By Summer Crawford

Staff Writer

With movie producers and audiences around the world eating up the increasingly famous sci-fi plotlines, the comic books of Thor are anything but ignored.

 Following up the first Thor movie, Thor: The Dark World is a thrilling flick filled with intergalactic conflicts, vivid battle scenes and heart wrenching losses. The continuation of the story from the first movie is expected, but in many ways the sequel takes the sci-fi action to another level. The sequel amps up the intensity of the battle scenes, and does not fail to deliver a romance story tied in with the challenges of fighting evil.

Opening with a look back at a thousand years in time with Earth being invaded by the Dark Elves, the movie immediately captures people’s attention by laying out the devious plot of their leader. The audience learns from the get-go that a powerful weapon is the Dark Elves’ desire, and that thanks to the army of Asgard, the home of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), it is hidden in another realm.  With the defeat of the Dark Elves at the start of the movie, it can be hard to grasp how it ties in with the story of Thor, but not to worry because it is explained as the film progresses.

 Thor and his adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) live in a futuristic utopian world of Asgard, with their father as the king. As depicted in the first movie, Thor and Loki have a past of betrayal, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As Thor develops his relationship with his father, he becomes fixated on a girl.

Jane (Natalie Portman) and Thor had their budding romance in the first movie. In Thor: The Dark World, their relationship is revived when Thor whisks her away to Asgard. Little did he know  that he would pay the price for saving Jane.

What made this movie unique and intriguing was the serious yet comedic feel of the characters and their roles. Producer Kevin Feige did a wonderful job balancing the serious, grief-ridden moments with the comedic joke scenes. Loki and Jane’s assistant, Darcy (Kat Dennings), provide the audience with entertaining jabs at humor.  With Loki’s  dark humor and his playful character, the audience is guaranteed a laugh. Loki may be deemed the bad guy, but in the end of the film there is a shocking turnout for him.

This sequel is different from the other superhero movies like Man of Steel or Ironman and so on. It takes on a more sci-fi feel and includes interesting weapons and designs of costumes and Asgard. The castles of Asgard are intricately designed and the gowns and capes are vibrant, unusual colors.

However, Thor: The Dark World loses some of its magical appeal. It loses the mystery it had in the first movie when Jane and Thor were strangers to one another, and when Thor figured out his life was not what it seemed.

But even with the development of the battles and weapons that make Thor: The Dark World seem more science based than superhero, one can not help but admire the actors and the digital graphics. The actors embody their fictional characters and make their roles believable so that the audience feels like they are in another dimension. The level of passion and energy on screen is a step up from the first movie, and it is easy to find oneself beginning to become attached to characters like Loki.