Thor: The Dark World (2013)

The best moment in Thor: The Dark World is Thor hanging his hammer on a coat hook, and that tells you a lot. Everything else is gray. Malekith wants to plunge the universe into darkness, and Christopher Eccleston plays him under so much makeup, speaking a made-up language, that he could be literally anybody. His big weapon is a swirling red goo called the Aether, a fancy name for space jelly. Natalie Portman spends a lot of the runtime fainting or being carried. The movie only wakes up when Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is on screen, and the brothers bickering is the one thing that feels alive. The final fight, with portals bouncing Thor and Malekith between worlds mid-punch, is the single clever action idea in 112 minutes. Audiences still handed it an A minus CinemaScore, which is generous. A 4.5 because it’s the middle child of a franchise that forgot to give it a personality. $652 says you remember Loki in this one and absolutely nothing else.

What works: Hiddleston’s Loki and Hemsworth have real brotherly chemistry, and the portal-hopping finale is a genuinely fun idea.

What doesn’t: Malekith is a forgettable villain with a vague plan, and the gloomy look drains the fun out of most scenes.

Who it’s for: Marvel completists filling in the timeline, and Loki fans who’ll sit through anything for his scenes.