Thor: The Dark World

Man, I've really gotta break this pattern of reviewing movies a week after they're released. I blame the doldrums between horror season and the holiday Oscar/Baby Blockbuster push; it's hard to get fired up to go to the movies when you're staring down the likes of Last Vegas and Free Birds (tag line: Hang onto your Nuggets!). I crave man-sized action flicks AT ALL TIMES, and the winter's lean on that front. Fortunately, Marvel Studios stepped up this month to deliver some explosions/space combat, of the most handsome variety.

Your personal God of Thunder, ladies. 

None of the post Iron Man Marvel movies have been bad. Some have been excellent. Others have been serviceable to OK fluff. Thor: The Dark World  is definitely in the latter category. Watching it is like eating a reasonably sized bag of Doritos: it's fun (without crossing into mind blowing) as long as you don't think too hard about it. 

If all you're paying attention to is the cheesy, crunchy goodness, then you'll enjoy a few better than average battle sequences (Heimdall stabs a spaceship to *death*!), looking at all the pretty people (which Thor movies are chock full of), and more than a couple of decent jokes, because Loki is fucking sassy, you guys. It'll be a fine time.

If you're inclined to dig a little deeper, you might notice the movie's borderline total irrelevance in the Marvel Universe's overall plot progression, which is firmly at the center of The Avengers and the Captain America movies, or the writing, which is staggeringly lazy in a few spots. I accept that some convenience is required to make a movie work. I do not accept that if you transport yourself to a (supposedly random) point on an alien planet, and that planet has one spot of dimensional convergence with Earth, that will you just happen to stumble into the exact cave said spot exists in. You'll understand this complaint if you see the movie.

In the end, though, the dumb doesn't really detract from Thor: The Dark World. It's still pretty and a ton of fun. You just can't expect too much from it. It has a job to do, and it does it well, but in terms of cinematic weight, it's near the bottom of the Marvel cannon, which still makes it a lot better than any new Superman movie.

Directed By: Alan "I did 6 episodes of motherfucking Game of Thrones which is really all you need to know about me" Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Nathalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Hannible Lecter

You Should see it if: $5-$10 is not a big deal to you and you wanna see Thor wreck some face. Or think he's sexy.