Thor: Ragnarok - Review (Non-Spoiler/Spoiler)
Directed By: Taika Waititi
Rating: PG-13
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba
Blurb/Synopsis: Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race abasing time to prevent the all-powerful Helga (Cate Blanchett) from destroying his homeward and the Asgardian civilization.
Expectations/Background: Firstly, and perhaps foremost, one thing to keep in mind - I in no way shape or form liked Thor. In fact, I hated it. As for Thor: The Dark World, I enjoyed it at the time, and there is still fun to be had, but being completely honest with myself, that film isn't that great as well. And so, during the Marvel Phase 3 announcement panel, Thor: Ragnarok (I was even skeptical of the title at first) was the film I was least excited about (yes, I was looking forward to Inhumans more). Of course, this was before I knew next to nothing about this movie. To be quite honest, although Chris Hemsworth was one of the best casting decisions ever made as the God of Thunder, he just never seemed to fit, even in is own films. But more details began to arise. Mark Ruffalo would return as the Incredible Hulk. That grabbed my attention immediately. After seeing Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch was confirmed to be in the film in some minor role as Doctor Stephen Strange. And the casting of Cate Blanchett as Hell as well as the hiring of Take Waitit certainly made for an intriguing combination. After seeing the trailers, my excitement level began to ramp up exponentially. And slowly, I began to realize something; Marvel may have a gem on their hands. By completely abandoning the tone of the other Thor movies and going in a whole new direction, they were making a genius move. By the time Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume II hit theaters, this was my most anticipated Marvel Phase 3 movie. No pressure, right?
The Movie: This movie was a joyride. That's the only way I can describe it. From beginning to end, this movie doesn't stop at all and it doesn't miss a beat - this movie is a pure joyride. From start to finish, Taika Waititi puts his firm stamp upon every aspect of the film, from jokes to characters to story arcs.
Positives: So much to discuss here. Without going into spoilers, Chris Hemsworth's Thor goes through a wonderful arc throughout the movie. He begins the story in one place, ands in a place that is very unexpected, yet satisfying. His performance (more on that later) was also something completely fresh and necessary for the character. It was as if once he had his hair cut, he transformed into a new, brighter, and more jovial Thor, which I loved immensely. Briefly touching on some other cast and characters, Loki as usual was wonderful as he had some great scenes. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk again brings a certain level of sympathy as a poor hulking beast or a confused, bewildered scientist - there's just a certain level of endearment about him.
Speaking of standout characters, have to give a massive shoutout to Taika Waititi, who did the motion capture and the voice for the character Korg. What a surprisingly funny and warm character that I did not see coming at all. And Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie was outstanding as well - the right counter balance to Chris Hemsworth's jovial personality, Thompson brought a comedic levity that allowed the two to bounce off of each other very well.
One thing that truly amazed me about this film was how quickly it flew by - it's a rather long film at around two hours, but the pacing and the editing made for such a joyous experience in the theater. Another great thing about this film (after having seen it multiple times) is that it is extremely rewatch able. The jokes don't feel stale after the first or second time and the storylines are so much fun to watch again.
And thus we arrive at the crux of this film: the humor. This film was banking on the audience's laughter so that they could become invested in these wonderful characters, both returning and new. Did the jokes land? 99 percent of the time, yes they did. And that is what makes this film great - it knows exactly what it is. It is a Taika Waitii comedy/space-adventure. The humor is the glue that holds the film together. And although the majority of the movie was apparently ad-libbed, the storyline feels so coherent and tonally sound that it makes for an excellent adventure.
Another thing of note: visuals. This film has some wonky visuals taken directly out of the pages of Jack Kirby's comic books that will make many people question what the filmmakers were thinking. But really, taking a step back, all the neon colors that pop out at you make for a complete package on top of the hilarity that ensues.
Negatives: Structurally and tonally, within themselves, there is not much at all that is wrong with this film. What does come to me as a negative is lack of depth.
There is a scene in particular where the film attempts to slow down for an instant and make the audience feel some kind of emotion other than laughter, and while the scene on its own works very well, in the larger context of the movie, it felt jarring and completely out of place.
Making a movie such as this, with such a comedic tone to begin with through and through, adding a scene like this was a dangerous thing because it felt as if the stakes were undermined throughout the rest of the film.
This film lacks an emotional depth that I think even Spider-Man: Homecoming, or to a larger extent, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War have.
And the villains will be listed here (discussed later) for now. Not quite a negative, but not quite a positive, so they will remain under here for now.
Positives: So much to discuss here. Without going into spoilers, Chris Hemsworth's Thor goes through a wonderful arc throughout the movie. He begins the story in one place, ands in a place that is very unexpected, yet satisfying. His performance (more on that later) was also something completely fresh and necessary for the character. It was as if once he had his hair cut, he transformed into a new, brighter, and more jovial Thor, which I loved immensely. Briefly touching on some other cast and characters, Loki as usual was wonderful as he had some great scenes. Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk again brings a certain level of sympathy as a poor hulking beast or a confused, bewildered scientist - there's just a certain level of endearment about him.
Speaking of standout characters, have to give a massive shoutout to Taika Waititi, who did the motion capture and the voice for the character Korg. What a surprisingly funny and warm character that I did not see coming at all. And Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie was outstanding as well - the right counter balance to Chris Hemsworth's jovial personality, Thompson brought a comedic levity that allowed the two to bounce off of each other very well.
One thing that truly amazed me about this film was how quickly it flew by - it's a rather long film at around two hours, but the pacing and the editing made for such a joyous experience in the theater. Another great thing about this film (after having seen it multiple times) is that it is extremely rewatch able. The jokes don't feel stale after the first or second time and the storylines are so much fun to watch again.
And thus we arrive at the crux of this film: the humor. This film was banking on the audience's laughter so that they could become invested in these wonderful characters, both returning and new. Did the jokes land? 99 percent of the time, yes they did. And that is what makes this film great - it knows exactly what it is. It is a Taika Waitii comedy/space-adventure. The humor is the glue that holds the film together. And although the majority of the movie was apparently ad-libbed, the storyline feels so coherent and tonally sound that it makes for an excellent adventure.
Another thing of note: visuals. This film has some wonky visuals taken directly out of the pages of Jack Kirby's comic books that will make many people question what the filmmakers were thinking. But really, taking a step back, all the neon colors that pop out at you make for a complete package on top of the hilarity that ensues.
Negatives: Structurally and tonally, within themselves, there is not much at all that is wrong with this film. What does come to me as a negative is lack of depth.
There is a scene in particular where the film attempts to slow down for an instant and make the audience feel some kind of emotion other than laughter, and while the scene on its own works very well, in the larger context of the movie, it felt jarring and completely out of place.
Making a movie such as this, with such a comedic tone to begin with through and through, adding a scene like this was a dangerous thing because it felt as if the stakes were undermined throughout the rest of the film.
This film lacks an emotional depth that I think even Spider-Man: Homecoming, or to a larger extent, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War have.
And the villains will be listed here (discussed later) for now. Not quite a negative, but not quite a positive, so they will remain under here for now.
Character Ranking
1. Thor
2. Loki
3. Valkyre
4. Grandmaser
5. Korg
6. Doctor Strange
7. Hela
8. Skurge
9. Heimdall
The Villain(s): When you cast an actress the likes of Cate Blanchett, you expect a villain of massive proportions. And yet, while the film does linger on her more than say a Malektih, she felt thoroughly underused. Her performance was magnificent, no doubt about it. Absolutely brilliant; she ate up every single scene that she was in. But the way her character felt shoehorned into the film just to have a climactic battle at the end, it felt like such a waste. Karl Urban as Skurge did surprise me though; he brought a little levity and heart to the film that it was sorely lacking from the other characters, which I really appreciated. But in the end, his character was wasted along with Cate Blanchett's.
The Music/Score: Eh. Mark Mothersbaugh, a relatively new composer, tried to bring back the late 20th century with his musical choices, and while they meshed with the film ver nicely, on its own, the soundtrack is nothing more than bunch of synth notes attempting to bring back that retro feel. I didn't dislike the soundtrack but I did not quite like it either (save for one song that he didn't even compose. You'll know it).
Spoilers: I enjoyed the risks this film took at the end. This film was never about preventing Ragnarok, it was about bringing it on. And the idea that Asgard wasn't a place, it was a people, that really resonated. And yet, like I mentioned before, this film felt a little too shallow that when the thematics attempted to hit home, they registered in my brain and I understood completely, but not quite in my heart, where the next step lay.
In terms of Hela, again, I thought her performance was great - when she absolutely obliterates the Asgardian army, it was nice to see her display of power. But the filmmakers did not use her enough throughout the movie.
Thor losing an eye - I'm not quite sure if I buy it. I do believe that it will last for awhile, and I think it was a good addition (mirroring what happened to Anthony Hopkin's Odin), but again, I'm not sure how long it will last as well.
Doctor Strange was wonderful - cannot wait to see him Infinity War.
And finally, Odin's death scene. This was the scene I was talking about. The film attempts just for a brief moment to slow down. Even the musically suddenly shifts from comedic to sorrowful in an instant. But because the scene was inserted among the beautiful chaos of this film, it felt so out of place for me. I did enjoy later in the film when Thor was close to dying and he saw visions of his father, and I loved the line, "Are you Thor? God of hammers?" Yet the death scene itself did not work for me in the slightest.
1. Thor
2. Loki
3. Valkyre
4. Grandmaser
5. Korg
6. Doctor Strange
7. Hela
8. Skurge
9. Heimdall
The Villain(s): When you cast an actress the likes of Cate Blanchett, you expect a villain of massive proportions. And yet, while the film does linger on her more than say a Malektih, she felt thoroughly underused. Her performance was magnificent, no doubt about it. Absolutely brilliant; she ate up every single scene that she was in. But the way her character felt shoehorned into the film just to have a climactic battle at the end, it felt like such a waste. Karl Urban as Skurge did surprise me though; he brought a little levity and heart to the film that it was sorely lacking from the other characters, which I really appreciated. But in the end, his character was wasted along with Cate Blanchett's.
The Music/Score: Eh. Mark Mothersbaugh, a relatively new composer, tried to bring back the late 20th century with his musical choices, and while they meshed with the film ver nicely, on its own, the soundtrack is nothing more than bunch of synth notes attempting to bring back that retro feel. I didn't dislike the soundtrack but I did not quite like it either (save for one song that he didn't even compose. You'll know it).
**READER DISCRETION ADVISED - SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP TO "VERDICT"**
Spoilers: I enjoyed the risks this film took at the end. This film was never about preventing Ragnarok, it was about bringing it on. And the idea that Asgard wasn't a place, it was a people, that really resonated. And yet, like I mentioned before, this film felt a little too shallow that when the thematics attempted to hit home, they registered in my brain and I understood completely, but not quite in my heart, where the next step lay.
In terms of Hela, again, I thought her performance was great - when she absolutely obliterates the Asgardian army, it was nice to see her display of power. But the filmmakers did not use her enough throughout the movie.
Thor losing an eye - I'm not quite sure if I buy it. I do believe that it will last for awhile, and I think it was a good addition (mirroring what happened to Anthony Hopkin's Odin), but again, I'm not sure how long it will last as well.
Doctor Strange was wonderful - cannot wait to see him Infinity War.
And finally, Odin's death scene. This was the scene I was talking about. The film attempts just for a brief moment to slow down. Even the musically suddenly shifts from comedic to sorrowful in an instant. But because the scene was inserted among the beautiful chaos of this film, it felt so out of place for me. I did enjoy later in the film when Thor was close to dying and he saw visions of his father, and I loved the line, "Are you Thor? God of hammers?" Yet the death scene itself did not work for me in the slightest.
SPOILER ALERT OVER
The Verdict: For what it's worth Taika Waititi brought a freshness I didn't even know was possible to a Marvel Cinematic Universe that is 17 movies in and charging full steam ahead to a date with destiny (Thanos). Despite all the talk of Infinity stones and setting up the future, this film was so refreshing to see. Were there some tonal inconsistencies, yes. Do I wish the villains could have been used more? Absolutely. But on the whole there is one one word to describe the movie - a joyride form start to finish. Letter Grade: A-. Number Score: 9.1/10
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
9-10: Nearly Perfect to Perfect
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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