As the film opens we learn that eons ago Odin (Anthony Hopkins)'s father Bor (Tony Curran) battled Malekith The Accursed (Christopher Eccleston), the ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim who sought to destroy the universe using a weapon called the Aether. After conquering Malekith's forces, including enhanced warriors called the Kursed, on their home world of Svartalfheim, Bor safeguards the Aether within a stone column. Unbeknownst to him, Malekith, his lieutenant Algrim (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and a handful of Dark Elves escape and are put into suspended animation.
In present-day Asgard, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stands imprisoned for his war crimes on Earth as depicted in The Avengers.
Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and warriors Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Zachary Levi taking over for Josh Dallas) fight off marauders on Vanaheim, home of their comrade Hogun (Tadanobu Asano); it is the final battle in a war to pacify the Nine Realms following the reconstruction of Bifrost Bridge aka "Rainbow Bridge" between realms, which had been destroyed two years earlier--as depicted in the first Thor film .
In London, astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster's (Natalie Portman) intern, Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), now with her own intern, Ian (Jonathan Howard), takes Jane to an abandoned factory where objects have started to contradict the laws of physics and disappear into thin air. Separating from the others, Jane is teleported to another world, where she is infected by the Aether.
The Asgardians learn that the Convergence, a rare alignment of the Nine Realms, is imminent; as the event approaches, portals linking the worlds appear at random. Heimdall (Idris Elba) tells Thor about Jane's recent disappearance, leading Thor to search for her. When she inadvertently releases an unearthly force, he takes her to Asgard. There, Asgardian healers say they do not know how to treat her. Odin, recognizing the Aether, warns Jane's infection will kill her given enough time, and that the Aether's return heralds a catastrophic prophecy. Malekith, awakened by the Aether's release...
Director Alan Taylor puts his skills calling action on "Game of Thrones" to excellent use here. The film is perfectly paced--The script by "Saving Private Ryan" scribe Robert Rodat Christopher Yost Christopher Markus Stephen McFeely and Don Payne with an assist from Joss Whedon--provides for plenty of comic book movie spectacle that is fun to watch. The script has a good deal of asgardian lore that it has to cover. Taylor and the writers do a fine job explaining that stuff to ensure that any novice going in will be able to follow what's going on. It's no small feat to balance heavy exposition while never allowing the film to get bogged down. Bravo.
Hemsworth and Portman pick up right where they left off from the first film as far as the chemistry thing goes. Just as Hemsworth is Thor...Hiddleston is Loki--the bad boy you love rooting for. No one spouts Asgarsian lore and philosophy quite like Sir Hopkins can. It was great seeing Thor's mom (Rene Russo ) take center stage at one point. I enjoyed Dennings and the return of Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) as they welcomed Howard on to the team.
Just like Iron Man Three before it--Thor 2 takes a few serious turns--but things never stay that way forever--Hello Man of Steel--I am talking to you--As much as the demi-god is tested here the filmmakers understand how these films operate and that these films should be fun escapist entertainment that strives for realism. Not the other way around.
A quick aside to talk about composer Brian Tyler's score in the film, it's just fantastic, a must own if you are into music from film.
Thor 2 is a great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A film that can be enjoyed by fanboys and novice alike. It's the right concoction of action theatrics humor and heightened realism. A must see.
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