Rating: 7.5/10
STARRING: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban and Anthony Hopkins
RATED PG-13, for intense action, mild gore, some language, and a brief bit of nudity
For
me, Thor has to this point been the
weak link of the MCU's (Marvel Cinematic Universe) front line. Strapping Australian
Chris Hemsworth looks the part, and the echo-thudding hammer and lightning storm attacks have
made a nice addition to The Avengers’ group outings, but Thor's standalone movies
have been uneven at best. The 2011 Thor
had a decent-enough story, but was hampered by lazy special effects and some
ridiculously hammy acting (looking at you, Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston).
2013’s The Dark World had solid
effects and a crowd-pleasing turn by a much-improved Hiddleston, but the story
was confusing and the villain (remember Malekieth, the Dark Elf?) was lame and
easily discarded. True, both the 2012 and 2014 Avengers movies gave Thor the chance to strut his stuff in better
films, but the relatively one-note hero has generally slid into the
background, paling in comparison to more dynamic characters like Tony Stark and
Captain America.
Well, with the MCU in official can’t-miss
territory as far as box-office goes, the powers that be handed the
directorial reigns over to a relative unknown in a possible attempt to inject
some liveliness into Thor’s standalone finale. Taikia Waititi may have an Oscar
nomination on his IMDB page for helping create the 2004 live-action short Two Cars, One Night, but chances are you
had never heard of the 42-year-old New Zealand auteur before now. I hadn’t. His
most mainstream directorial credit is four episodes of Flight of the Conchords. But adding an
outsider with an alleged penchant for ad-libbing may just have been what was
needed to liven up this cool-looking but stuffy hero. Waititi and a very retro,
80s-inspired soundtrack and color scheme have paid off, as Ragnarok is easily the best of our hammer-swinging friend’s solo
journeys.
Fresh from defeating a towering baddie who
claims to be Asgard’s doom, Thor (Hemsworth) finds things back home in a bit of
disarray. Scheming adoptive brother Loki (Hiddleston) has ditched all-powerful
dad Odin (Hopkins) and seized the throne for himself. All-seeing gatekeeper
Heimdall (Idris Elba) has gone AWOL. A lowlife named Skurge (Karl Urban) is
lurking about with designs on making a name for himself. So, things are complicated
enough even before Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett), comes onto the
scene, revealing dark secrets in Asgard’s history and punting both Thor and
Loki into space. Stranded on a remote, nameless world, Thor becomes a pawn in
the games of a crooning egotistic maniac (Jeff Goldblum) who plans to install
this new “contender” into his ever-popular fight-to-the-death arena games. Thor
proves more than a match for his competition. But, without knowing where he is,
he has little chance of getting home and fighting Hela, at least without
winning the trust and help of a mysterious Asgardian exile, Valkyrie (Tessa
Thompson). Valkyrie is prickly, security is tight, and Thor, separated from his
precious hammer, has little way to break out, let alone face Hela in a fight
for the fate of all Asgard.
Yeah, you read that right. Natalie
Portman—as previous love interest Jane Foster—is nowhere to be found. Ditto
Jane’s BFF Kat Dennings, and the mad scientist Erik Selvig (Stellan
Skarsgaard). Also missing-in-action is Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), one of Thor’s
appealing allies from the first two films. The Warriors Three (Ray Stevenson, Zachary
Levi, and Tadanobu Asano) do appear briefly, but, for the most part, Ragnarok is populated by characters and
actors not from the previous Thor films.
You won’t miss the others. This movie tops both its predecessors for effects quality,
exciting action, and meaty backstory, and it breathes easier without the forced
romance between Thor and Jane, not to mention the exaggerated cornball humor
the Dennings and Skarsgaard characters provided. Ragnarok does begin on an unexpectedly offbeat note it takes a
while to overcome, but a surprise MCU crossover and Blanchett’s bravura first
appearance get things moving.
Beyond the slow first half-hour, the only
real problem I found with Ragnarok is
the same problem that has been hindering MCU films since at least the original Avengers in 2012: it’s trying too hard to be funny. Oh
sure, there are laughs to be had, but the amount of transparent attempts at
humor becomes a little aggravating. I don’t know if the MCU took their cue from
the Avengers’ pile of cash and
identified a formula, if they get lots of fan mail telling them their movies
are just the funniest thing, or if they’re terrified they’ll lose audience
members’ attention spans to GIFs on their smartphones if they’re not keeping them
absolutely entertained. But, much like Age
of Ultron and both Guardians
movies (especially this past summer’s Vol. 2), Ragnarok trips over itself to
provide jokes and witty asides, no matter the situation. Some of them are
funny, like I said, but rumor has it you’re allowed to do serious action and
planets-in-peril spectacle in comic book films without trying to make everyone
guffaw every ten seconds. I mean, it’s not like a sudden lack of jokes will
make us confuse Marvel with DC. But I digress.
The cast is a great bunch who all have
standout moments. Hemsworth has some extra pep in his step thanks to a cool new
haircut and much-improved speech patterns and vocabulary (the time on Earth Thor
supposedly spent after Dark World and
Age of Ultron paid off
big-time, it seems). Without such fusty mumbo-jumbo, Hemsworth gets to have more fun and became just one of the
gang. The ever-intriguing Hiddleston doesn’t quite get to deliver the goods like he did in The Dark World, but he doesn’t need to save this movie and it’s
great to have him back. Fellow Thor
vets Hopkins and Elba play different spins on their characters, allowing both
actors the chance to breathe a bit. And I guess I don’t feel bad revealing
Bruce Banner/Hulk has a part in this movie since he featured prominently in the
trailers, so it’s worth noting Mark Ruffalo is so good (both as the shrimpy
Banner and his big green alter ego) and so welcome that it’s hard to remember two other legitimately
good actors played the role before.
Among
the newcomers, Jeff Goldblum isn’t bad, though I think we can all agree his
mumbling, self-obsessed characterizations became tired a long time ago, after we
rewatched Jurassic Park and Independence Day a few times. But
Blanchett is (predictably) awesome, and Thompson provides an intriguing new
addition who will hopefully be around for future installments.
In
Summary
Thor: Ragnarok is already my
favorite of the three Thor movies, a much better-rounded film in terms of story, effects,
and acting than the 2011 original or 2013’s The
Dark World. Thor, Loki, and the Hulk fight an evil witch and a cocky
overlord with the help of a strong new female ally. The movie begins on an offbeat
note that had me a little antsy, but ultimately delivers the goods, with
interesting characters, fun action, and, yeah, a totally tubular ‘80s soundtrack.
Not Marvel’s best--but definitely not its worst--Ragnarok is a fine individual sendoff for Thor and an engaging
appetizer for next summer’s Avengers:
Infinity War.
THOR: RAGNAROK (2017)
Directed by Taika Waikiki
Screenplay by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost
Based on the Comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby
Length: 130 minutes
Rated PG-13
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