5 Comic Book Movies That Deserve A 2nd Chance (And 5 You Should Forget)

4. Thor: The Dark World

Little more than a transition between Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Dark World’s remit appears to have been to keep the cinematic universe ticking over until the next picture comes along. There’s less story, more special effects and MCU in jokes, but the human element is sorely lacking.

Described by one critic as “the definition of house style”, the movie amounts to little more than two hours of watching people run around (what is this, a Pirates Of The Caribbean sequel?). Instead of beefing up its central character by showing him reacting to an element that threatens his relationship with Jane Foster, we get to see 62 year old Stellan Skarsgard running around without pants.

Wit, wonder and resonance are in short supply here - the filmmakers are more interested in pumping up the action (and the special effects), but that’s led to them excising everything that made the first film memorable. If you’re just watching famous faces interact with special effects, what’s the point?