9. Thor: The Dark World

Release Date: November 8, 2013

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgaard, Zachary Levi, Anthony Hopkins.

Director: Alan Taylor (Games of Thrones, Terminator: Genisys)

First Time I Saw It: I can’t remember exactly why, but I didn’t see this movie when it was first in theaters. I probably was considering it, but just didn’t get around to it. I eventually saw it in spring 2014 at college. The university I went to had movie nights each Wednesday where they played recent movies on a projector. They even raffled two Thor: The Dark World posters, and I really wanted to win because it’s the best Marvel movie poster. I didn’t win, but at least I enjoyed the movie.

Importance in the Marvel Universe: Compared to the first Thor, the sequel is pretty inconsequential to the cinematic universe; it’s largely a standalone movie. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reuniting with Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is probably the biggest event, but it remains to be seen if Jane will show up in an Avengers film. Its only real tie to the wider universe is its mid-credits scene, which sets up the search for the Infinity Stones, a topic later expanded upon in Guardians of the Galaxy.

The movie is more important in regards to Asgard, as we get to see what happens to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) when he returns from exile. And if his last scene is any indication, Loki is going to play a big part in the next sequel, Thor: Ragnarok. We’ll have to be patient, though, because that movie won’t debut until November 3, 2017.

Why I Love It: The thing I liked about the first Thor was its comedy, and though most of it revolved around Thor being a fish out of water on Earth, I expected the movie to take a similar approach. In fact, I didn’t even go in caring about the conflict; I just wanted to laugh. And, luckily, I wasn’t disappointed, as The Dark World has some of the best jokes of all the Marvel movies. Despite having the word “dark” in the title, it’s pretty lighthearted.

Loki’s scenes are easily the best, which is ironic because I disliked him as a villain in the first movie, and I only started liking him when he came into his own in The Avengers. His sarcastic wit coupled with his contentious relationship with Thor make him a comedy gold mine. But despite that, Loki isn’t the only source of jokes, as Jane replaces Thor as the fish out of water this time around. The movie also has one of the best Stan Lee cameos. Oh, and the action is pretty good too.

Best Moment: If you’ve seen Thor: The Dark World, then you probably already knew what scene I was going to pick. For those who haven’t seen the movie, however, I’m not going to spoil it. I will just say that there is a hilarious cameo in the middle of the film by someone other than Stan Lee. I had actually heard about it myself before I saw the movie. If you don’t know what cameo I’m talking about, go watch the movie and see for yourself. You’ll thank me later. –Aaron Sarnecky

[php] wp_link_pages(array(‘before’=>’

‘)); [/php]

============================================================================================================================================