The invasion of superheroes on the big screen continues this weekend with Thor: The Dark World. If you’ve been living under a rock the last few years, this powerful Norse god is one of the A-listers in last year’s massively successful The Avengers. Thor may be popular but as evidenced by his two standalone movies, he is also the weakest superhero of the bunch.

Marvel Studios made a huge deal last year to assemble the biggest superheroes they had access to and bring them together for one big, monster movie. The result was The Avengers and featured names such as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and yes, Thor. There were other smaller characters nobody cared about too but they didn’t get their own separate movie for that very obvious reason. I doubt many were clamoring for a Hawkeye movie.

The standalone movies for these avenging superheroes worked out great, each one created their own world with which to transport our hero and The Hulk even got two different movies to get it right (The Edward Norton version is by far the best attempt at Hulk and most underrated of the Marvel movies).

Except for Thor.

He seemed to be the less fun and charismatic of the franchised Marvel superheroes and after two movies all to himself, it’s still the case. The first Thor was dull and meandering and Thor: The Dark World continues that streak. Thor is an actual god who lives in an exotic land in the heavens and his hammer is his greatest strength. Surely as a character he could be mined for some entertainment, right? The obvious answer is no, and evidenced by the fact that the supporting characters in Thor: The Dark World are the most interesting things in the movie. It’s not a good thing when the titular star of your film takes a backseat to everyone else.

Chris Hemsworth brought so much energy and charisma earlier this year in his portrayal of Formula 1 driver James Hunt in Rush but sadly none of that is here in Thor: The Dark World. Instead, Hemsworth is handcuffed by terrible dialogue and awkward acting cues. He is stiff when he should be relaxed and confident. Supporting actors Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and Jaimie Alexander also have script issues but create genuine emotion onscreen.

Thor: The Dark World is not a terrible movie by any stretch, just a dull and pointless one. The real tragedy is that there are moments of fun and excitement sprinkled throughout its running time but are overshadowed by the long slog of everything else.

Grade: C

Rated: PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content)

Thor: The Dark World opens in theaters on November 8, 2013.