Parents' Guide to Thor: The Dark World

No one can accuse this film of being uncomplicated; it's certainly not simple-minded in the way some comic-book-based films are. In fact, it may actually suffer from an overabundance of complexity, as it struggles mightily to explain the nuances of a universal convergence that has awakened beasts called the Dark Elves and threatens to upend all that Thor and his father, Odin (played amiably by Anthony Hopkins), and their ancestors have worked so hard to achieve. Sadly, it doesn't win the fight, allowing dogma to win over wit; backstory to triumph over characterization.

Portman's Jane Foster doesn't have much to do here, and is relegated to an even more pronounced damsel-in-distress position than in the original Thor. Her mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), is ignored, too, left to play the nutty professor. Even Thor himself doesn't seem to be deriving much honor in being the leader, or glory from all the hammer-throwing he's doing. (Or joy from seeing Jane again, for that matter.) So thank goodness for Hiddleston's Loki, who's still a delight, even if the story no longer revolves around him. It's the special effects that take center stage here, in battle scenes that are visually gripping. If only Thor: The Dark World made the audience more invested in what was happening onscreen, those battles would hold more heft.