Thor: The Dark World

Chris Hemsworth Director: Alan Taylor Alan Taylor

Overview

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to do battle with Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), the vengeful leader of a primordial race that seeks to destroy the Nine Realms, in this big-budget comic-book adventure set after the events of Marvel's The Avengers. With even Odin (Anthony Hopkins) unable to protect Asgard from the approaching darkness, the god of thunder reunites with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the world from certain destruction. Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, and Tadanobu Asano co-star.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/25/2014
UPC:	0786936839500
Original Release:	2013
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	2,455

Special Features

Exclusive look - Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier - take a spectacular first look at the highly anticipated new Captain America feature film and a mysterious enemy from the past... the Winter Soldier!; Deleted scene

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chris Hemsworth	Thor
Natalie Portman	Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston	Loki
Stellan Skarsgård	Dr. Erik Selvig
Idris Elba	Heimdall
Christopher Eccleston	Malekith
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	Algrim the Strong/Kurse
Kat Dennings	Darcy
Ray Stevenson	Volstagg
Zachary Levi	Fandral
Tadanobu Asano	Hogun
Jaimie Alexander	Sif
Rene Russo	Frigga
Anthony Hopkins	Odin
Alice Krige	Eir
Clive Russell	Tyr
Jonathan Howard	Ian Boothby
Ramone Morgan	John
Obada Alassadi	Navid
Imaan Chentouf	Maddie
Claire Brown	Volstagg's Wife
Henry Calcutt	Volstagg's Child #1
Ava Estella Caton	Volstagg's Child #2
Abbie McCann	Volstagg's Child #3
Thomas Arnold	Desk Officer
Sam Swainsbury	Stonehenge TV News Reporter
Connor Donaghey	Sad Child
Royce Pierreson	Student
Annabel Norbury	Woman on Platform
Sophie Cosson	Wench #1
Chris O'Dowd	Richard
Justin Edwards	Police Officer #1
Gruffudd Glyn	Police Officer #2
Richard Brake	Einherjar Lietenant
Stan Lee	Himself
Steve Scott	Himself
Brett Tucker	Einherjar Guard
Talulah Riley	Nurse
Richard Wharton	Asylum Patient

Technical Credits

Christopher Markus

Stephen McFeely

Christopher Yost

Alan Taylor	Director
Victoria Alonso	Executive Producer
Thomas Brown	Art Director
Conrad Buff	Editor
Carter Burwell	Score Composer
Jamie Christopher	Asst. Director
Jordan Crockett	Art Director
Louis D'Esposito	Executive Producer
Kevin Feige	Producer
Alan Fine	Executive Producer
Sarah Halley Finn	Casting
Nigel Gostelow	Executive Producer
Arni Hansson	Production Manager
Malcolm Jamieson	Editor
Dave Jordan	Musical Direction/Supervision
Sophia Knight	Makeup
Craig Kyle	Executive Producer
Dan Lebental	Editor
Stan Lee	Executive Producer
Christopher Markus	Screenwriter
Ruheene Masand	Production Manager
Andrew McEvoy	Animator
Stephen McFeely	Screenwriter
Kramer Morgenthau	Cinematographer
Wendy Partridge	Costumes/Costume Designer
Don Payne	Original Story
Matthew Robinson	Art Director
Robert Rodat	Original Story
Wyatt Smith	Editor
Nicholas St.Clair	Animator
Mike Stallion	Art Director
Mark Swain	Art Director
Brian Tyler	Score Composer
Charles Wood	Production Designer
Christopher Yost	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Thor: The Dark World
1. Prologue
2. The Nine Realms at Peace
3. Strange Happening in London
4. The Aether Awakens
5. Welcome to Asgard
6. Last of the Kursed
7. Attack on Asgard
8. We Are Not Immortal
9. Desperate Times
10. Escape From Asgard
11. Brothers in Arms
12. Return to the Dark World
13. Follow the Signs
14. Thor Vs. Malekith Vs. the Convergence
15. The Aether Unleashed
16. Born to Be a King
17. End Credits

Menu

Disc #1 -- Thor: The Dark World
   English
      Play
      Bonus Features
         Exclusive Look - Captain American: The Winter Soldier
         Deleted Scene - Jane Learns About the Aether
      Scene Selection
      Set Up
         Languages
            English 5.1 Dolby Digital
            English 2.0 Descriptive Video Service
            Français 5.1 Dolby Digital
            Español 5.1 Dolby Digital
         Subtitles
            Subtitles: None
            English for the Hearing Impaired
            Français
            Español
      Sneak Peeks
   English Descriptive Video Service
   Français
   Español

Editorial Reviews

Tony Stark may be brilliant, but Thor of Asgard earns his rightful status as Marvel's mightiest Avenger by smashing through the Shakespearean stuffiness of Kenneth Branagh's misguided origin story to deliver a genuinely satisfying sequel. Sweeping, smartly paced, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Thor: The Dark World feels much more in tune with the playful tone of The Avengers than its own predecessor, thanks in large part to dedicated performances by a supremely talented cast and director Alan Taylor's talent for seamlessly blending awe-inspiring action with lighthearted comedy. Having recently defended Earth from a massive interdimensional threat as part of the Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns home to restore the balance of peace to the Nine Realms as his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is sentenced to an eternity in an Asgard prison. Meanwhile in London, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is doing her best to move on when her eager assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings) discovers an anomaly that defies the laws of physics. Upon further investigation, Jane is transported to the place where Odin's father Bor had once hidden a powerful, formless weapon -- known as the Aether -- after defeating the Dark Elves and preventing their malevolent leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) from using it to spread darkness throughout the universe. Now infected with the Aether, Jane soon reunites with Thor, who transports her back to Asgard in the hope of healing her. But he's already too late, because Malekith has awoken from his centuries-long slumber and knows that Jane is the key to his plot. With an important cosmic event known as the Convergence drawing near, Malekith wants to use the Aether to accomplish what Bor had once prevented. Using his evil assistant Algrim (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) to gain access to Asgard, Malekith launches an all-out invasion of the kingdom in a determined bid to recover his weapon. But Thor has other plans, and with the help of his allies on Asgard and Earth, he must destroy the Aether and make sure that Malekith is defeated once and for all. In 2011's Thor, Kenneth Branagh endeavored to instill an air of nobility in a film genre typically known for featuring chiseled heroes in spandex suits. But despite his best efforts, the movie suffered from lackluster action, a muddled script, and awkward attempts at comic relief. Two short years and one wildly popular blockbuster (The Avengers) later, however, prolific television director Alan Taylor (Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Deadwood) and screenwriters Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely prove that you can teach an old god new tricks with a crowd-pleaser that succeeds at widening the scope of the first film while simultaneously giving the sibling-rivalry subplot real gravity. Somewhat unexpectedly, the massive melee that kicks off Thor: The Dark World feels more like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy than anything out of the Marvel universe. It's a smart move that not only plunges the audience right into the action, but also offers Taylor the chance to immediately display his comfort working on a larger canvas. And as the movie returns to Asgard, the writers shift their focus to the seismic tensions between Thor and his renegade sibling Loki, allowing the charismatic Hiddleston to once again steal virtually every scene he appears in. If the writers can be accused of making any misstep, it's the fact that they once again fall back on the tiresome world-destroying-weapon-and-the-villain-who-covets-it scenario. Although, to be fair, Eccleston is genuinely chilling in the role of Malekith, and Taylor keeps the action moving at a satisfying pace that distracts from the comic-book clichés of the plot. His efforts are perfectly complimented by top-notch costume design by Wendy Partridge (Blade II, Hellboy), who outfits the Dark Elves in some eerily unsettling armor, and a rousing score by Brian Tyler, whose compositions summon an appropriate sense of majesty without ever growing overbearing. From Anthony Hopkins to Zachary Levi, the cast of Thor: The Dark World all perform admirably in their roles, nailing the jokes and heroics with equal conviction (special mention goes to Stellan Skarsgård and his tighty whiteys for providing the film with some of its best comic beats). It all adds up to one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original in just about every way imaginable.

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan