Film review - Thor: The Dark World (7 out of 10)

He was pretty boring really, coming from some strange mystical world (Asgard) and talking in strange old-fashioned English.

He spent most of his time seemingly battling against his step-brother Loki who was even worse, sporting a helmet with a bizarre pair of horns.

Thankfully, the big screen version is a world apart.

Chris Hemsworth certainly looks the part (but with more charisma) and Tom Hiddleston is a far more interesting character as Loki (minus the horns).

This second movie has even more action than the first and doesn’t have to introduce characters or set the scene.

As a Marvel movie it slots in to the overall picture, coming after Avengers Assemble.

This time as a backdrop, we are told that many years before the soldiers of Asgard beat a bunch of very unpleasant Dark Elfs, led by Malekith (Christopher Eccleston in his usual excellent form).

Back to the present and Thor’s Earth-bound girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) stumbles across a very powerful weapon that Malekith is desperate to get his hands on.

The rest of the film sees Thor teaming up with Loki fighting Malekith - sounds a bit boring but the special effects are superb and the strength of the cast (including Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba) means it rattles along pretty well.

The Marvel movies have a nice touch in humour and this is no exception with Stellan Skarsgård as scientist Erik Selvig providing most of the laughs.

Overall, this is a decent addition to the Marvel Universe but still makes me crave for the next Avengers film.

As usual there is a mid-credit teaser but is probably one of the most obscure yet but if you have the stamina to sit around for a end of credit seuquence there’s another to round off the film.

Film details: Thor (12A) 120mins

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

Screening courtesy of Cineworld Crawley