I never thought I’d blog about another comic book movie since my post on Man of Steel. But I actually found another movie that far surpasses Man of Steel in terms of enjoyability. Perhaps not as deep in subject matter as Man of Steel but far more enjoyable. I’m talking of course, of Thor: The Dark World.
There are many things to talk about Thor: The Dark World, but mainly it’s the feeling I get from watching it. I never got into Thor comics, but as a kid, I loved Norse mythology a lot. I read many times over, simplified versions of the Prose Edda. While the first movie did depict Asgard for a bit, it was too brief. In this movie, we get a much larger picture of the mythology. The Yggdrasil was depicted!!!! I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw those little nods to Norse myth (in the first movie it was Sleipnir that caught my attention). It brought me back to when I first read the Prose Edda as a child. The visuals brought me back to when I was 4 – I saw Star Wars for the first time.
In fact, Thor: The Dark World is very much a space opera akin to Star Wars. I was well and truly entertained. It was light, it was fun. It was really really fun. It’s one of those movies like The Avengers or Star Wars where you can just play over and over again.
I walked away from the theatre thinking of two things:
- I want a movie about Norse myth. Make it a bit heavy. No good Norse mythology films have ever been made (no you will NOT mention that shitty Beowulf movie starring Angelina Jolie). Technically Thor and Thor: The Dark World counts, but it’s quite tied to the comic book universe and indeed (“shall I talk about truth, justice, patriotism? God bless America”), quite tied to Earth. No, I want to see Loki releasing Fenrir and letting the ragnarok happen. I want to see humans being puny humans, and nothing more than small side issues to the gods. I want to see full on Viking gods with magic and majesty.
- Jamie Alexander as Wonder Woman. Stat. That scene in Vanaheim sold me that she is Wonder Woman.
If you ever only watch one movie this year, make it Thor: The Dark World.