Thor The Dark World: Journey into the Nine Realms

One of the best things about Thor was its ability to poke fun at the superhero genre whilst simultaneously delivering a spectacular superhero movie. Thor has always been a tricky superhero because he's already a God, not just some schlub who got bitten by a radioactive spider or injected with super serum and decided to save the world. Fortunately, the people in charge of the Thor franchise know how to mine the laughs when this Norse God finds himself surrounded by bewildered humans and needs to save the day yet again.

In Thor: The Dark World, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) hasn't been back to Earth since the events of The Avengers. His father, Odin, has commissioned him to vanquish evil throughout the Nine Realms while his trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been imprisoned in Asgard for causing all that trouble in New York. Once peace descends on the Realms, Odin thinks it's high time Thor took over the Kingdom. But our hero is pining for him human lady love, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and can't take much interest in the Asgardian revels. When he discovers that Jane might be in trouble, he grabs his hammer, flies down to Earth, and sets off on another inter-dimensional adventure. 

The plot involves numerous pseudoscientific details and mythological backstories that I won't cover here. Suffice to say, Jane has accidentally come into contact with a weapon that could obliterate all the Realms and Thor has to unwillingly team up with Loki to defeat both the weapon and the Dark Elves who seek to wield it. As a result, Jane gets to travel to Asgard and meet her boyfriend's parents, leaving her scientist colleagues behind. These colleagues consist of the reliably hilarious intern, Darcy (Kat Dennings) who has hired a new intern for herself, and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), Jane's mentor who continues to in trouble with the authorities for his rather unorthodox behavior. Like the original Thor movie, these weirdos provide much of the comic relief  on Earth when the movie gets too heavy with Asgardian drama and action. 

As with any superhero movie, there are high stakes, dark moments, and deaths. Action sequences abound as Thor travels into multiple realms and battles all manner of bizarre creatures. But Chris Hemsworth brings both brains and considerable brawn to the show and makes Thor a relatable and engaging hero to root for. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is still just as devious, sarcastic, and charming as ever and Natalie Portman's Jane gets to use her substantial intellect to play more than just a hapless heroine. And anytime the movie looks in danger of taking itself too seriously, the writers have injected some witty banter or a one-liner to continue the light and breezy tone of this franchise. There are also some incredible cameos from well-known actors (both from inside and outside the Marvel universe) who are guaranteed to make the audience cheer and chuckle. 

Thor: The Dark World features a well-rounded cast, a solid script, and the perfect balance of heroics and hilarity. The special effects are still dazzling, and director Alan Taylor has worked hard to make Asgard feel a bit more "lived-in" and realistic this time around. We might be inundated with superhero movies these days, but as long as the people in charge of Thor continue to place as much emphasis on comedy as on action, I will happily follow his adventures for many years to come.