Thor The Dark World Is A Hit At The Box Office, But Not So Much With Critics

Thor: The Dark World has been doing the rounds for the past few days and has been hammering in the big bucks – yeah, not all of the puns are going to make sense, deal with it. Thor has never exactly been the star of the Avengers franchise, but The Dark World is nevertheless approaching an impressive $100 million debut. While moviegoers flock to see the film, which is obviously and unabashedly intended as a crowd-pleaser (there’s a whole scene of nothing but Chris Hemsworth’s abs,) critics seem to be less than impressed.

Anthony Hopkins is another notch in favor of The Dark World.

The New York Times’ review is particularly harsh, with Jeannette Catsoulis writing criticizing the film’s pace, the all-over-the-place explosions, the tired jokes and pretty much everything else. She writes: "If the multiple idiocies on view strike you as neither here nor there, it's probably because your eyeballs are too busy recoiling from the onslaught of disorienting 3-D effects, or else too distracted by the title character's Popeye arms and really big mallet." Ouch.

But even in the eyes of the critics, this typical blockbuster fare has its good sides. While Thor fails to impress, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who gets a lot more screentime in The Dark World than the original, is a favorite all round. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin, “Most of [the CGI] pales into insignificance when Loki takes the stage, which isn't often enough given how wildly uneven the sections without him are.” Well, that’s still a lot to look forward to. Kat Dennings, reprising her role as the adorable, if constantly confused Darcy is another bonus.

Watch the trailer here.

All in all, the movie fulfills its purpose of shameless entertainment, according to CM's own Rich Cline. It isn't without its flaws of course - the "wildly shifting tone" and "lazy plot devices" chief among these - but it is wholly redeemable in the context of a whole host of colorful, if a but one-dimentional characters, as well as the brilliantly acted sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki.

Plus, like any Marvel movie worth its salt, you can expect to see the screen constantly populated by ridiculously good-looking people and plenty of explosions to tide you over when the plot falters.

The official Thor: The Dark World poster.