Trailer Tuesday: Thor - The Dark World

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Sure it became a bit overblown towards the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed 2011's Thor, certainly more than Captain America: The First Avenger. Of the two Marvel Comics adaptations released that year, I found Thor to to be more flavoursome, at least trying to do something different by adding a mythological scope to proceedings (along with a healthy dose of fish-out-of-water humour). Read my review of the original here.

Sequel Thor: The Dark World seems to be pushing the epic fantasy-meets-sci-fi element even further with more battles and considerable more off-Earth action. This time Thor's home world of Asgard, along with the rest of the Nine Realms, is threatened by an ancient, apparently unstoppable evil - orchestrated by Dark Elf ruler Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). This forces Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to turn to his greatest enemy, his treacherous adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).


Pretty much the first film's entire cast is back for Thor 2, including Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano and Idris Elba as the Asgardians; and Stellan Skarsgård and the hilarious Kat Dennings as the human mortals. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Zachary Levi join the line-up in important supporting roles meanwhile.

With Kenneth Branagh declining helming duties, it's now Alan Taylor in the director's chair - a man who has a long and varied career in TV, and most recently oversaw a big chunk of Game of Thrones Season 2. This isn't necessarily a problem of course, as Thor certainly doesn't skimp on politics and interpersonal drama against a Medieval-style setting.

For the record, I've yet to dabble in any Thor comics, so I'm no die-hard fangirl when it comes to the film adaptations. Still, I'm hoping this one delivers what it promises - ramping up the stakes after the first film, giving us more "friendzoned" Sif and taking the audience on an exhilarating adventure through visually-striking Asgard.

Thor: The Dark World is screening in 2D and CONVERTED 3D, and opens in North America on 8 November. The film's South African release date is set to be the same.


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