Big, dumb, and fun.
The seventeenth entry in Marvel's Cinematic Universe was released worldwide on November
3, 2017.
With rave reviews and strong ticket sales, the PG-13 rated film eared back its $180 million
budget by the end of its opening weekend.
New Zealand director Taika Waititi really impressed me with his previous two movies,
"What We Do In The Shadows" and "Hunt For The Wilderpeople" - both fresh and charming
comedy/dramas that never took themselves too seriously.
And that irreverence has been applied wholeheartedly to the third picture in Marvel's heretofore
most disappointing series.
Although the first two "Thor" films are decently entertaining - they both rank in my bottom-five
in the ever-growing MCU catalog.
So to say this is an improvement is an understatement; "Ragnarok" is the best "Thor" movie by a country
mile.
Banished to a mysterious world after the death of their father Odin, the princes of Asgard
reluctantly join forces to overthrow a powerful new threat that aims to destroy their kingdom.
Invariably, this narrative bears many similarities to one of my favorite epics, "Ben Hur"; a
prince is banished from his kingdom and must fight his way back - by way of gladiator-style
competition - to vanquish the person who stole his throne.
It's a familiar, if time-tested formula that works remarkably well to ground the other-worldly
narrative; which is important since almost none of the action takes place on Earth.
Chris Hemsworth once again portrays the title character, but after becoming bored with this
role in his previous four outings; things have been mixed up a bit here.
Namely they've cut his hair, changed his clothes, and taken away his magic hammer.
The result is a more vulnerable, but cheekier interpretation of this character; sharing
similarities to Kurt Russell's "Jack Burton" in "Big Trouble In Little China".
Hemsworth nails this slight character shift, and proves to be a natural with the film's
many improvisational moments.
With the notable exception of his Earthling-friends (and Jamie Alexander), all the characters
from previous Thor films reprise their roles here; Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston are the
obvious standouts; continuing to demonstrate why they're the most interesting characters
in the entire franchise.
Joining the group is Cate Blanchett as another dime-a-dozen evil empress who is predictably
more powerful than our heroes, but not too powerful enough to actually stop them; a bald
Karl Urban is her opportunist lackey, Jeff Goldblum plays an alien version of himself
to absolute perfection; Tessa Thompson is sadly generic as a hard-drinking bounty hunter
turned teammate; while Mark Ruffalo crosses over into this series in a big way as The
Hulk.
He shares one of the film's few quiet scenes when Hemsworth confesses, "We're the same,
you and I.
We're just a couple of hotheaded fools."
This is a big cast - and while not everyone gets enough time to shine, it's the individual
pairings that work surprisingly well.
Whether Hemsworth is trading contentious barbs with Hiddleston, or Ruffalo is downplaying
his alter-ego to Thompson, or Goldblum is talking to literally anyone...
everyone meshes together well.
My favorite creature was a soft-spoken rock solider voiced by Waititi himself - as nearly
all of his lines scored laughter.
And on the directing side of things, Waititi isn't
afraid to punctuate a dramatic monologue with a sudden bit of physical humor; a technique
used a couple times with hilarious effectiveness.
The film kicks off with a raucous cold open, set to Led Zeppelin's incredibly-fitting "Immigrant
Song".
When Robert Planet belts out "The hammer of the gods", just as Thor swings his trusty
Mjolnir into a horde of underworld enemies; it is positively impossible not to smile.
Especially when you consider how rarely Page and Plant license their music for media like
this.
Moments after that bad-ass fight sequence, we're treated to a surprise celebrity cameo
that had me literally howling in my packed theater.
This mixture of loud action and goofy humor permeates throughout the extremely well-paced
130-minute script.
The score from Mark Mothersbaugh feels a bit like blending the opening bass-line of "Another
Bites The Dust" with the techno synthesizer sounds of "The Stranger Things" theme song.
It doesn't do enough to break the trend of Marvel movies having unforgettable music - but
it's a solid effort.
The overall jokiness easily makes this best "Thor" movie yet - but it also prevents it
from becoming truly effective on an emotional level.
With crowd-pleasing twists on the tired superhero formula, "Thor: Ragnarok" is a very enjoyable
time.
I thought it was GREAT.
That does it for this review - but if you'd like to watch more "Movie Night", click or
tap the thumbnails on the left.
And don't forget to visit the Jogwheel YouTube channel to see full episodes of this show
in addition to the other content I produce.
My name is Jonathan Paula, thanks for watching and have a good Movie Night!