Thor: Ragnarok Review
Thor: Ragnarok's cast consists of Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, and Mark Ruffalo. Taika Waititi directs and also has a small role in the film.
I suggest checking out the Kids-In-Mind article for this one. Thor: Ragnarok is one of the more violent entries in the MCU, with characters being killed left and right, much to its own detriment, and while it's not that bad, parents of children under six may want to check out the link to make their own opinion on whether or not their kid should see this film.
While its one of the more violent MCU films, Thor: Ragnarok is also one of the funniest. Make no mistake, this is almost a superhero comedy. The characters make a lot of great jokes and some of them made me laugh, but while I would classify this as a near-comedy, Thor: Ragnarok didn't make me laugh as much as I thought it would. That's where the "near" part comes in. Those trailers teased so many laughs and not many of the jokes, outside of the ones in that were in the trailers, made me laugh out loud. Sure, I chuckled and I let out the occasional and brief laugh, but I laughed more hard in, say, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 than I did in Thor: Ragnarok.
That may be because, for whatever reason, I may not have understood some of the jokes, but I would gather that the other reason may be because, as Taika Waititi stated, eighty percent of the film is improvised. That hurts not only in the humor, but with the performances as well. All of the actors do, at the very least, a good job with all their roles, but having eighty percent improvisation going on was a bit too much. Fifty percent would've been the perfect balance between scripted and improvised dialogue, but eighty was too much, especially when you see all the performances. There were some scenes where you can tell some of the actors were trying to make up their own dialogue and the lines they came up with didn't work for me. It also hurts the more serious moments, because I felt they could have been played more dramatically, but in the end, they are glossed over. Likely, due to no scripted dialogue prepared. Having a majority of the film being improvised, made the whole cast come off casual at times. Thor and Loki, for instance, have great lines of what I assume, is both improvised and scripted, but when they're improvising and they try to be funny, sincere, or heroic, it falls flat.
The Revengers
That being said, after two films, Thor finally finds his place in this universe. Of the three main Avengers, Thor's been the one with the least amount of success in the MCU. His first film was a great introduction to the character and brought magic to the young MCU, but his second film was not good to say the least. With Ragnarok, the thing that Joss Whedon did with Thor in both Avengers movies, Taika Waititi does, and that's making the character funny.
In his first film, you where laughing at Thor, than with him and in The Dark World, he wasn't cracking any jokes. When Thor's having a blast and being intentionally funny, he's the standout of the film and sure enough, Thor completely owns this movie. He finally is good throughout. I believe that he's the least affected with eighty percent of the film being improvised, due to Chris Hemsworth embodying the character the way he does and being so good with humor already. With Ragnarok, it's finally confirmed that one of Chris Hemsworth's strengths is his ability to crack jokes and make them funny. Does he have not-so stellar comments? There were a few, but beyond the humor, he did the action well and the character's relationships with Bruce and Loki gave you a cozy feeling. At times, this is a heartfelt film and Chris Hemsworth does such a good job, that you almost forget that there are other characters in this movie.
Seeing Mark Ruffalo back into the MCU after, what seems like, so long of an absence, reminded me of how great an asset this character is to the rest of the universe. I have to be honest that I enjoyed seeing Bruce back more than the Hulk. Primarily, because Bruce and Thor have had great interactions with one another and that continues with this film. I was a bit disappointed that Bruce didn't have a lot to do with his time. He was funny and brought more life to the film. While I was intrigued at first by Hulk finally being able to speak more fluently, the voice took a while to get used to. Especially since this the first MCU film where Hulk is more featured than Bruce was. The additions to Hulk's personality and his child-like sensibility made the character more interesting than originally viewed. With Hulk being able to talk more, and actually have conversations with his fellow heroes, I'm curious where the trait is taken from here.
Valkyrie and Loki were the two main characters that had nothing to do. That does not mean that they were not welcome, it is simply the fact that when you boil it down, neither character had much to do on their own, aside from serving as an extra pair of hands to defeat Hela. In the first half of her screen time, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie was essentially a drunk as well as a pain in Thor's side who did not want to listen to anything Thor had to say. I'm hearing some critics say that part of her role was to serve as the new love interest for Thor and I do not see it. Especially since there were little, if any, hints to that fact, I do not believe it and in truth, I am glad that she was not the love interest. It proved that not every female character in the MCU films, have to serve as the basic love interest and that is one of the few things I enjoyed about her. As a character, she was alright. From a performance standpoint, Tessa Thompson did great, but she did not need to be in the film and you can tell that just by how much screen time she has.
Valkyrie and Loki were the two main characters that had nothing to do. That does not mean that they were not welcome, it is simply the fact that when you boil it down, neither character had much to do on their own, aside from serving as an extra pair of hands to defeat Hela. In the first half of her screen time, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie was essentially a drunk as well as a pain in Thor's side who did not want to listen to anything Thor had to say. I'm hearing some critics say that part of her role was to serve as the new love interest for Thor and I do not see it. Especially since there were little, if any, hints to that fact, I do not believe it and in truth, I am glad that she was not the love interest. It proved that not every female character in the MCU films, have to serve as the basic love interest and that is one of the few things I enjoyed about her. As a character, she was alright. From a performance standpoint, Tessa Thompson did great, but she did not need to be in the film and you can tell that just by how much screen time she has.
Hela, Skurge, and Grandmaster
The quality of the characters, Hela, Skurge, and the Grandmaster, vary from great to underutilized. My favorite of the three was unquestionably Grandmaster. Not just because I am a Jeff Goldlbum fan, but because the actor exceeded my expectations. At first, I thought Grandmaster was going to be in one or two scenes and then just disappear from the rest of the movie. That was not the case. He was not a main character in the movie, but he had more of a role than I thought he would get. Jeff Goldblum did not disappoint with this role as he was one of the most entertaining characters in this movie. Like Thor, the Grandmaster provided jokes that got me to laugh and I did not expect that from this character. That was because Grandmaster is the brother of the Collector, played by Benicio del Toro in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, and that character was not a funny character like Grandmaster is here. Jeff Goldblum was so great that every time he was on screen, he stole the show and my complete attention was on him.
I’m particularly mixed on Hela. While Cate Blanchett did well, the character herself was not as prominent as I was led to believe. Her screen time was short and in a two hour and fifteen minute movie, it would have been better if more of that runtime was dedicated to develop Hela as a character, than to some of the not-so-stellar moments we had with the other characters. I’ve praised the way the MCU has masterfully created it’s continuity, but I did not find Hela’s connections to the story fruitful. It felt more forced and did not give you that feeling of genius that is normally associated with Marvel's reveals. With the time that was given with the character, Hela did not make for an engaging character. She killed a lot of people, but beyond that, her character was given the bare minimum story arch. I'm guessing that she'll return in future films and if that's the case, I'm open to her changing my current feelings on her. Descent performance from Cate Blanchett, but the role was significantly underwritten and underutilized.
Karl Urban is another one of my favorite actors to watch and I usually have an absolute blast watching his performances, particularly in the recent Star Trek movies as Bones. Here, as Skurge, he wasn't needed. The character was very much a way to incorporate more jokes. His character goes through the obvious turn evil and redemption arch in the span of roughly thirty minutes of screen time. The character did not need to be there, but I enjoyed him nonetheless.
As advertised, there's a lot of action to be featured in Thor: Ragnarok. With the addition of characters like the Hulk, it's much more entertaining and engaging than the two previous films. Also spotted in the trailers, Thor's new lightning ability used effectively and served as a great and interesting addition to the established character. There's spaceship battles and a good mix of hand-to-hand combat. It's all good stuff and it is used just enough, so that it does not get tiresome. There may not be a lot of action, but when it was on screen, I was entertained and I laughed due to some of the comments made during the fight scenes.
Action, CGI, and Score
The action is great, but the CGI is some of the weakest CGI to be seen in the MCU. The new Hulk design is the best and cleanest we've had the character. Asgard and the other planets we are introduced to look great, my only quarrel with the effects is that it isn't as seamless in some areas. Some scenes, specifically when the location is a simple field of grass, it is clear that CGI is there and it looks like the actors are walking in front of a green screen. Considering the heights set by the precious Marvel movies, I would've expected more care and more seamless effects work done.
It's funny how in my last review, which was for The Lego Ninjago Movie, I stated that Mark Mothersbaugh's score there was simply alright. Here, for Thor: Ragnarok, his score is one of the highlights of the film. That's saying a lot, considering there's a lot of great things about this film.
The most noticeable element about his score here is that there's an 80s style incorporated into the entire soundtrack. It suited the film, because the direction from Taika Waititi and the title logo teases such a feel. There's something very old-fashioned about it and yet it is also timeless in a way. Techno instruments are used and it is a mix of electronic keyboards and guitars.
For extra points, the soundtrack also incorporates Patrick Doyle and Brian Tyler's themes from the first two Thor films as well as a hint of the score from Avengers: Age of Ultron. The themes sound better than ever, because of its mix with Mark Mothersbaugh's soundtrack and I had a feeling that the combination wouldn't work, yet it did.
The most noticeable element about his score here is that there's an 80s style incorporated into the entire soundtrack. It suited the film, because the direction from Taika Waititi and the title logo teases such a feel. There's something very old-fashioned about it and yet it is also timeless in a way. Techno instruments are used and it is a mix of electronic keyboards and guitars.
For extra points, the soundtrack also incorporates Patrick Doyle and Brian Tyler's themes from the first two Thor films as well as a hint of the score from Avengers: Age of Ultron. The themes sound better than ever, because of its mix with Mark Mothersbaugh's soundtrack and I had a feeling that the combination wouldn't work, yet it did.
First Theatrical Viewing: B
Second Theatrical Viewing: A-
It may be my least favorite of the MCU films to come out this year, but as you can see by the grade, that doesn't make Thor: Ragnarok a bad movie. It is a great entry into the canon and you should definitely see it. The film has its issues, but Thor: Ragnarok contains great characters/performances, colorful effects, an alright message, and fun action to keep any and all viewers entertained. Don't wait to see this one. See this movie in theaters and in 2D. I did not see this in 3D, but I did not find that I was missing out on anything that a third-dimensional experience could bring. Make sure to stay for the two end credit scenes and keep an eye out for the Stan Lee cameo. It is easily his best cameo in any of the Marvel films he has appeared in.
That's my review of Thor: Ragnarok. What did you think of the film if you saw it this past weekend? Do you like the film more than me, or is your opinion of the film the same as me? Share those thoughts in the comments section below, I've been working on my MCU ranking, so expect that to come within a week with Thor: Ragnarok now included. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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