JUSTICE LEAGUE

Justice League (2017)
Rating: 5.5/10 

STARRING: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, and Diane Lane. Also Featuring J.K. Simmons, Connie Nielsen, Joe Morton, Billy Crudup and Amber Heard, with Ciaran Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf.

RATED PG-13 for intense action and destruction and some language

            I didn’t think Justice League was terrible, but I can’t think of a whole lot I really liked about it, either.

            Justice League, as you surely know if you’re reading this, is DC’s version of The Avengers, a teaming-up of their biggest names. The Justice League is made up of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg (maybe others, but I don’t know enough about comics to know who they might be). This movie, as you also probably know, was rushed into production, beset with obstacles during production, and, frankly, just came out too soon. We all know what happened. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been tearing apart the box office and the fabric of pop culture with its increasingly regular blockbusters. DC efforts—apart from those written and directed by Christopher Nolan—have not been up to par. With the team-up Avengers films (and Captain America: Civil War) proving wildly popular with audiences, DC rushed to set up their version. First, there was 2013’s Man of Steel. Last year, we had Batman v Superman, which featured a cameo from Wonder Woman. In June of this year, Wonder Woman got her own movie. Movies for Aquaman and The Flash are surely in the works. The Justice League, everyone!

            With Superman (Henry Cavill) dead in the wake of his battle with Doomsday (see: the climax of Batman v Superman), his surviving superfriends Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) have sensed more danger to humanity is imminent. They have begun keeping tabs on enhanced individuals, such as lightning-struck speedster Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), robo-enhanced explosion survivor Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), and gruff water-dweller Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa). With the help of Bruce’s butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons), they have kept an eye on the whereabouts of these individuals in case the need for their help should arise. And arise it does. Mysterious reptilian minions have been creeping about, drawing attention to a series of ancient, all-powerful cubes that were hidden all over the world. When one of the cubes is energized, the evil, ax-wielding Steppenwolf (voice of Ciaran Hinds) comes forth, bringing more swarms of his winged minions. Steppenwolf, as you might have figured, has plans to destroy the world. He's intent on using potential fusion of the cubes' energy to create a field through which all the fury or wrath of his home world can come forth—or something. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Bottom line, Steppenwolf doesn’t have good things planned for the world/humanity, and this bothers Bruce, Diana, and the others for some reason. So they team up to save the world. But can they?  *dramatic music plays*

That Justice League is meant to be DC’s answer to the uber-successful Avengers is a given. That it was rushed into production and release before DC really had its cinematic footing is well-known. That it was rushed into production also shows. I wouldn’t say Justice League is an aggressively bad movie, but there’s almost nothing in here you haven’t seen done a million times before, and done better. Like I said, the specifics don’t matter. There’s a Bad Guy, with an Evil Army and an Evil Plot, seeking to get his hands on an all-powerful MacGuffin (or MacGuffins, plural), and if he does it’s bad so the Good Guys try to stop him, first in a series of escalating skirmishes, and then in a full on fiery, explosive, shouty, CGI-soaked extravaganza that features a lot of good guys and bad guys slamming into brick or rock walls and falling down only to get right back up again because, you know, strong and stuff. An early flashback to a team-up of Men, Atlantians, and the all-female Amazons is straight from the first 10 minutes of The Lord of the Rings, as is the lingering idea that, you know, men are evil and greedy and not to be trusted. The Bad Guy who comes through a portal is from the first 5 minutes of the 2012 Avengers. The Bad Guy’s Evil Army coming through a larger portal later on is transparently reminiscent of the climax of the same Avengers. The Eastern-European-town-with-innocent-civilians-in-jeopardy concept is borrowed from Avengers: Age of Ultron. The MacGuffins-that-need-to-be-aligned-to-create-energy-portals-that-can-destroy-the-world-or-even-the-universe is from 2013’s Thor: Dark World (which, admittedly, didn’t execute the idea much better). And the powerful sky beams created by the fusion of the powerful MacGuffins is from every movie made in the last 20 years.

Oh, and the bickering, ego-clashing of good-looking individuals in cool costumes who all have powers? I think I’ve seen that in a movie before, too.

Sorry if this review feels lazy. The movie Justice League feels lazy. The movie isn’t terrible. It just reminds you why the ever-more-frequent superhero movies of recent years are only good up to a point. We’ve. Seen. It. Done. By. Now. I never thought either of Marvel’s Avengers films were incredible, but this is little more than Avengers-lite, with a shorter running time, a more generic villain, a lazier climax, and characters who are less original and largely undefined (remember, the Avengers came out only after Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Loki, and even Hawkeye and Nick Fury had been introduced in other movies). Speaking of, it says a lot that the two brightest spots in this movie are Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa, who play the two most interesting characters who haven’t had their own movies yet. Miller’s chatty geek is slightly overdone, but he delivers laughs most of the time, and has a nice little character arc moment in his first battle when he nervously saves one man with his super-speed and then realizes, hey, that wasn’t too hard, why not save more? And when the burly Momoa jocularly shouts “my man” after Cyborg catches him mid-air during the climactic battle with Steppenwolf’s minions, the moment has such energy and excitement it reminds you what the rest of the movie is lacking.

Like I said, the movie’s not godawful. It’s certainly more minute-by-minute entertaining than the ponderous, brooding, two-and-a-half-hour slog Batman v Superman, and it’s not nearly as devastatingly silly as Suicide Squad. Justice League moves pretty briskly at a shade under two hours, and, despite being formulaic, the first two-thirds aren’t bad. It’s always entertaining to learn about new people with cool abilities, to see them team up, and to see the opening skirmishes. This movie also addresses the previously-unspoken DC Universe question of “why did Wonder Woman get so wound up about WWI (as seen in Wonder Woman) only to seemingly not lift a finger to stop Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Vietnam, or anything else in the next 100 years”. But the by-the-numbers third act that involves the final team-up, the final pep-talk, a few internet-ready group shots, and the slam-bang-whizz finale pretty quickly quench one's hope.

In a way I feel bad, because I feel like the movie was doomed from the start, being asked to carry such a heavy burden. Like I said, Miller and Momoa are bright spots, Fisher does what he can with an under-explained character, and Irons, Diane Lane, and even Connie Nielsen (as Wonder Woman’s mom Queen Hippolyta, back on Themyscira) are on hand and trying hard. But Affleck seems bored, Gadot’s performance is almost all reactionary, Cavill, when he appears (spoiler? I mean—surely you figured), is awkward, and J.K. Simmons, the new Commissioner Gorden, is wasted in a tiny role. And you just have to feel bad for Amy Adams, who deserves so much better than this shlock, being borderline-embarrassed working her tail off in some of this movie’s sappiest, least-interesting scenes.

In Summary

            Justice League isn’t the worst superhero movie I’ve ever seen. It’s not even the worst DC move I’ve seen in the last couple of years. I have a hard time even saying it was bad. There’s just nothing here – except for a few fun character moments with The Flash and Aquaman – that I haven’t seen done better, and recently. Comparisons to The Avengers are inevitable, and they aren’t flattering. Hey, it’s not super long, and there’s a post-credits scene that, depending on who you ask, is the best part of the movie, but the build-up is cliché, most of the characters are underwritten, certain parts are kinda silly (*cough* Atlantis *cough*), and the big blow-it-all-up-real-good CGI climax is lazy and uninspired. This review won’t stop many people (or anyone?) from going to see Justice League because they love their heroes. It’s just a shame this movie wasn’t released later, and better developed, once all its characters were defined in their own movies. So, now I wanna see The Flash starring Ezra Miller, and Aquaman starring Jason Momoa. Just sayin’. 

 JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Screenplay by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon
Story by Chris Terrio and Zack Snyder
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
Justice League of America created by Gardner Fox
Fourth World created by Jack Kirby

Length: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Rated PG-13

WONDER WOMAN

Wonder Woman (2017) 

Rating: 8/10 

STARRING: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, Connie Nielsen, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Robin Wright, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner and Eugene Brave Rock, with Lucy Davis as Etta and Lilly Aspell as Young Diana

RATED PG-13 for intense action, some emotional content, and some language

            After 2016, the DC Universe was reeling.

            First, their long-awaited Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came out in March and, despite scoring impressive box-office returns, landed with a thud. The film had its defenders, but most said it was too long, too slow, too busy setting up future movies and, oh yeah, had too little actual Batman vs. Superman in it. August’s Suicide Squad fared even worse. The movie flopped hard with iffy effects, too many characters, and a couple of pathetic, cringe-inducing villains. At that point, it was clear DC was lagging way behind Marvel in terms of big-screen quality and fanfare, a problem considering they had two flagship films planned for 2017: Wonder Woman and Justice League. Justice League has yet to be seen, but the June release Wonder Woman proved a huge shot in the arm to DC financially and publicly. Not that people didn’t expect it to be successful; the first female-superhero fronted film, riding the momentum of Israeli actress Gal Gadot’s winning cameo in Batman v Superman, had many people curious. But after the high-profile disappointments of 2016, and with DC’s great hope ensemble piece on the horizon, there was legitimate worry that Wonder Woman would take even more air out of the balloon.

            Well, we all know how that turned out.

            After a brief present-day prologue (complete with Wayne Enterprises plug), Wonder Woman shows us young Diana (Lilly Aspell), Princess of Themyscira, a shining city in the mythical Paradise Islands populated entirely by the tough female Amazons. Daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), Diana grows up yearning for adventure and longing to fight like her tough aunt Antiope (Robin Wright). When actually given the opportunity, Diana (played as an adult by Gadot) proves a deft hand, showing powers none of her fellow Amazons can match. But, with great power comes…well, you know. After a training incident in which she nearly kills Antiope, Diana hides in shame on a secluded corner of the island, only to get a front-row seat when a damaged airplane crashes in the ocean in front of Themyscira, with a lone male pilot (Chris Pine) struggling to escape. Diana saves him, and marvels. He’s a man! Spoiler: she’s never seen a man (all-female Amazons, remember?). The man, Steve Trevor, marvels himself when he awakes and learns of Diana, the Amazons, their hidden island, and their lack of knowledge about The Great War, in which he has been fighting as a spy against the Germans. Diana is convicted at the idea of this great, costly war, and urges Hippolyta to send her and other Amazons out to stop Ares (the Greek God of War, whom Diana has been told corrupted the hearts of men and is responsible for their fighting). Hippolyta rebuffs the idea of sending Amazons out into the world, but idealistic Diana isn’t about to sit by after hearing Steve’s stories of the horrors of war. Soon, Diana has left Themyscira with Steve, and is learning more about the world, people, and war than she could have imagined. She and Steve are soon on the trail of sadistic German General Ludendorf (Danny Huston), who sneers at the talks of “armistice” while his top scientist (Elena Anaya) creates a gas that kills everything it touches. Seeing casualties and fighting up close makes Diana even more determined to stop Ludendorf, whose cold sadism can only mean one thing: he’s Ares, her people’s sworn enemy.

            I get that the movie came out five months ago, so chances are you’ve seen it, so my spoiler-averse plot summary probably doesn’t make much sense. Hey, a guy’s gotta practice, right? True, after re-watching it last night, I feel like I barely touched on half the movie’s plot, not to mention about half its main cast. I didn’t even get to mention Diana and Steve’s growing chemistry, Diana’s amusing fish-out-of-water routine in London, Steve’s delightfully chirpy secretary (Lucy Davis) or his ragtag band of fellow undercover operators (Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and Eugene Brave Rock). Nor did I get to mention the movie’s instant-classic No Man’s Land scene, in which Diana rises from a Western Front trench in full WW gear and walks straight into the teeth of German fire with her shield high and her head higher…

            The thing is, while DC’s high point was obviously the Dark Knight Trilogy, Marvel’s rival studio has proven they can do individual origin stories pretty well. Personally, I was a pretty big fan of 2013’s Man of Steel, which came with a slow build, well-written, well-acted characters, and a non-linear plot structure to change up the formula. It’s just that the movie’s wheels fell off during a slam-bang third act that not only wiped out any notions of subtlety and character nuance, but also flew in the face of what Superman is about. Still, setting the scene, establishing the characters, their motivations and feelings, and building the world…Man of Steel did that. So it's a shame DC seems to be rushing to copy the Avengers formula in search of a huge box office windfall instead of taking their time (remember, Avengers was the end result of four years of Marvel origin stories building the characters and the universe).

            Wonder Woman’s accessibility—its mix of charm, humor, action, and drama—is obviously the product of a lot of people putting forth real effort, starting with Director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg. The movie develops slowly and lets sequences breathe, yet it’s almost never boring over its 2-hour, 21-minute run-time. Sure, a straight drama or a non-superhero film might’ve dug deeper and developed the characters more, but, for a movie that you know is going to end as Wonder-Woman-Saves-the-World, it does about as well as could be expected.

            For that, the lion’s share of credit goes to Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. I promise I won’t fawn over Gadot, but I will say she is irresistibly appealing in this role, not only with her luminous looks but her believable portrayal of Diana’s idealism, internal conflict, and shock and horror at the realities of war. But I’m really close to saying it’s Pine’s performance that makes the movie. Somehow, despite his iconic presence in the Star Trek series, plus his appearance in last year’s Oscar-nominated drama Hell or High Water, I feel like this is the performance of his career so far. Diana’s fish-out-of-water routine in London wouldn’t play as well without someone so committed playing the straight opposite, and Pine gets big laughs from his reactions to Diana’s cluelessness (“I didn’t have a father. My mother sculpted me from clay.”… “Well that’s neat…”). Pine, more than Gadot, is our catalyst in the film, and he makes the most of an amusing come-sleep-with-me bit, a foray undercover with a German accent, and a dramatic monologue where he tries to convince Diana that people are just evil sometimes. And as good as Diana’s No Man’s Land scene is, for me, there’s no question: the most impressive and memorable moment in the movie is one roughly 15-25-second close-up of Pine’s face during a key action scene (you’ll know it when you see it). It’s a marvel of expression and nuance, and it’s haunting.

Yes, as is wont to happen in movies like this, a lot of the sincere development goes out the window during a boss-battle-style finale in the third act. It’s a rough moment for David Thewlis, a fine actor who gave my single favorite acting performance in all the Harry Potter films (in 2004’s Prisoner of Azkaban). The effects are on par with an early 2000s video game, and the acting flies way over the top. Not only is it a good reminder that we’re watching a superhero movie, so of course it had to end in a big battle, but it squanders a few moments of genuine nuance immediately preceding it, when Diana was forced to ponder man’s morality—the idea that people just might not be all good, that there isn’t just one bad guy you can kill to make everyone good again, even though that would be easier. Overall, it’s safe to say, when Wonder Woman is being its straight, sincere self, it cruises along. When it tries to amp up the effects to meet the required standards of today’s superhero-obsessed movie industry (see also the unnecessary Zack Snyder slow-mo during a fight between WW and some Germans inside a building), it doesn’t work nearly as well.

            Also, do we want to talk about how Diana has supposedly been around all this time and got all fired up about WWI, but apparently didn’t lift a hand to stop Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Vietnam, or 9/11? No? Okay.

In Summary

             With Justice League coming out next week, one wonders: “how long will the goodwill last?” Coming off two high profile disappointments from DC, Wonder Woman surprised many people with its assured direction and conviction, strong acting and character development, poignant love story and some really legit action sequences. It did fall into the go-big-or-go-home third act effects extravaganza that hinders so many action movies these days, but, having now seen it twice, I can say when I think of this movie, I’ll think first of Gadot and Pine, their fine characterizations and their chemistry, before I think off the iffy “boss battle” that closes things out. I’m trying not to get my hopes up for Justice League, but in an era jam-packed with superhero films, Wonder Woman stands out. 

WONDER WOMAN (2017)

Directed by Patty Jenkins 

Screenplay by Allan Heinberg
Story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs
The character Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
Rated PG-13

Length: 141 minutes

NON-REVIEW: Thoughts on Daddy's Home 2 and Whether It is Especially Inappropriate Now

So, the new Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy Daddy's Home 2 is supposed to suck. Surprise, surprise. I didn't see the first one, but it seemed pretty obvious this was one of those The-Original-Made-Money-So type sequels. It wasn't on my to-see list, but an amusing trailer with Mel Gibson and John Lithgow had me thinking "...maybe..." Well, per reviews I've read, the new movie is being savaged by critics for being poorly-written (duh) but also crass, crude, and "shockingly" tone-deaf, in light of recent events, when it comes to things like gun-handling and the sexual objectification of women. I even read a critic who wrote "THIS MOVIE PROVES HOLLYWOOD HASN'T CHANGED OVER THE PAST MONTH".

I know what that critic was referencing. Supposedly, the Mel Gibson dirty grandpa-type character makes inappropriate jokes, leers at women, and gives his preteen grandson icky chauvinistic advice on how to approach the girl he likes. This is, of course, in bad taste given the recent sexual harassment accusations revealed against Harvey Weinstein, Ben Affleck, Andy Signore, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, and Louis C.K. (among others). In this context, the critic wrote "this movie proves Hollywood hasn't changed over the past month".

Um, DUH.

Two things:
1) From a purely-logical standpoint, movies aren't made and released in a month. So, this movie that attempts to derive humor from women-should-be-in-the-kitchen jokes and just-smack-her-on-the-butt grandparenting advice wasn't written, produced, filmed, and released all since the first rumors about Harvey Weinstein came out. It was already in the works. That being said...
---1a) In light of these scandals, could Hollywood producers have reviewed this movie's content, and yanked it, condemning it to straight-to-DVD or just on-Netflix territory? I suppose. But would they? They had a sequel to a hit comedy that made money coming out, one that starred bankable names like Ferrell, Wahlberg, and Gibson. You think they would be seized by an attack of conscience, freak out, and cancel the release of a could-be moneymaker just because of a few real-life scandals? LOL.

2) "This proves Hollywood hasn't changed".
Have all these sexual harassment claims about Harvey, Kevin, Louis, Ben, and others, opened some eyes? Sure. Have they been shocking and depressing, given the credibility/general goodwill afforded some of these individuals? Yeah, they have. Has it spurred the creation and implementation of new sexual harassment programs and closer supervision of closed-doors meetings? Maybe.
But, frankly, this isn't something that is going to be fixed. Shoot, even if some of Hollywood's biggest and most well-liked names were outed with sexual harassment-type behavior tomorrow -- for instance, just say it was the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon -- it would open a lot of eyes and shock people, start social media campaigns, and maybe inspire some movie boycotting. But would it ultimately change the Hollywood culture of selling sex and objectifying women? I doubt it. Would it stop selfish, perverted people from making terrible decisions? Nope. Would it stop movies/TV shows from intentionally or unintentionally glamorizing certain behaviors from men to women or women to men? Nope.

Once again, I will quickly say, anyone who is guilty of sexual harassment is guilty and without excuse. I previously wrote a post that might not have made my thoughts on this clear as I would have liked. Harvey, Kevin, Andy, Ben, Louis etc... are all responsible for their actions, and these reprehensible things they've said or done or tried to should not be watered down or explained away or rationalized by talking about movies, TV, magazines, alcohol or sexual preferences. They are responsible. They made bad choices, and hurt and offended people. That was them, and them alone.

But it's like my pastor said the other day, isn't it odd that we condemn Harvey Weinsten for his objectification and treatment of women, yet we celebrate the legacy of Hugh Hefner? All the sexual harassment allegations in the world aren't going to change Hollywood selling sex or making dirty movies that objectify people. It's a systemic issue. It's a heart problem. People are flawed.

So, was Daddy's Home 2 ever going to be a good movie? Probably not.
Does it seem especially tasteless in light of recent events? I'm sure it does.
Does it prove Hollywood has not changed over the past month? No, but did anyone expect it to?
Has Hollywood changed in the past month? Maybe on the surface, but no.
WILL Hollywood change, ever, regarding the things it promotes and the things it puts out? Most likely, no.

THOR: RAGNAROK

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
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