Movie Reviews: Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok
May 18, 2018 21:58:08 GMT -5
Porridge{QAW} likes this
Post by Sgt. AWOLaLot on May 18, 2018 21:58:08 GMT -5
Reviews for the two latest solo Marvel films.
"It’s been a long time, but I finally have time to write another review. And I’m going to talk about the film that’s been killing it at the box office, Black Panther.
Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’O, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis. The film takes place very soon after the events of Captain America: Civil War and follows T’Challa (the Black Panther) as he returns to Wakanda to be made the new king after his father’s death. Coming with this new responsibility, however, are big challenges that many leaders face; these include T’Challa having his leadership challenged, and how active Wakanda should be in participating with the rest of the modern world. What ensues is indeed a very good superhero film that really shines in the second half; though I think it might be a little overrated for reasons I will state below.
One of the most attractive things about Black Panther would have to be how different it feels compared to the other Marvel films. Most of it takes place in Wakanda; a country that appears poor to the rest of the world, but is actually one of the most powerful due to the large concentration of vibranium on which it’s settled. Because of Wakanda’s isolationist stance, this allows for world building that isn’t strapped by other events or characters in the MCU. The influence of these other events is minimal: the death of T’Challa’s father and the characters played by Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis are the only big connections I can think of at the moment. This means the audience gets to experience a little of the culture in Wakanda, such as native dancing and the ritual challenges for the throne. We also get to see the different tribes and how they interact, including one tribe that operates separately from the rest of Wakanda.
The world building is something that I really liked about Black Panther, but the part I’m still not sure about is just how impressive the vibranium technology is. I can roll with Wakanda being able to hide itself and secretly being a powerful nation, but there were a couple things that tested my suspension of disbelief. I am aware that the power or potential of items or characters in comic book films (or really anything that’s fantasy) aren’t always well defined or consistent and it doesn’t break the movie for me, but it was still in my mind. Also, if one thinks about it, I don’t think that Wakanda’s primitive (for lack of a better word) method of choosing a leader makes sense considering its advanced, almost utopian society. But that’s just me overthinking it.
The one thing that Marvel has been consistently strong in is how well it writes its heroes; on the flip side, it’s known for lacking compelling villains besides Loki. This is an area where Black Panther again sets itself apart; I’m even going to go as far as to say that the main villain, Killmonger, outshines Black Panther in this film. I can’t really say a lot about Killmonger without going into spoilers, but I will say that he is one of the most compelling MCU villains since Loki. He is a villain that was created from the sins of fathers with a believable motive; a motive I strongly disagree with, but it’s grounded.
While I did find Killmonger’s character arc the most interesting, T’Challa’s is also very good. As mentioned before T’Challas is set to be the new king of Wakanda, which comes with a new set of challenges for him. One of the most important challenges centered around how open that Wakanda should be to the rest of the world. Wakanda has the capability to help the world in amazing ways; but when choosing to partake in globalization, a host of new problems come with it. Other nations could see them as a threat that needs to be conquered because of the vibranium; arms dealers (besides Serkis’ character) would likely bribe and even fight their way in for it. There would also be people like Killmonger who believe Wakanda should become a military power to “solve” the world’s problems. There are obvious real-world parallels that come with this issue. And I know a lot of people would disagree, but I wouldn’t blame T’Challa if he wanted the true Wakanda to stay hidden. There are just some things in this world that can’t be completely fixed, and one nation certainly couldn’t.
My main point with that though is that this issue of isolationism versus globalization is present throughout the film, and it reveals itself to T’Challa in a very personal and revealing way through Killmonger. Since Killmonger’s motives have a realistic foundation, it makes sense that T’Challa would question the methods of previous Wakandan kings.
I also liked the dynamic that T’Challa had with his sister, Shuri. They had plenty of moments/exchanges that were humorous and fun to watch. Then there’s the romantic subplot with him and Nakia. I never mind a little romance in films, as long as it’s well written. With this one it was present throughout, but it wasn’t distracting nor did it feel forced. It also provided for some other humorous moments (“Did he freeze?”… “Like an antelope in headlights”).
Andy Serkis’ character is one I’m a little mixed on. He last appeared in Age of Ultron when Ultron nonchalantly cut off his arm. The performance itself was fantastic, as is usual from Serkis. The entrance his character had was great too; it was quick, but still impactful and even a little brutal. But after that, his character is reduced to being more of a plot device. I found myself enjoying the character more for Serkis’ performance than what the character was contributing. This isn’t a huge negative, but I can’t help but think Serkis deserved a little better.
And that leads me into the overall structure of Black Panther and why I think it comes up short as a truly great superhero film: the first half to me didn’t have anything that spectacular about it; but about halfway through, one character is no longer involved in the plot and from that point it is very good. The first half focused on the world building/character building, which makes sense narratively. Many of these moments I really liked, such as the ritual fight for the throne or some of the character interactions, but at the same time they could make things drag a little. The first action sequence is also, to be perfectly honest, pretty bad. It’s during the night and people are trying to shoot Black Panther, so you’ve got bright muzzle flashes mixed with quick cuts and weird closeups so it’s hard to tell what’s going on. The next action sequence is a lot better and a quite a bit of fun but it feels kind of trivial and the objective behind it is just a sideshow. I think a reason for this disconnect is because the main conflict isn’t really presented to us until the second half. The other part would be that T’Challa, our hero, isn’t given a very compelling obstacle until the second half. I think that is the fundamental reason why the first half is simply average, where the second half is truly compelling.
In that second half though, I think we get some of the best we’ve gotten from Marvel. Our main villain is executing his plan, T’Challa is faced with a hard obstacle, and the action sequences have more weight to them. There are also moments of revelation that hit pretty hard and again gives very understandable reasons for T’Challa to disagree with what previous kings have done. The final battle and confrontation are quite good; there is one part that looks like it came out of Spider-Man 2 or 3, though. It was odd, but at the same time I don’t mind the director taking some inspiration from Sam Raimi (give him another superhero film with creative freedom please). Other than that, I can’t comment much on the directing because it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and am still developing how to catch the subtleties of storytelling with a camera.
The music was composed by Ludwig Goransson, a Swedish composer. I enjoyed the music in context (haven’t listened to it by itself yet), and I’d say this is the most unique MCU score since Doctor Strange in terms of its sound palette. We get African drums and chants to represent the African setting; a heroic theme for Black Panther that I can’t remember, but I know it starts with trumpets playing a fanfare like rhythm going up the scale; and a beautiful, solemn cello theme that I think is meant to represent the ancestors of Black Panther and Killmonger and their sins/failures.
Overall, Black Panther is a very good Marvel film, but it falls short of greatness due to its first half. I do think it is being a little overrated, and a lot of that is coming for reasons similar to the way I felt Wonder Woman was overrated. With this film taking place in Africa, most of the cast is black. This makes perfect sense, and I did enjoy seeing a film, and a Marvel film at that, in a different place like this. But as someone who reviews movies, I have NOT and will NEVER give a film a pass or extra praise purely based on whether it makes itself “diverse enough”. Things like that should not make one blind or unaccepting of a film’s flaws. What I care about is if it serves the story and if the characters are well written, and Black Panther accomplishes both of those things (mostly). It should also go both ways: this film takes place in an African country, so of course most of the cast will be black. I knew that going in and enjoyed the characters. But that means people have no right to complain about films like Dunkirk, a World War II film following mostly British soldiers aiming for historical accuracy, for being too white and not showing any of the international troops that may have been on that beach (which was probably less than 1% of 400,000 men). There are some that did complain, which isn’t fair. That’s all I’ll say about that. Black Panther was good and a fine addition to the line of MCU films."
And Thor: Ragnarok
"“I know what you're thinking. "Oh, no. Thor's in a cage. How did this happen?" Well, sometimes you have to get captured just to get a straight answer out of something. It's a long story. Basically, I'm a bit of a hero. See, I've spent some time on Earth... for the record, I saved the planet a couple of times. Then I went searching through the cosmos for a couple of magic colorful Infinity Stone things... but didn't find any. That's when I came across a path of death, and destruction. Which led me all the way here to this cage... where I met you.”
Those are the opening lines to the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok. I’ve now seen the film twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time was with friends’ house and was a great time; though I didn’t focus very intensely. The second time I was able to focus more and better gauge how I felt about it. It’s definitely a different kind of Thor film and a very fun ride. It was an unexpected direction for Thor to go, but it satisfied most people. I’d mostly agree; but there are some issues to be mentioned.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) is directed by Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeff Goldblum. The film takes place approximately two years after Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was the last film to feature either Thor or Bruce Banner (which blows my mind when I think about it. That’s two years for them and FOUR years since Loki was in a film). This film follows Thor and his return to Asgard and the Nine Realms, which he discovers is in chaos when it’s supposed to be under the watchful eye of Odin (pun not intended, but enjoy it anyway). This is of course because Odin is actually Loki in disguise (those that may have forgotten, find the post credits scene to Thor: The Dark World). Along the way he has to deal with his sister, Hela, who has returned to claim the throne after being banished by Odin. This leads to a very energetic, hilarious, and somewhat strange film.
From the opening lines I wrote above and the opening sequence, it’s easy to tell that the writers were going in a different direction with Thor’s character and this film. Thor’s dialogue is more humorous and witty than in the past, the cinematography and color palette are brighter than Thor: The Dark World (and probably the original Thor too), and there are some directing choices that reinforce the fun, energetic approach. In the opening sequence Thor has been “captured” by a being named Surtur, who’s goal and purpose is to destroy Asgard by causing Ragnarok (in the actual mythology, Ragnarok is the end times and results in the death of many Norse gods). This scene brings memories of when simpler cartoon villains would lay out their plans to the heroes in a monologue, and Thor’s dialogue makes it quite funny. And of course, the poor timing of his hammer and him spinning in the chain was funny too. Then the first action scene occurs (which reminded me a lot of the Mines of Moria; heck, Surtur even looks like the Balrog), and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” plays. If the new tone for Thor wasn’t made clear already, this confirms it.
After this Thor returns to Asgard through the Bifrost and instead of finding Heimdall to meet him, he finds Skurge trying to impress some ladies. Knowing something is wrong, he goes and finds Odin who’s enjoying some theater (which as an unexpected but fun cameo). One thing I liked about this scene is that Thor shows he is no longer fooled by Loki’s tricks, having Loki play chicken with his hammer (“All right, I yield!”). It’s also very exciting to see Loki and Thor play off each other in a film again. Say what you will about Thor: The Dark World, but the dynamic between Thor and Loki is great, especially during their escape (“Now they’re following us… Now they’re firing on us!” “Yeah, thank you for the commentary Loki, it’s not at all distracting!”). Ragnarok continues that while making it even funnier than in The Dark World.
This continues when they end up on Sakaar. As one can tell from the trailer Thor is captured, his hair is sadly cut, and he’s thrown into a gladiator battle against the Hulk. Most of the middle section of the film takes place on this planet, and this is where many of its funniest moments happen. The interactions between Loki and Thor are hilarious (“Hey, let’s do ‘Get Help’… “We are not doing ‘Get Help’), and Hemsworth and Hiddleston show great comedic timing.
It’s also good to see Bruce Banner/Hulk again. Banner has been the Hulk since leaving in Age of Ultron, so we get to see a little more of the Hulk than the battle hungry savage we saw in the previous Avenger films. He interacts with Thor and says complete (though simple) sentences. As for Banner, being the Hulk for so long has had something of a mental toll on him (“I don’t know, maybe being trapped inside a giant green monster for two years has made me a little weird!”); to the point that he doesn’t want to become the Hulk again. Ruffalo’s performance is good as always and it’s fun to see Banner help without changing.
Ragnarok also introduces new characters, some which will hopefully get to see again. There’s Hela, Thor’s sister and the main villain of the film. While I enjoyed Cate Blanchett’s performance, Hela is probably the weakest villain from the Phase 3 MCU films so far. This is because her character is more one dimensional than Vulture, Killmonger, and especially Thanos. We get a bit of her backstory and the reason behind her goals, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot to her character. I attribute this to the fact that the film is more of a comedy Definitely a more interesting villain than Malekith though.
There’s also Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, an eccentric, colorful man who is the leader on Sakaar. He is one of the strangest characters to come out of the MCU. He encourages gladiator matches and will kill people that fail him, yet he has a very eccentric wardrobe and personality. A funny addition for sure. There’s also Valkyrie, a former Asgardian warrior that now serves the Grandmaster. She’s a decent character and her interactions with Banner are funny, but wouldn’t call her a favorite yet. Need to see her in more films.
Then of course, there’s Korg. A large being made of rocks that’s a good fighter, but who’s also very polite in his demeanor and speech. Portrayed by the director, Waititi, he provides for some great comic relief (“Has anyone fought the Grandmaster’s champion?” “Yeah, Doug has. Hey Doug, could you come over here? Oh yeah, I forgot, Doug’s dead”).
The score was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. I have mixed feelings on this score; it has some things I like, other things I didn’t like. What I did like was the musical references to the previous Thor films; my favorite is definitely during the play of Loki’s death and the Asgard choir sings the cue that played during Frigga’s funeral in Thor: The Dark World (Brian Tyler’s “Into Eternity”) as source music, which meant the characters could actually here it. People who don’t pay as close attention to film scores probably didn’t think much of it or even notice, but I thought it was hilarious. I also liked that Mothersbaugh brought back Patrick Doyle’s theme from the first Thor film when Thor takes his place on the throne.
What I didn’t like was when 80’s style synthesizers came in, especially during the space ship escape off Sakaar. It was off-putting to hear, especially in a Thor film. I know Waititi was going for a different kind of Thor and wanted an 80’s vibe, but that style of synthesizers didn’t feel appropriate for this film, especially when Doyle and Tyler already established an orchestral sound with some synthesized sounds, though they were mostly percussive and didn’t sound as cheesy or dated.
Overall, I really enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok as a standalone film. It’s better than The Dark World, and probably better than the first one. Looking at the list I made though, I’d have to rank it 8th (Infinity War would now be number 1, with Doctor Strange at 7th and Spider-Man: Homecoming at 9th). I also kind of need to separate from the other Thor films. I understand that Thor has changed as the films have gone on and he’s met the other Avengers, but to take a character who is royalty and adapted from a Norse god and give him more “Americanized” dialogue is quite the change. But if you, like most people, can separate it from the other Thor films and accept this new take on Thor, there’s a lot to like in this film. It’s fun, strange, and one of the funniest MCU films."
"It’s been a long time, but I finally have time to write another review. And I’m going to talk about the film that’s been killing it at the box office, Black Panther.
Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’O, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis. The film takes place very soon after the events of Captain America: Civil War and follows T’Challa (the Black Panther) as he returns to Wakanda to be made the new king after his father’s death. Coming with this new responsibility, however, are big challenges that many leaders face; these include T’Challa having his leadership challenged, and how active Wakanda should be in participating with the rest of the modern world. What ensues is indeed a very good superhero film that really shines in the second half; though I think it might be a little overrated for reasons I will state below.
One of the most attractive things about Black Panther would have to be how different it feels compared to the other Marvel films. Most of it takes place in Wakanda; a country that appears poor to the rest of the world, but is actually one of the most powerful due to the large concentration of vibranium on which it’s settled. Because of Wakanda’s isolationist stance, this allows for world building that isn’t strapped by other events or characters in the MCU. The influence of these other events is minimal: the death of T’Challa’s father and the characters played by Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis are the only big connections I can think of at the moment. This means the audience gets to experience a little of the culture in Wakanda, such as native dancing and the ritual challenges for the throne. We also get to see the different tribes and how they interact, including one tribe that operates separately from the rest of Wakanda.
The world building is something that I really liked about Black Panther, but the part I’m still not sure about is just how impressive the vibranium technology is. I can roll with Wakanda being able to hide itself and secretly being a powerful nation, but there were a couple things that tested my suspension of disbelief. I am aware that the power or potential of items or characters in comic book films (or really anything that’s fantasy) aren’t always well defined or consistent and it doesn’t break the movie for me, but it was still in my mind. Also, if one thinks about it, I don’t think that Wakanda’s primitive (for lack of a better word) method of choosing a leader makes sense considering its advanced, almost utopian society. But that’s just me overthinking it.
The one thing that Marvel has been consistently strong in is how well it writes its heroes; on the flip side, it’s known for lacking compelling villains besides Loki. This is an area where Black Panther again sets itself apart; I’m even going to go as far as to say that the main villain, Killmonger, outshines Black Panther in this film. I can’t really say a lot about Killmonger without going into spoilers, but I will say that he is one of the most compelling MCU villains since Loki. He is a villain that was created from the sins of fathers with a believable motive; a motive I strongly disagree with, but it’s grounded.
While I did find Killmonger’s character arc the most interesting, T’Challa’s is also very good. As mentioned before T’Challas is set to be the new king of Wakanda, which comes with a new set of challenges for him. One of the most important challenges centered around how open that Wakanda should be to the rest of the world. Wakanda has the capability to help the world in amazing ways; but when choosing to partake in globalization, a host of new problems come with it. Other nations could see them as a threat that needs to be conquered because of the vibranium; arms dealers (besides Serkis’ character) would likely bribe and even fight their way in for it. There would also be people like Killmonger who believe Wakanda should become a military power to “solve” the world’s problems. There are obvious real-world parallels that come with this issue. And I know a lot of people would disagree, but I wouldn’t blame T’Challa if he wanted the true Wakanda to stay hidden. There are just some things in this world that can’t be completely fixed, and one nation certainly couldn’t.
My main point with that though is that this issue of isolationism versus globalization is present throughout the film, and it reveals itself to T’Challa in a very personal and revealing way through Killmonger. Since Killmonger’s motives have a realistic foundation, it makes sense that T’Challa would question the methods of previous Wakandan kings.
I also liked the dynamic that T’Challa had with his sister, Shuri. They had plenty of moments/exchanges that were humorous and fun to watch. Then there’s the romantic subplot with him and Nakia. I never mind a little romance in films, as long as it’s well written. With this one it was present throughout, but it wasn’t distracting nor did it feel forced. It also provided for some other humorous moments (“Did he freeze?”… “Like an antelope in headlights”).
Andy Serkis’ character is one I’m a little mixed on. He last appeared in Age of Ultron when Ultron nonchalantly cut off his arm. The performance itself was fantastic, as is usual from Serkis. The entrance his character had was great too; it was quick, but still impactful and even a little brutal. But after that, his character is reduced to being more of a plot device. I found myself enjoying the character more for Serkis’ performance than what the character was contributing. This isn’t a huge negative, but I can’t help but think Serkis deserved a little better.
And that leads me into the overall structure of Black Panther and why I think it comes up short as a truly great superhero film: the first half to me didn’t have anything that spectacular about it; but about halfway through, one character is no longer involved in the plot and from that point it is very good. The first half focused on the world building/character building, which makes sense narratively. Many of these moments I really liked, such as the ritual fight for the throne or some of the character interactions, but at the same time they could make things drag a little. The first action sequence is also, to be perfectly honest, pretty bad. It’s during the night and people are trying to shoot Black Panther, so you’ve got bright muzzle flashes mixed with quick cuts and weird closeups so it’s hard to tell what’s going on. The next action sequence is a lot better and a quite a bit of fun but it feels kind of trivial and the objective behind it is just a sideshow. I think a reason for this disconnect is because the main conflict isn’t really presented to us until the second half. The other part would be that T’Challa, our hero, isn’t given a very compelling obstacle until the second half. I think that is the fundamental reason why the first half is simply average, where the second half is truly compelling.
In that second half though, I think we get some of the best we’ve gotten from Marvel. Our main villain is executing his plan, T’Challa is faced with a hard obstacle, and the action sequences have more weight to them. There are also moments of revelation that hit pretty hard and again gives very understandable reasons for T’Challa to disagree with what previous kings have done. The final battle and confrontation are quite good; there is one part that looks like it came out of Spider-Man 2 or 3, though. It was odd, but at the same time I don’t mind the director taking some inspiration from Sam Raimi (give him another superhero film with creative freedom please). Other than that, I can’t comment much on the directing because it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and am still developing how to catch the subtleties of storytelling with a camera.
The music was composed by Ludwig Goransson, a Swedish composer. I enjoyed the music in context (haven’t listened to it by itself yet), and I’d say this is the most unique MCU score since Doctor Strange in terms of its sound palette. We get African drums and chants to represent the African setting; a heroic theme for Black Panther that I can’t remember, but I know it starts with trumpets playing a fanfare like rhythm going up the scale; and a beautiful, solemn cello theme that I think is meant to represent the ancestors of Black Panther and Killmonger and their sins/failures.
Overall, Black Panther is a very good Marvel film, but it falls short of greatness due to its first half. I do think it is being a little overrated, and a lot of that is coming for reasons similar to the way I felt Wonder Woman was overrated. With this film taking place in Africa, most of the cast is black. This makes perfect sense, and I did enjoy seeing a film, and a Marvel film at that, in a different place like this. But as someone who reviews movies, I have NOT and will NEVER give a film a pass or extra praise purely based on whether it makes itself “diverse enough”. Things like that should not make one blind or unaccepting of a film’s flaws. What I care about is if it serves the story and if the characters are well written, and Black Panther accomplishes both of those things (mostly). It should also go both ways: this film takes place in an African country, so of course most of the cast will be black. I knew that going in and enjoyed the characters. But that means people have no right to complain about films like Dunkirk, a World War II film following mostly British soldiers aiming for historical accuracy, for being too white and not showing any of the international troops that may have been on that beach (which was probably less than 1% of 400,000 men). There are some that did complain, which isn’t fair. That’s all I’ll say about that. Black Panther was good and a fine addition to the line of MCU films."
And Thor: Ragnarok
"“I know what you're thinking. "Oh, no. Thor's in a cage. How did this happen?" Well, sometimes you have to get captured just to get a straight answer out of something. It's a long story. Basically, I'm a bit of a hero. See, I've spent some time on Earth... for the record, I saved the planet a couple of times. Then I went searching through the cosmos for a couple of magic colorful Infinity Stone things... but didn't find any. That's when I came across a path of death, and destruction. Which led me all the way here to this cage... where I met you.”
Those are the opening lines to the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok. I’ve now seen the film twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time was with friends’ house and was a great time; though I didn’t focus very intensely. The second time I was able to focus more and better gauge how I felt about it. It’s definitely a different kind of Thor film and a very fun ride. It was an unexpected direction for Thor to go, but it satisfied most people. I’d mostly agree; but there are some issues to be mentioned.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) is directed by Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeff Goldblum. The film takes place approximately two years after Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was the last film to feature either Thor or Bruce Banner (which blows my mind when I think about it. That’s two years for them and FOUR years since Loki was in a film). This film follows Thor and his return to Asgard and the Nine Realms, which he discovers is in chaos when it’s supposed to be under the watchful eye of Odin (pun not intended, but enjoy it anyway). This is of course because Odin is actually Loki in disguise (those that may have forgotten, find the post credits scene to Thor: The Dark World). Along the way he has to deal with his sister, Hela, who has returned to claim the throne after being banished by Odin. This leads to a very energetic, hilarious, and somewhat strange film.
From the opening lines I wrote above and the opening sequence, it’s easy to tell that the writers were going in a different direction with Thor’s character and this film. Thor’s dialogue is more humorous and witty than in the past, the cinematography and color palette are brighter than Thor: The Dark World (and probably the original Thor too), and there are some directing choices that reinforce the fun, energetic approach. In the opening sequence Thor has been “captured” by a being named Surtur, who’s goal and purpose is to destroy Asgard by causing Ragnarok (in the actual mythology, Ragnarok is the end times and results in the death of many Norse gods). This scene brings memories of when simpler cartoon villains would lay out their plans to the heroes in a monologue, and Thor’s dialogue makes it quite funny. And of course, the poor timing of his hammer and him spinning in the chain was funny too. Then the first action scene occurs (which reminded me a lot of the Mines of Moria; heck, Surtur even looks like the Balrog), and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” plays. If the new tone for Thor wasn’t made clear already, this confirms it.
After this Thor returns to Asgard through the Bifrost and instead of finding Heimdall to meet him, he finds Skurge trying to impress some ladies. Knowing something is wrong, he goes and finds Odin who’s enjoying some theater (which as an unexpected but fun cameo). One thing I liked about this scene is that Thor shows he is no longer fooled by Loki’s tricks, having Loki play chicken with his hammer (“All right, I yield!”). It’s also very exciting to see Loki and Thor play off each other in a film again. Say what you will about Thor: The Dark World, but the dynamic between Thor and Loki is great, especially during their escape (“Now they’re following us… Now they’re firing on us!” “Yeah, thank you for the commentary Loki, it’s not at all distracting!”). Ragnarok continues that while making it even funnier than in The Dark World.
This continues when they end up on Sakaar. As one can tell from the trailer Thor is captured, his hair is sadly cut, and he’s thrown into a gladiator battle against the Hulk. Most of the middle section of the film takes place on this planet, and this is where many of its funniest moments happen. The interactions between Loki and Thor are hilarious (“Hey, let’s do ‘Get Help’… “We are not doing ‘Get Help’), and Hemsworth and Hiddleston show great comedic timing.
It’s also good to see Bruce Banner/Hulk again. Banner has been the Hulk since leaving in Age of Ultron, so we get to see a little more of the Hulk than the battle hungry savage we saw in the previous Avenger films. He interacts with Thor and says complete (though simple) sentences. As for Banner, being the Hulk for so long has had something of a mental toll on him (“I don’t know, maybe being trapped inside a giant green monster for two years has made me a little weird!”); to the point that he doesn’t want to become the Hulk again. Ruffalo’s performance is good as always and it’s fun to see Banner help without changing.
Ragnarok also introduces new characters, some which will hopefully get to see again. There’s Hela, Thor’s sister and the main villain of the film. While I enjoyed Cate Blanchett’s performance, Hela is probably the weakest villain from the Phase 3 MCU films so far. This is because her character is more one dimensional than Vulture, Killmonger, and especially Thanos. We get a bit of her backstory and the reason behind her goals, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot to her character. I attribute this to the fact that the film is more of a comedy Definitely a more interesting villain than Malekith though.
There’s also Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, an eccentric, colorful man who is the leader on Sakaar. He is one of the strangest characters to come out of the MCU. He encourages gladiator matches and will kill people that fail him, yet he has a very eccentric wardrobe and personality. A funny addition for sure. There’s also Valkyrie, a former Asgardian warrior that now serves the Grandmaster. She’s a decent character and her interactions with Banner are funny, but wouldn’t call her a favorite yet. Need to see her in more films.
Then of course, there’s Korg. A large being made of rocks that’s a good fighter, but who’s also very polite in his demeanor and speech. Portrayed by the director, Waititi, he provides for some great comic relief (“Has anyone fought the Grandmaster’s champion?” “Yeah, Doug has. Hey Doug, could you come over here? Oh yeah, I forgot, Doug’s dead”).
The score was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. I have mixed feelings on this score; it has some things I like, other things I didn’t like. What I did like was the musical references to the previous Thor films; my favorite is definitely during the play of Loki’s death and the Asgard choir sings the cue that played during Frigga’s funeral in Thor: The Dark World (Brian Tyler’s “Into Eternity”) as source music, which meant the characters could actually here it. People who don’t pay as close attention to film scores probably didn’t think much of it or even notice, but I thought it was hilarious. I also liked that Mothersbaugh brought back Patrick Doyle’s theme from the first Thor film when Thor takes his place on the throne.
What I didn’t like was when 80’s style synthesizers came in, especially during the space ship escape off Sakaar. It was off-putting to hear, especially in a Thor film. I know Waititi was going for a different kind of Thor and wanted an 80’s vibe, but that style of synthesizers didn’t feel appropriate for this film, especially when Doyle and Tyler already established an orchestral sound with some synthesized sounds, though they were mostly percussive and didn’t sound as cheesy or dated.
Overall, I really enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok as a standalone film. It’s better than The Dark World, and probably better than the first one. Looking at the list I made though, I’d have to rank it 8th (Infinity War would now be number 1, with Doctor Strange at 7th and Spider-Man: Homecoming at 9th). I also kind of need to separate from the other Thor films. I understand that Thor has changed as the films have gone on and he’s met the other Avengers, but to take a character who is royalty and adapted from a Norse god and give him more “Americanized” dialogue is quite the change. But if you, like most people, can separate it from the other Thor films and accept this new take on Thor, there’s a lot to like in this film. It’s fun, strange, and one of the funniest MCU films."