4. Asgard's Grandiose Return
I love the first Thor film for various reasons, but the biggest reason above all was Kenneth Branagh's vision of a huge, beautiful Asgard. Of course it was all CG in the wide establishing shots, but what was there left an indelible impression in terms of visual effects. The Dark World does things a bit differently, this time doubling the amount of screen time for Asgard and adding on to it's expansion with some gorgeous 3D and CG effects that surely outdo Branagh's attempt. The peaceful, zooming camera swinging around the architecture of Asgard is something to behold, while the battle scenes involving the Dark Elves turn the bright city into a battleground full of all kinds of crazy visual moments. I'm glad The Dark World brought us back to Asgard, even to some of the other Nine Realms. With everything going on, it makes sense to make the story personal by assaulting the homeland Thor, his family, and his friends. The Dark World continues the trend of making these Marvel films very personal to their selected properties; where The Avengers congregated all the heroes' personal loves and joys, the single entry films in Phase 2 as of now have looked to dig deeper into the emotional belongings to their central characters. With the Mandarin destroying Tony Stark's personal life in Iron Man 3, Malekith and his Dark Elf entourage look to not only decimate Asgard and knock off everyone close to Thor, but shroud the universe in total darkness at the same time. Putting Asgard in the center of this conflict (Malekith needs the Aether to take over the universe, and it has found its way into Jane Foster, whom Thor realizes is in danger and thus takes her to Asgard for her own safety, which attracts Malekith and his band of Dark Elves), the sequel is made much more personal than its predecessor and a worthy contender for one of Marvel's most personal films to date.