Thor('s Day): The Dark World

Today is Thor's day. It also happens to be release day for Marvel's Thor: The Dark World. See what they did there?

Earlier this week I watched David and Margaret pan this, the latest in the Marvel franchise and the sequel to 2011's Thor (but which takes place after the events of The Avengers). They said it's same ol' same ol'. They said there's nothing new to see here. They said it's superficial, bang, crash and pretty-boy heroes.

To be honest none of this comes as a surprise to me. In fact my thoughts as I watched these armchair critics from the comfort of my own armchair were firstly, what did you really expect? And with that in mind, do you really care that it's likely to be superficial, generic story telling and fantastical escapism? Like, really care?

I haven't seen Thor II but the likelihood of me doing so is pretty high. As you may have gathered by now, I have a completely at arm's length happily married lady crush on Tom Hiddleston, who plays the mischievous adopted god, Loki. I also reckon if Chris Hemsworth knocked on my door trying to flog me Foxtel I'd obligingly invite him in, brew him a cup of tea and hand over my credit card details.

Without having seen the film I'd say Margaret and David would be close to spot on with their assessments. So too am I confident that this is exactly what Marvel is pitching at. Given the amount of whinging from fanboys that accompanied the release of Iron Man III for its deviating from the dogma I can well believe they've gone back to formula - world at risk, motivated hero, love story, hero challenged, world saved - for this stop gap between the last and the next Avengers films.

I personally really enjoyed Iron Man III. I thought it was, while imperfect, relatively intelligent and poignant for a superhero movie. For me it was an interesting commentary on heroism, politicking and media, with the added bonus of Robert Downey Jr. But I can't expect all Marvel films to do this. I, in actual fact, am probably not the Marvel target market. I'd argue neither are David and Margaret.

The Marvel films are a product. First and foremost. The Marvel films are not produced for art. They are a commercial enterprise, which, in many respects, is what cinema has become.

Director Alan Taylor has himself spoken out about the treatment his film was given by the studio. According to Taylor, re-shooting, rewriting and the inclusion of new scenes even after production has ended is 'the Marvel way'. In a brief interview with Collider, Taylor admits to the inclusion of additional scenes featuring Loki, which one can only imagine have been added on the back of the audience and fan reception to Hiddleston's portrayal of the character and growth in his personal capital following the success of The Avengers.

In another interview with the Huffington Post, Taylor is oddly overt about the structure of the final film, of which the first 45 minutes is exposition. According to Taylor this all came about in post, or as he put it, was 'discovered along the way'. His preference, it appears, was for earlier versions of the film, which placed more 'trust the audience'. But the 'decision was made', leaving one to wonder who is really in control.

Well, in actuality I was never really in doubt. It's made all the more obvious with the inclusion of a snippet in the middle of the credits, which is apparently a blatant marketing ploy for the soon to be released flick Guardians of the Galaxy from yet another Marvel movie universe. Directed by James Gunn (who has also directed Guardians), Taylor notes that it's a shift in tone and probably not what he would have done with the scene. Interesting. But as Taylor notes, it's Marvel's way to make things 'better'.

In any case, Marvel can pretty well count on my money at the box office on this one. I don't always want smarts from my superheroes. Sometimes I just want muscly blokes with superhuman abilities making things go boom. It's about escapism, fantasy and zoning out for a couple of hours. I'd be silly to expect more.

Thor: The Dark World is in cinemas from 31 October.

-Stevie O'C