थॉर:द डार्क वर्ल्ड

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. This sequel is one such moment. I do need to see it again. In terms of pure enjoy-ability, I put it top 3 of all sequels that I have enjoyed.

What I really liked...

-Every single character gets a moment to shine and every single actor cast in these parts are perfect.

-The comedy is perfect. It's such a fine balance overall and everything works because it's very subtle and fits in with certain circumstances.

-Some very tender emotional scenes. I won't spoil anything with specifics.

-Some superb action and what could very well be award winning special effects.

-All characters interactions are great and handled very well. This is a fantasy story that really cares about character first and it shows all the way through. Even Natalie Portman's Jane feel more fleshed out than she did in the original film.

-The set pieces and other realms talked about in the first are seen here and are beautiful and well done. Asgard was even better believe it or not.

-The mid-credit and end credit scenes, both cool. Make sure you stay for both.

Marvel hit a pure home run with this endeavor. This film works because of the great cast and the fact that they took this subject matter seriously but remember to have fun. Chris Hemsworth was again perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

The acting was solid. The production value was superb. Everything else was really poor.

The back story and character motivations are laughably sparse. Most of the characters are completely one-dimensional, with the possible exception of Loki. The plot is the most boring and typical of all action plots - some "bad dudes who happen to be really ugly" decide to "destroy the world for no reason other than being evil" and "only our hero can save us all", etc. Moreover, it was lazy writing - whenever an absolute miracle needed to happen, it conveniently did, every time.

Of course this is a mindless blockbuster Marvel movie so we shouldn't expect much. But the thing is that these kinds of films CAN be made with a reasonable plot, pacing, and character development. The writers were obviously just going through the motions to cash in on the surefire moneymaker sequel, and from a business perspective it is hard to fault them. But it says a lot about the sad state of Hollywood in 2013 that this film currently has a 7.7 on IMDb.

Infinitely better than the first (which I liked) because of better action, humor and emotion. All those people who were worried about Thor being underpowered are going to be pleased. The effects are wonderful and it is indeed a very funny and a very moving movie in places. I'm happy to report that neither factor is overused or gets in the way of the feel or story. It's the right amount of humor and right amount of angst. Cinematography is great and the score is amazing. Whoever scored this film should do so for the rest of the Marvel movies in my opinion.

I knew they would nail the pathos but was pleasantly surprised by the creative fight sequences. They are phenomenal. Not overly long but when they rage, THEY RAGE. Also, Kurse can rival the Hulk in terms of scary power. He was better utilized than the Destroyer was in the first film. Loki is the scene stealer that was all hoped to see! Jane and Sif add more than eye candy but you would expect no less from Marvel. Hemsworth has cemented his legend as Thor with this effort. My only real disappointed is a minor one. They didn't really show the nine realms in any real detail. It seemed a cop out that hey're just open landscapes. Yet, maybe they didn't want to commit to anything for future movies.

Overall, this is a wonderful movie and maybe Marvel's best solo film.

Well I was so looking forward to seeing this movie when I went last night, and although it was reasonably good it was not at all what I expected.

Watch the official movie trailer and you see what looks like quite a dark fantasy, so you can imagine my surprise when throughout the movie the audience was laughing out loud at the stupid one liners. Yes I know this is entertainment, and this movie was moderately entertaining, but once again the makers have tried to please everyone by adding a bit of everything; action, special effects, romance and humour, just far too much of the latter for my taste in a genre that does not require hilarity to succeed.

Although it has a lower IMDb score I much preferred the 2011 Thor, a stronger storyline, darker and no laughing matter!

Is this a huge stepup from the original "Thor" movie. No, unfortunately not. Is it another watchable, fun superhero movie; yes, definitely. It's a really good movie and if we look at the way Alan Taylor directs this movie, it's actually not that much different from what Branagh did back in 2011. Chris Hemsworth is good as usual and Tom Hiddleston is more wonderful than ever as Loki, but the villain Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston, unfortunately, is a bit of a disappointment, mostly because of the lack of motivation.