'Thor: The Dark World' has lost the spark of the original
Like so many comic book epics these days, Alan Taylor鈥檚 3-D 鈥�Thor: The Dark World鈥� is both monumental and generic. Since I鈥檓 not a fanboy of the franchise, I鈥檓 at a disadvantage here. It matters little to me whether Thor (Chris Hemsworth) rescues Earth and all nine 鈥� count 'em 鈥� realms. Frankly, I was kind of rooting for his scurvy brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to carry the day.
As their brooding patriarch Odin, Anthony Hopkins is still trying, as he did in 鈥淭hor,鈥� to lend Shakespearean gravity to kiddie kitsch. At least that first film in the series, directed by Kenneth Branagh, had some gusto and, in the New York scenes, a comic edge. The earthbound scenes here, in which Thor once again literally sweeps Natalie Portman鈥檚 Jane Foster off her feet, are less original.
My favorite moment in the movie: Astrophysicist Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) insisting on wearing only his underwear because he says he thinks better that way. Hey, whatever works. Grade: C+ (Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content.)
