Thor: The Dark World is the second Thor movie in the series and continues the adventures of the Norse god. The movie revolves around the concept of how in ancient times, the Asgardian Gods were able to fight and win a gigantic war against a race known as the Dark Elves. The survivors were mostly neutralized, and their most powerful weapon, the Aether, was taken by the gods of Asgard and placed in a secret location to be buried there. However, everything changes with Jane Foster hundreds of years later. As someone in a relationship with Thor, it shouldn't be that surprising that Jane is the one that gets swept into this unworldly mess, but she is in fact the one that ends up finding the Aether and ends up becoming the host of the powerful source. Because of this, the Aether has the ability to destroy her from within, and it also makes her incredibly wanted by the Dark Elves, so Thor has no choice but to bring Jane to Asgard. While there, he tries to instruct the smartest doctors and medics of Asgard to help free Jane of the weapon. However, more danger looms, because the king of the Dark Elves, Dark Elf Malekith, intends on capturing Jane Foster and utilizing the power that she now possesses to not only destroy Asgard, but to destroy all of the Nine Realms, which includes Earth. Thor must now once again put his strength and mind to the test as he deals with trying to save the universe again, but now that Malekith is after Jane Foster, things become personal and even more dangerous, and while Thor is trying to stop the Dark Elf, Loki proves to be up to some mischief of his very own. 

 Thor: The Dark World proves to be an adventurous roller coaster that includes drama, suspense and fighting galore. Capable of building upon the concepts and ideas introduced in the first Thor movie, the movie succeeds in expanding upon the mythos introduced in the Thor series, while also adding enough action and adventure to progress Thor as a character, as well as some of his other Asgardian buddies. The beginning of the movie seamlessly transitions from the first movie and reintroduces audiences to both Jane Foster and Thor, which is crucial to the movie, seeing as they are two of the most important characters, if not the most important characters. The middle of the movie marvelously progresses the roller coaster along, while also producing more drama, emotion and intensity in a manner that will surely captivate audiences' attentions. The exhilarating ending of the movie proves to be both enticing, and it magnificently wraps up the entire story in a clever conclusion. There aren't too many surprises in the movie, but the ones that are there prove to be some truly thrilling twists and turns that help to make the movie both substantially more interesting and that much cooler to watch. 

 Thor: The Dark World has some noteworthy visuals that ensure that the movie never feels too unrealistic. The amazingly vivid visual effects of the movie combine together with the spectacular special effects to create a powerful tandem that brings all of the movie's concepts and ideas to life. All of the comic book characters are literally brought to the big-screen in a manner that makes audiences feel like they are watching the adventure in person. 

 Thor: The Dark World does manage to succeed in making Thor's universe feel more grand, but the villain of the movie is slightly lackluster. Malekith is never truly able to become that meaningful of a villain, which is a shame, considering that a truly menacing villain is key to bringing out the best in a superhero. Because of this, some of the battles towards the end between Malekith and Thor aren't as substantial as they could be otherwise, and this directly affects the movie's story. Due to this poor villain, parts of the movie feel less concise and slightly messier than they need to be. 

 Thor: The Dark World has a talented cast that shines more often than not. Chris Hemsworth does a brilliant job of literally transforming into Thor and is able to bring emotion and intensity to the superhero. Tom Hiddleston gives a superb portrayal of Loki and is able to bring all of the character's mischief to life. When both Thor and Loki are on-screen, Hemsworth and Hiddleston combine together to form a formidable acting duo that is both quite astounding to behold and brings out the brotherly relationship between the two characters. 

 Thor: The Dark World has plenty of great fighting scenes, a star-studded cast and the fact that it brings more fantastical concepts to the Thor movie universe is nothing but a bonus. Despite the weak villain, the movie has enough strengths to ensure that it is a good fit for a wide variety of audiences. This isn't necessarily a must-see, per say, but there is definitely a story that is worth seeing.