Which film is better? Thor or Thor: the Dark World?

[Lord]

The Dark World, the first film was very weak

 

[horacethegrey]

It's disheartening to see people so dismissive of the first film. Maybe if people read these two articles they'll reconsider their viewpoint:

'Thor' meets Kenneth Branagh (say WHAT?): The franchise gods approve (and so would Shakespeare)

You're All Wrong: The Best Marvel Movie Is 'Thor'

 

[dru-zod2501]

There are somethings in Thor 1 that are better than Thor 2 but overall Thor 2 is a better movie.

like what?

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I just saw TDW last night and I have to say I enjoyed this film much much more. I liked the direction more, the story and I really hated that a large portion of the first film was set on earth.

 

[glrush]

Long term lurker, first post. Huge Thor guy, been that way since the 70's. IMO, they are completely different movies. I will always love the first one because it had an emotional tug that still gets to me even now. That said, the second movie (which I saw yesterday) was very good even tho I would agree with posters who said it was uneven in spots.
Enjoyed them both, but you always remember the first time !

 

[The Caped Knight]

Both films bring something to the table. I thought Chris Hemsworth grew into his role as Thor in TDW post Avengers. Tom Hiddleston continues to shine as Loki and this film he really owned that role as the trickster.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

To me it's fact that if it weren't for Hiddleston's Loki neither film would be anywhere near the caliber that they are.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

It's disheartening to see people so dismissive of the first film. Maybe if people read these two articles they'll reconsider their viewpoint:

'Thor' meets Kenneth Branagh (say WHAT?): The franchise gods approve (and so would Shakespeare)

You're All Wrong: The Best Marvel Movie Is 'Thor'

No, Thor was always my least favorite Marvel film. I think if we (or more specifically, "I") learned anything from The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, it's that I'm much more interested in a strong central antagonist. Focused and deliberate. And while Loki is an antagonist in Thor and so is Laufey and The Destroyer, and even Odin in some sense, none of them pose a true threat to Thor as a character. Whereas Loki becomes a threat in Avengers and Malekith/Kurse are a very viable very REAL threat to Thor in TDW.

Beyond that, Thor is depowered for most of the first film. Which is typically fine and completely understandable in origin films (Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man) in Thor it's unfortunate. Because the first 30 minutes of the film are so awesome! And they show him being a god and being a badass. And then for the next hour he is a human. So it's bittersweet when he reclaims the power he already had.

All in all I like Thor, but it is at the very bottom of the 8 films in the MCU thus far. It's better than Agents of SHIELD. But that's not saying much.

like what?

Well there are a couple things I could mention. The pacing in Thor was a little better. TDW has a lot happening in under two hours. I just think TDW couldve stood to be 10-20 minutes longer, while Thor was the right length. Darcy was much more out of place in Thor 2. And she was already slightly out of place in Thor 1. The humor was on par in both imo. So it gets a tie in that respect.

Other than that Thor 2 was better in all aspects. Less awkward love affair, more interesting action, more action in general, etc.

 

[horacethegrey]

No, Thor was always my least favorite Marvel film. I think if we (or more specifically, "I") learned anything from The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, it's that I'm much more interested in a strong central antagonist. Focused and deliberate. And while Loki is an antagonist in Thor and so is Laufey and The Destroyer, and even Odin in some sense, none of them pose a true threat to Thor as a character. Whereas Loki becomes a threat in Avengers and Malekith/Kurse are a very viable very REAL threat to Thor in TDW.

Having a strong antagonist wasn't the point. Thor was not a story of a superhero riding in to save the world from the bad guy. This was the story of a god becoming a man and being humbled, and the story of his brother overcome by jealousy and falling from grace because of it. It may seem simplistic, but it offers a ton of emotional complexity and tension that makes you relate to these godlike beings and their world.

Why do you think movie Loki has become so popular? It's because his character arc is very interesting, in contrast to Malekith and Kurse. While they are powerful antagonists and present a very real threat to Thor in TDW, the movie does nothing interesting with their portrayal and as such they're pretty forgettable.

 

[Smashlilman]

Having a strong antagonist wasn't the point. Thor was not a story of a superhero riding in to save the world from the bad guy. This was the story of a god becoming a man and being humbled, and the story of his brother overcome by jealousy and falling from grace because of it. It may seem simplistic, but it offers a ton of emotional complexity and tension that makes you relate to these godlike beings and their world.

Why do you think movie Loki has become so popular? It's because his character arc is very interesting, in contrast to Malekith and Kurse. While they are powerful antagonists and present a very real threat to Thor in TDW, the movie does nothing interesting with their portrayal and as such they're pretty forgettable.

I love how you could feel loki's hurt when Thor finally visits Loki in prison. You can feel the sting of all the people that loved him just quit loving him. Odin's like your an ungrateful brat that should have die as a child if it wasn't for my mercy. Thor's screw you not really my brother because i don't see the person I loved in there any more. It was enjoyable about seeing Loki take it all in and act out.

 

[redhawk23]

The Dark World improves on the first film in almost all respects.

 

[ddddeeee]

It's disheartening to see people so dismissive of the first film. Maybe if people read these two articles they'll reconsider their viewpoint:

'Thor' meets Kenneth Branagh (say WHAT?): The franchise gods approve (and so would Shakespeare)

You're All Wrong: The Best Marvel Movie Is 'Thor'

It's largely because there's a new movie out and it must be hyped at all cost, even if it means the first film must be thrown under the bus. Ask this question this time two years and the results will be a lot closer.

Thor has a better story, better pacing, better music, a much more satisfying arc for Thor himself and isn't boggled down by endless exposition. While TDW has better action, set-pieces and Hiddleston is at his best, the first Thor succeeds in the more important areas imo.

 

[redhawk23]

Or maybe its a matter that the first Thor movie is the definition mediocre and The Dark World wins people over by being "pretty good."

Personally I find the direction and cinematography on the first Thor to be its worst aspect, so throwing out Branagh's name and mentioning the film's aesthetic as if they are supposed to be points in the film's favor does nothing for me. If Thor had a distinct look it was because no one involved knew how to point a camera.

 

[fantasymoon]

For me the original without question. It had its problems sure, but overall it had a soul. TDW didn't.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

While I'm in agreement with others that the world of this franchise feels more tangible than it did in the first I enjoy the first film much more.

I liked the second one. It was gorgeous looking, the cast was on point and I liked it's Star Wars meets 80s fantasy flicks vibe it gave it off. But on the whole I felt the action was lackluster aside from the portal hopping and Thor felt oddly pushed to the background of his own movie. He also seems pretty weak most of the time,

Thor is a lively, light on it's feet film and has more personality.

 

[Lord]

It's largely because there's a new movie out and it must be hyped at all cost, even if it means the first film must be thrown under the bus. Ask this question this time two years and the results will be a lot closer.

Thor has a better story, better pacing, better music, a much more satisfying arc for Thor himself and isn't boggled down by endless exposition. While TDW has better action, set-pieces and Hiddleston is at his best, the first Thor succeeds in the more important areas imo.

No it's not, outside of this forum i see most considering Thor one of the weakest films of Phase I, i've even seen some saying the MCU sucks and use this film as their main example.

 

[ddddeeee]

No it's not, outside of this forum i see most considering Thor one of the weakest films of Phase I, i've even seen some saying the MCU sucks and use this film as their main example.

Ah, the ever reliable anecdotal evidence.

My friends agree Thor is one of the better MCU film. Does that mean anything? Nope.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Not a big fan of this franchise but I gotta say Thor (2011) was superior. The Dark World lacked so much from the story aspect. Loki was utterly fantastic in the first installment and you could feel the characters' emotions. In TDW, Portman phoned in her performance (I can't blame her after what transpired), Darcy became even more annoying, the villain was weak, etc.

 

[number1lakeboy]

Thor TDW is the better film. Even though Thor is my favorite film of Phase 1. I liked how they kept the same formula between the first film and this one. Odin opening up the film and telling the story of the Dark Elves was awesome. It wasn't that easy to tell that this was a different director which I liked. TDW is a better film also because it is bigger and dives deeper into the mythology of Thor's story.

 

[Dragon]

Thor 2 was pretty good, but Thor 1 wins this for me, the sequel just lacked a lot of the heart and emotion the 1st movie, while not really improving on the 1st in enough areas either.

I don't get this at all.

No heart or emotion? The relationships of the Asgardians were portrayed beautifully. Thor/Odin, Loki/Frigga, Thor/Loki etc. all very well done. Without giving up any spoilers, it had so much more emotion than the the first. I'm not a fan of the Thor/Jane relationship (He's nuts to reject Sif), so the emotion there didn't mean a lot to me, but even that was given more depth than the first film.

I didn't like the twist at the end, because I think it cheapened what was an excellent scene.

Aside from that, the look of the film was fantastic. the costumes and sets were the best I've seen in a great while and the action sequences were great.

There were certainly problems. I'm not a fan of fantasy stories involving infinite power that's just there, then hidden away till someone unearths it again. And Darcy is nothing but cheap laughs that don't fit, no matter how hot Kat Dennings is. They should have done something more with her character.

Not only is Thor 2 better than one, it's better than pretty much everything Marvel has offered thus far, including Avengers.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

The most disappointing thing about TDW was the action. I don't see it's anyway better than the first film. The only standout moment was the raid on Asgard. Even the final battle was lackluster. It was just Thor and The Doctor world hopping a little bit and then it's over. All of the fights were short and boringly shot with no energy. Also, Thor seemed oddly weak here. A few Asgardian warriors can take out a Kurse but Thor gets his butt handed to him by one later?

There was less action in Thor, but it was more energetic and fun to watch.

 

[BigThor]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *rips out hair*

 

[GremlinZilla89]

I take it you disagree?

 

[Smashlilman]

He's not in a good place right now.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

He's not in a good place right now.

Because he loved the film or hated it?