Thor: The Dark World rolled out into theaters this weekend, dominated the box office and is proving to be more successful than the first Thor in a post Avengers world. Marvel films tend to spur more critical talk back than most big tent pole films and Thor: The Dark World is no exception.
First off, over at Badass Digest, Meredith Borders takes a look at the film and its ability to be the rare comic book film that passes the Bechdel Test:
“So while I wish I could say it’s no big deal that Thor 2 passes the Bechdel Test, it is a big deal. And while that film and so many others could do a much better job of offering complex female characters with agency and independent motivations, the bar is still so low that all we can do is acknowledge and appreciate the films that at least make the attempt.”
Borders goes on to find, valid, further merits of the film’s female characters as the piece is more of a celebration of the women of Thor: The Dark World than that quote would lead you on to believe. It’s a great read that shouldn’t be necessary in this day and age, but I think it speaks to why Thor is more successful with women viewers than most comic book films.
Film.com has a piece from Jordan Hoffman, arguing why Thor: The Dark World is the nerdiest superhero film yet:
“The movie “Thor: The Dark World” rules (in spite of what Film.com’s official review might have you believe) because of its relentless, gleeful nerdery. It is among the dweebiest things to play in a metroplex and for mainstream audiences in this or any other Multiverse.”
Hoffman goes on at length supporting his argument quite convincingly, going all the way through the film to its second credits stinger. My favorite argument, that the mere inclusion of Chris O’Dowd counts as a check mark on the film’s nerd cred. A very fun read from the entertaining Hoffman.
Katey Rich gets in on the fun at Cinemablend as she uses Loki’s role in three of the last five Marvel films to accurately point out that they might have a villain problem:
“It’s clear that Marvel realized they had something special in Hiddleston after the first Thor, bending over backwards to make him the primary antagonist in The Avengers (he needed a huge army of poorly defined CGI aliens to be a half-decent foe) and adding extra scenes with the trickster god during reshoots for Thor: The Dark World. It probably took all the restraint they had not to bring him back for Avengers: The Age of Ultron, but that restraint may be the only thing that saves them going forward. Loki is the best antagonist the Marvel Cinematic Universe has by far. He’s also the only antagonist who’s worth a damn. And that’s going to be a problem if it doesn’t change.”
Rich makes some great points on the wasted potential of the Murderer’s Row of actors that have stepped into villain roles in Marvel films and I agree with her that Marvel might be on the right track. I feel like she missed a big point in not mentioning Thanos is just around the corner as the new big bad, and I feel like James Spader, as Ultron in Avengers 2, seems more like a one off villain. Also, for all of the talk about moving on from Loki, I think Thor: The Dark World leaves the character in the perfect place going forward for the Thor and Marvel franchises. It even sets him up to be a potential major death at the hands of Thanos to establish him as Marvels new cinematic universe villain.
