after another.
The concepts are so massive, the fantastical vistas so beyond human scale, “Dark World” actually does begin to feel like a space opera where everything isn’t just out of this world, but out of the universe.
A basic plot of sibling rivalry taken to the level of pure good versus moral rot makes the tangled strings of special effects easier to follow, even as they leap back and forth through worm holes connecting New York to strange worlds held together with fanciful mythology.
Also working nicely is the balance between comic book comedy and the warrior tension of explosive conflict. Those who love the genre will find plenty to love here. As escapist fare for others only tangentially involved with reality, there is also plenty to feed on.
And with the right partner, going to see “Dark World” could be a satisfying date night.
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