Monday, November 6, 2017

A Ragnarok Of A Thor Movie!


Let me begin by saying that Thor: Ragnarok is a diverting entertainment. The pace is brisk and the action is well staged. We tumble along in a plot that though a bit creaky at times, manages to hold together enough to propel the viewer to the end. I've seen movies with much less. That said, Thor: Ragnarok was far from being the "best" of the Marvel movies to date and is not even the "best" Thor movie to date. While the Guardians of the Galaxy are a ton of fun and their misadventures set the world on fire, I  personally don't understand why the Thor universe was transformed into a movie with the same tone and character. More below, but SPOILERS will ensue. Thou art warned!


The GOOD: The acting in this movie is decent with Chris Helmsworth and Tom Hiddleston leading a dandy cast. That said, the story they were in demanded much of their comedy chops but exceedingly little else. Odin dies (of course being a god his death is suspect) yet the emotional effect is almost nil. Thor sheds a tear and Loki frowns but you'd expect a bit more angst with the loss of the All-Father.


Jeff Goldblum is an actor with a distinctive style and it's used to decent effect here as the Grandmaster, but the trick is overused by the end of the film. (Stay for the very end by the way.)


Tessa Thompson is dandy as Valkyrie and provides a little emotional depth to the proceedings. Alas the Hulk's counterpart Bruce Banner as portrayed by Mark Ruffalo is a tad clownish though that's what's expected of him.


I love Karl Urban, my favorite actor. He always delivers the goods and he did nothing less with his portrayal of Skurge, the Executioner. Though it takes a damn long time, he finally gets his shining moment and it's a keeper. His outstanding portrayal of the Brit super-cop Judge Dredd remains the best and most unsung presentation of a comic book character in the last decade. Likewise his Bones McCoy on the Star Trek movies threatens always to steal these giant flicks. Urban is the real deal and elevates everything he's in.


Kate Blanchett as Hela was exceedingly good and I loved the attention to her costume, especially when the mask would appear. There are so few masks in these movies and it's good to see one when it serves a good purpose. Liked seeing Surtur in the finale putting the sword to Asgard as foretold. It's a keeper of an image.


The BAD: The nigh instantaneous dispatch of the Warriors Three was a major bummer. Fandrall is killed with a glance and Volstagg gets a slightly more detailed demise. Only Hogun gets a death worthy of his role in the mythos. The story is crowded but these guys deserved much more after serving well and true in the previous movies. Cut one of Goldblum's Grandmaster riffs and you have thirty seconds to send them off with a bit more gusto. Sif was nowhere to be seen so she can still return I suppose. Heimdall is around but to honest his screen time is pretty minimal, though important to the plot.


There's a ton of back story in this movie and as the Marvel Universe expands onto the screen I expect things to get more and more confusing. There's a lot not explained nor even an attempt at doing so. Why for instance to the Grandmaster's guards all look exactly like Celestials. Was that just the appropriation of classic Kirby design or is there a story there? I suspect the former, but it's a puzzler.


The UGLY: The humor in this movie is well crafted and I enjoyed it, but that said, it was not what I expect in a Thor movie. Marvel is free to do with their characters what they want, but after the elegant Shakespearean wonder of the original and the dark foreboding of the second movie, this light-hearted romp seemed less important. Hardly a franchise killer as I'm sure it will make oodles of money, but as contribution to  saga of depth and mythic scope it might've have fallen a bit short.

The SPOILERS ENDETH!


I fault others for complaining about movies and books that aren't what they want them to be and I won't do that...exactly. But I wish we could have more than one tone in a Marvel movie and hopefully this sidetrack into a frothy comedy will be a mere diversion. It concerns me in a broader way in that this ironic way of viewing superheroes reminds me of the vintage Batman TV series where such types were the butt of jokes. One of the keys to the Marvel Universe is that it took its heroes seriously even if that didn't mean the heroes themselves were always serious. It's all too easy for movie creators, mildly embarrassed at working on a "superhero movie" (you hear the snide dig in reviews all the time) will increasingly want to bring in humor to deflect criticism. When that humor is well place fine, but as I detected in some scenes of this particular feature, the humor is out of character.


Still and all a pretty fun flick.

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12 comments:

  1. I've never been a fan of Thor comics. I saw the first movie and thought it was nothing special. I dont think I saw the second one. But this one was great. One of my favorite Marvel movies. I read on IMDB that most of the dialogue was improvised by the actors which is why it feels so loose.

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    1. Your news that the improvised the dialogue made me wince. This kind of on-set tomfoolery makes me ache. It's the end product that matters but allowing extemporaneous dialogue in a blockbuster this big seems reckless -- there's a lot of dollars on the line. Land of the Lost was well and truly lost when they allowed that cast to make it up as they went along. A stupid story was made stupider by off-the-cuff nonsense.

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    2. You wince, but I loved the dialogue. So to each their own... I thought of another detail I heard, that the line "He's a friend from work" was suggested by a kid that was on the set because he'd won a contest.

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  2. An excellent run-down. I haven't seen the film and likely won't for awhile, but from what I've seen in the trailers I had much the same reaction you did as far as being uncomfortable with the heavy emphasis on the comedic. I was hoping the Norse gods wouldn't fall prey to being "Americanized" to the extent that this film has indulged in, all for the sake of aligning the characters with the Marvel universe the films are creating as a whole.

    You hit the nail on the head with your observation of "One of the keys to the Marvel Universe is that it took its heroes seriously even if that didn't mean the heroes themselves were always serious." If there's been a change of course in that regard, these films are going to become old fairly soon.

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    1. I detect the woe many (in reviews mostly) in the Hollywood colony feel that they are beholden to lowly superheroes for their daily bread these days. These movies are looked down upon and it would behoove those in control of the product to demand respect for the product.

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  3. Like you said it will make a ton of money because it is more appealing to casual fans than a more serious Thor 3 would have been

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    1. I can't argue that. A movie is entertaining on its own and not because it was or wasn't faithful to its sources. I just decry the lightness when what I fear is the creators are afraid of heaviness.

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    2. I'll take some Marvel lightness over DC movies heaviness. Though a balance would certainly be best

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  4. I've been a Thor fan for more than 50 years and I thought it was the best one.

    "The guards defined many design elements for this world, with most of the inspirations coming from Kirby and the Celestial." concept artist Jonay Bocallado THE ART OF RAGNAROK

    Already more than 400 million in box office..

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    1. I respect your opinion mightily. Thor is a worthy project and I've been a fan since the first arrival of Mangog myself. Thanks for the quote on design, it's what I suspected.

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  5. (Spoilers follow.)

    I thought the humor was well-done, but seemed to dominate in a way that seemed to undercut the idea that all of creation was about to end. Which reminds me, I thought Rsgnarok was the end of the known universe; it seems to have been downsized to just the destruction of some real estate. I had the same odd feeling about Hela (though the visuals and performance were magnificent.) As I recall in the comics, Hela was something like lord of Valhalla, where the valkyries flew and the fallen warriors of Asgard engaged in glorious battle forever. Everything just seemed smaller here, though it's still amazing that they went near the material at all.

    Finally, in spite of the humor, this really felt like an ending of the series to me. No Asgard, no Odin, no Warriors Three, no hammer, and the lead (as shown in an accompanying trailer,) has made a movie for another studio, so no contract.

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    1. The images of Surtur at the end were spectacular (though he seemed a bit leaner and more fit than I remember) and it did seem that Ragnarok here was merely the loss of Asgard. I liked they remembered Hela was Odin's daughter, that surprised me. I didn't mention Doc Strange in my review but his interlude was funny.

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