I like Chris Hemsworth. I didn’t like the first two Thor movies. They just didn’t seem that good. I’ve seen them but can’t remember much. To be honest, Thor was a crapshoot on how it would determine the MCU. While the character works in the Avengers movies, it doesn’t really work as a standalone.
However, Thor: Ragnarok works mainly because it just seemed like they were going for broke. By taking it down this more lighter tone with some absurdist humor compliments of Taika Watiti at the director’s helm, it was enjoyable. Also, the cast flow comfortably in their roles. It was nice to see a more relax version of Thor as well as Tom Hiddleston really excelling in the role of Loki. The pairing of Thor with Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) seemed crazy but it worked. And there was a nice performance by Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster as an antagonistic character as he brought his own charisma to the role.
Yet, there was a down ending as Thanos’ ship arrived in the final end credits scene and it seemed all Thor, Loki and Banner/Hulk had done had been all for naught in the first few minutes of Avengers: Infinity War. In this movie, Thor was introduced to the Guardians of the Galaxy and by the end of Avengers: Endgame, he was going away with him on their ship as he had packed on a lot of weight drinking beer and playing video games in New Asgaard.
Here the movie begins with Thor finally getting back in shape and working with the Guardians along with Korg (voiced by Waititi), a Kronan who has a body of rocks, battling evil forces all over the universe. They receive a distress call from the Asgard warrior Sif (Jaime Alexander) so Thor and Korg answer her call while the Guardians go on to others (and possibly the plot of the upcoming third GotG movie as well as other futher MCU movies).
Sif battled Gorr (Christian Bale) a god-killing character who has the Necrosword and lost her left arm. In a prologue, it’s revealed that Gorr worshipped the god Rapu but he was the last of the tribe along with his daughter, Love (Hemsworth’s own daughter, India) were left to struggle in a barren desert resulting in Love’s death. Gorr renounces Rapu when he discovered he doesn’t care about his own worshippers and uses the Necrosword to kill Rapu.
Sif tells Thor and Korg that Gorr is heading toward New Asgard where Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), has been able to turn it from the fishing village in Norway it was in Endgame to a top tourist attraction. She’s been crowned the ruler of New Asgard functioning more as a mayor than a monarch and the community is thriving because of its attraction bringing in cruise ships as well as an ice cream parlor calling itself Infinity Conez and having the Infinity Stone Gauntlet as part of its logo.
Also in News Asgard is Dr. Jane Foster who is battling stage four cancer and believes that Thor’s hammer Mjolnir might help, which it does, by turning her into Mighty Thor as she and Thor and others battle Gorr. Unfortunately for this time around, I didn’t care much for Waitit’s direction, style or tone, which is becoming all too common not just with his work but most of the MCU. I liked the addition of The Guardians in the first part and it’s obvious Disney and Marvel see the 2014 GotG as a change in how the MCU has focused on more lighter and humorous elements.
I’m not saying everything has to be dark like Zack Snyder idea of superhero movies. They should be fun and exciting. But there’s too many damn cameos in this one. Matt Damon returns as an actor playing Loki, just like in Ragnarok, for a community play with Luke Hemsworth as Thor. There’s also Sam Neill as Odin and Melissa McCarthy as Hela in the play with her hubby Ben Faclone as the stage manager. Kat Dennings revises her role as Dr. Darcy Lewis in one scene. Stellan Skarsgard also reappears briefly as Selvig.
There’s too much of the goofiness of Waititi as it’s starting to get a little old. Russell Crowe appears as Zeus and the role is not so great. And the whole scene itself is signs that the cracks are starting to get wider and showing. I’m not saying they’re nearing the level of Batman & Robin back in 1997 but they’re getting close. And the fans themselves seem to be fed up with it from online comments. Waititi thinks blaring Guns N’ Roses on the soundtrack through actions scenes is going to get the audiences so riled up. But the problem is the action scenes seem so ludicrously planned that it’s not thrilling but cartoonish. Those also these two alien goats that scream very loud and it’s a constant running joke that Waititi was funny as it referenced that Taylor Swift meme. Once is okay but it’s all throughout the movie.
Bale does what he can in the performance of Gorr and it’s nice to see Portman again, but they seem to be in a different movie. It’s hard to feel sympathy for their characters when the next line of dialogue is a punchline or a gag. It reminds me of the proposed script that Mario Puzo reportedly wrote for the Superman movie that was rejected in which Supes is chasing Lex Luthor throw a crowded area and sees a balded man. But it’s none other than Telly Savalas, who says, “Who loves you, baby?!” before shoving a lollipop in Supes’ mouth.
That type of cornball humor is on full display here as it has been for many MCU movies for a while now. I’m almost wondering why the same fans who are perfectly okay with it now were so upset with it 25 years ago when Arnold Schwarzenegger turned Mr. Freeze into Henny Youngman in Batman & Robin. Is there so much hatred for DC Comics and their movies, which granted have been up to par but at least not as saturated? Are the fans willing to accept anything from the MCU as long as they don’t show Uncle Ben getting shot again?
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 