Thor: Ancient Winters

Thor: Ancient Winters is a 2014 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero Thor, and a sequel to Thor and The Avengers. It was directed by Alan Taylor and was written by Christopher Yost along with the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It is the ninth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Christopher Eccleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins. It was released on May 2, 2014 and grossed $709 million on a $200 million budget. It ran 123 minutes and received mixed reviews.

Plot
Two years after the Battle of New York, Thor has become a celebrity on Earth. On Asgard, his parents Odin and Frigga, rulers of the land, are discouraged by Thor's love of Earth. Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, along with her team of scientists including Donald Blake and Ellie Carlson attempt to get Thor to stay on Earth full time. However, Thor's friends and family in Asgard continuously pull him back. While in Asgard, Thor discovers a prophecy about Ragnarok, the end of all times, and the start of a new world. However, Odin refuses to discuss the prophecy. Thor goes to Asgard's gatekeeper, Heimdall, who reveals that since the origins of Asgard, they all knew that Ragnarok would come one day, and everyone in Asgard would pass on, except two souls who would rebuild from the ashes. Thor refuses to believe that Odin would keep this a secret, causing him to leave Asgard indefinitely.

On Earth, Thor moves in with Foster, Carlson, and Blake, who are attempting to track down a mysterious object with a similar energy sequence as Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Thor helps them track it down to a desert in Texas. Foster, Carlson, and Blake manage to evacuate the area surrounding the object and are granted authority over it by S.H.I.E.L.D. They take it back to New York, where Thor identifies it as the Casket of Ancient Winters, the energy source of the Dark Elves. Thor realizes that if the Casket is on Earth, then the Dark Elves will soon be coming to retrieve it. On Asgard, it is revealed that Odin ordered an invasion of the Dark Elves home on Svartalfheim to take the Casket to lure the Elves to Earth, forcing Thor to work with the Asgardians again. However, Thor decides not to tell his father, but instead recruits Sif, Amora, and reluctantly Loki, while Heimdall keeps Odin from discovering what Thor has done.

On Earth, Foster and her team watch out for when the Dark Elves arrive, while Thor attempts to get Loki to redeem himself. Sif and Amora train, though the latter's ways of violence worry Sif. Foster locates an opening from Svartalfheim to Earth in Paris, leading them there. In Paris, the Dark Elves begin scouring the city for the Casket. Thor realizes that the Casket, if opened, would cause a new Ice Age over Earth, but it would destroy it, and the Dark Elves with it. Loki and Amora decide that it is the only option left to protect Asgard, which has suffered from Dark Elf invasions for centuries. They steal the Casket and look for a place to initate the ritual. Thor and Sif attempt to find them before it is too late, eventually returning to Asgard to get Odin's help. Thor apologizes to Odin for leaving him, though when Odin reveals that he set up the invasion, Thor refuses to forgive him. Heimdall finds Loki and Amora in Norway and sends Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three there. In Norway, a battle breaks out between the two factions. Amora has conjured an army of undead soldiers, while Thor has the Asgardian army on his side. However, when Foster notifies him that the Dark Elves have managed to take over Paris, Thor returns there to fight them off.

Loki and Amora are eventually stopped and the Casket is returned. Loki and Amora return to Asgard with the Warriors Three, who imprison them. Sif and the army go to Paris and manage to take on the Dark Elves. Their leader, Malekith, mysteriously disappears and Heimdall teleports Thor and Sif away to Asgard. They discover Malekith is holding Frigga and Odin hostage. Thor distracts him, while Sif reluctantly lets Loki out, knowing he cares about Frigga. Malekith stabs Frigga through the heart, which causes Thor and Loki to go after him. After a fight through the Nine Realms, Loki stabs Malekith back on Earth, which makes the Dark Elves answer to him. Thor forces him to order them back to Svartalfheim, while the Casket is taken into Asgardian custody. Loki is placed back in his cell, though Thor offers him a chance to prove himself a hero, which Loki scoffs at. Asgard mourns Frigga, while Odin tries to make things right by pronouncing Thor as the new King. Realizing he must rule Asgard as a better King than Odin, he chooses to stay in Asgard, but not before saying goodbye to Foster.

In a mid-credits scene, Thor, advised by Sif and Heimdall, reveals the prophecy of Ragnarok to Asgard, with a promise to do everything he can to stop it. In a post-credits scene, The Collector comes to Asgard in search of the Casket of Ancient Winters.

Cast

 * Chris Hemsworth as Thor
 * Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
 * Tom Hiddleston as Loki
 * Jaimie Alexander as Sif
 * Christopher Eccleston as Malekith
 * Cate Blanchett as Amora
 * Idris Elba as Heimdall
 * Stellan Skarsgård as Donald Blake
 * Kat Dennings as Ellie Carlson
 * Ray Stevenson as Volstagg
 * Josh Dallas as Fandral
 * Tadanobu Asano as Hogun
 * Rene Russo as Frigga
 * Anthony Hopkins as Odin