Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Taika Waititi
Quick Impressions:
If you like broad shoulders and broad humor, then the Thor movies just keep getting better and better. This one is full of engaging action, charismatic actors, and relentless (often physical) humor. It’s almost slapstick. (If they keep on like this, Thor 4 will be nothing more than a two-hour, topless pie fight set to cool Led Zeppelin hits.)
Admittedly Ragnarok (well known to mythology buffs as the foretold violent demise of most major Norse gods) seems like an incongruous subtitle for such a fun, hilarious popcorn flick, but audiences should know by now that if they want a pervasive sense of doom, they’ll probably have more luck with DC’s Justice League on November 17. Despite the foreboding name, Thor: Ragnarok is obviously the spiritual successor to the Guardians of the Galaxy movies with its high-energy 70s soundtrack, psychedelic visuals, feel-good action, and funny guy named Chris as the joke-cracking lead.
Chris Hemsworth is one of those ruggedly handsome men who don’t need to be funny. His sex appeal is remarkable. (I know because my mother remarks on it every time she catches a glimpse of him.) But (as everyone who has seen his films knows) Hemsworth is funny, anyway. That’s why I like him. He improves everything he’s in with his sense of humor, even though he could probably coast on looks and physique. In fact, whenever my husband and I pass the time by ranking the 425 famous Chrises, we don’t even include Hemsworth in the game because, obviously, he’s the best by such a wide margin. From my point of view, this is because he’s so funny, and his humor is generous and good-natured. He’s not a diva about the good material. He wants everybody else to be funny, too.
In this aspect, Hemsworth seems perfectly paired with director Taika Waititi. It’s a match made in Valhalla (or at least in Australasia somewhere).
I’m completely unfamiliar with the previous work of the New Zealand born director (though I have heard of Eagle Vs Shark), but based on what he does with Ragnarok, I’d be happy to watch any of his future projects. Only when I saw his name in the end credits did I realize that I hadn’t known going in who was helming this sequel. Studio marketing wisely downplayed the obscure director. He’s great, though. This highly enjoyable super hero sequel is a testament to his talent.
After the movie, I discovered that the director also plays Korg, a supporting character who could easily fade into the background but instead becomes a hilarious scene stealer. Then I read that Korg’s presence in the movie kept increasing as Hemsworth and Waititi brainstormed more goofy bits for him. That confirmed for me the impression I got while watching the movie. Thor: Ragnarok is almost ridiculously hilarious largely because the director and the star are working together to laugh the hardest.
The Good:
Talk about a charismatic cast! For logistical reasons beyond our control, we bought tickets late and ended up in the very front row, but even when I had to look almost straight up to see them, the leads in this film had enough star quality to hold my gaze and make watching an absolute pleasure.
Tom Hiddleston fans will rejoice that there’s a lot of Loki in Ragnarok, and he and Thor have such fantastic chemistry. Hemsworth and Hiddleston make their banter feel so natural that it often seems ad-libbed (though it may not be). They’re so good together. (I loved the “Get Help” bit, the callback more than the original joke.)
And Cate Blanchett is just fantastic (as always). Her costumes are terrific, giving off kind of a Norse-Maleficent-in-the-Matrix vibe, but she could totally sell the character without them. She has so much energy. Her eyes are alive with intensity, and she uses her posture as much as her face and voice to make the perfect impression. In fact, she makes the character so believable as a member of the existing group that you watch and think, “How did we never notice she was missing?” Really, she fits right in with Hemsworth and Hiddleston. It’s like watching Asgardian Arrested Development. (And even as the villain who takes herself rather seriously, Blanchett still manages to sneak in funny moments of her own. There’s an expression she makes in one scene when she’s standing in front of Fenris facing a crowd that just absolutely kills me. Humor is secreted into every frame of this zany caper!)
As Odin, Anthony Hopkins has only a few short scenes, but his work in Silence of the Lambs proved that he does not need much screentime to make a huge impression. I think I liked him better in this installment than in the other two. Seriously. His fleeting moments are so perfect, kind of eerie. He seems much more like the Odin I remember from Norse mythology here than in the other two films.
Rounding out a smashing supporting cast is Jeff Goldblum. Nobody plays wacky, off-kilter supporting characters with such aplomb, and Goldblum’s Grand Master thoroughly enchanted me. I almost called him a scene-stealer, but the Grand Master is supposed to be the focus of every scene he’s in, so that description doesn’t quite fit. Still, he really does chew that scenery, even though his delivery is charmingly understated. I also loved his fashion sense and his weird assistant Topaz, beautifully played by Rachel House who I was surprised to learn also voiced my favorite character in Disney’s Moana, Grandma Tala. Goldblum and House have quite a nice rapport. They’re so in sync with each other (and, at the same time, obliviously out of sync with reality). House manages to be awfully funny with very few lines, and Goldblum is definitely a game scene partner, overstated in general, but almost subtle in his interactions with her. I hope we haven’t seen the last of these two.
Also, I really thought I did see the Collector’s palace (the one that California’s Tower of Terror now looks like), widely rumored to be visible from the Grand Master’s window. Maybe I was just hallucinating because of my obsession with Disneyland, though.
The early absence of one supporting character had me really concerned. I was initially horrified that perhaps one key actor had failed to sign on for this film. The encouragingly complicated explanation for his absence vaguely reassured me, but until I saw someone that had to be him sneaking around with my own two eyes, I was scared that he wouldn’t show up in Ragnarok.
Best Scene:
My favorite scene was Thor’s weird, trippy, Wonkaesque welcome to Sakaar. It was far from the most important scene in the movie. I just liked it.
Actually, the scene not long before that one (the scene that eventually introduces Valkyrie) also caught my attention because of how much it reminded me of Blade Runner 2049. Apparently present day Sakaar has a lot in common with the Los Angeles of 2049. The scenes were so eerily similar that Thor’s version almost seemed like a parody. Valkyrie’s entrance is definitely designed to elicit shocked chuckles. I liked it, though, because besides startling the audience into laughter, the moment reveals something significant about the character that ultimately supports profound (and sad) elements of her backstory. But honestly, Sakaar is a lot like Blade Runner’s trashy San Diego, and Topaz is basically Luv played for laughs. I have no idea if that’s intentional or just a big coincidence.
I really liked Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, by the way. I loved her accent, which apparently was affected since she’s actually from America. I saw some headlines about Valkyrie’s bisexuality being whitewashed from the movie because lines confirming it were cut for being too distracting. I actually think this was handled rather well since we definitely get the idea from Valkyrie’s flashbacks that she had a deep bond with her sister warriors, and that one death in particular wounded her deeply. Yes, you do have to read into the scene to guess that romantic love played into her pain. But at least the movie didn’t include gratuitous scenes of Valkyrie French kissing everyone she encounters for no reason, the baffling way female bisexuality is often established in Hollywood films.
Best Action Sequence:
I personally love the escape from Sakaar scene. I’m partial to chases, and the music is cool, too. (I actually love all the music in Ragnarok, score and soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised that they actually used the song from the trailer in the actual film. ) The movie’s opening sequence culminates in a nice fight, too.
Best Scene Visually:
The image from the film I keep remembering is Odin talking to his son from afar. Some of Hemsworth’s final moments with Blanchett probably look the coolest because they involve her sleek, sinister costumes and his shocking conversations with his father.
I also loved watching Loki’s play, trying to identify all the actors. Loki’s choice to play himself is pretty amusing. (And Luke, the Other Hemsworth, even makes an appearance!)
Of course, sitting in the very front row of the theater probably changed the visual experience for me. I kept thinking, Is that Karl Urban? It must be! Look at that thing he’s doing with his nose! That’s his signature nose flare! But then again, what if his nostril only appears flared to me because everyone’s faces look so distorted from this angle? Any actor could have Karl Urban’s nose flare when you’re staring directly up into his nostrils!
The Negatives:
To me, an early cameo from another Marvel hero feels a bit superfluous, unless the idea is to send women crushing on Hemsworth, Hiddleston, and this other fan favorite into fits of delirious ecstasy. I mean, yes, the scene does help advance the plot, but the problem it solves could just as easily be left out. I don’t know. I do love the actor and did enjoy his stand-alone film. And I do admit that the character seems like the Earthling most likely to interact with tourists traveling by Bifrost. But the whole bit still seemed kind of shoe-horned in there to me, just a way to cram another Marvel hero into the movie. What honestly bothered me was how wasted the character felt. Why didn’t he come back again later? (He could have. It could have been so cool, too.) I would have liked his inclusion better if they’d done more with him.
The Hulk’s scenes were moderately problematic for me, too. Whoever made the previews did a great job of focusing mostly on the arena fight with Hulk and concealing other elements of the plot. Though this was a good choice overall, the one downside was that the arena scenes then felt less fresh than the rest of the movie. Maybe that’s a silly complaint. Maybe those scenes would have felt a tad stale no matter what since the concept of foreign world arena fights has been pretty thoroughly sought out and explored by other heroes before. At this point, it’s like a sci-fi/fantasy trope rather than a plot element. At any rate, Thor’s time in the arena wasn’t bad. In fact, it was good. It was just less good than everything else since we already knew who he would be fighting. But to be fair, they did have to put something in the preview, and the choice to give the audience Hulk in order to keep Blanchett’s character shrouded in mystery was probably the right one.
When I was a child, the Incredible Hulk was one of my favorite heroes since I identified with him. (I, too, was always roaming the country and losing control of myself.) I’m still not sure how I feel about this particular incarnation of the character. It’s odd seeing so much of the Hulk in Hulk form, especially now that he is clearly being played by Mark Ruffalo even when he Hulks out. I think I liked this Hulk (maybe), but I would also have liked his long, mysterious absence to have been due to something more story advancing. (Then again, maybe before he arrived on Planet Goldblum, Hulk did something that will be important in the next Avengers movie.)
Also, what was the point of Loki’s scheme to steal the throne? The way it’s presented here, the whole thing seems like a big, silly joke, just one more absurd element in a movie designed to make us laugh whenever possible. The way Loki disposed of Odin is so sinister (when you think about it), and with means that dark, you’d really expect a more diabolical end than a hunky close-up of Matt Damon. Is this really all Loki wanted, or is he hiding something? (If he’s not hiding something, then this feels like a bit of a flaw.) (Or was this all somehow part of his scheme to get his hands on the stuff he grabs near the end? That seems like a stretch.)
These minor complaints are all things that bothered me or felt slightly off as I watched, but none of them seriously detracted from the overall experience of the movie. Despite the fact that I’ve mentioned so many negatives, I would still give this movie an A if I were grading it. (Of course, I’m an easy grader.)
Overall:
When I heard Natalie Portman wouldn’t be back for Thor: Ragnarok, I was disappointed. Then I heard they got Cate Blanchett instead. Who could complain about that swap? One A-list Oscar winner for another. Seems fair. It’s impossible to be disappointed that Cate Blanchett has been added to the cast of any movie. She always brings such a refreshing infusion of talent and charisma.
But I was disappointed that with Portman gone, surely they wouldn’t bring Kat Dennings back as Darcy, either. I thought, Without Dennings there to lead the comic relief, how will they ever make the movie funny?
Well, um, they did it.
Ragnarok is easily the funniest of the three Thor movies and probably the silliest serious super hero film that I’ve ever seen. But as far as I’m concerned, nothing can be too funny, so I think Ragnarok is the best Thor yet.
With the two planned Avengers films coming up, I’m not sure why we would need a fourth stand-alone Thor movie, but I hope they make one, anyway. I would keep watching Thor movies until the end of time comes for real. They’re just awfully fun to watch. I say keep Hemsworth, Hiddleston, and Elba, somehow bring back all the women (and Stellan Skarsgard), and then just continue making Thor movies until all the actors retire. I promise I will go see every single one. (And now with Movie Pass, I can afford to!)