On the poster there’s a space-viking jumping through the air to do battle with a grumpy, green giant decked out in gladiator armor, that should tell you everything you need to know about Marvel studio’s Thor, Ragnarok. This is the third and (presumably) final MCU solo-hero film to star Chris Hemsworth as the titular nordic god of thunder. This is also the fith feature-length film for New Zealand’s hottest new independent director, Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows & Hunt for the Wilderpeople), who seems to be drawing from James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy-style Marvel movie: a retro 80’s action-comedy with a puckering-red emphasis on the “comedy.” Ragnarok is by far the best cinematic notch under Thor’s belt and my personal favorite Marvel movie of the year.
Kicking off where Thor, The Dark World (2013) left off…actually I’ve almost completely forgotten what happened in Thor 2. I remember something about space elves, a worry-faced Natalie Portman, and a floating red CGI amoeba but that’s it. Oh well, I guess it wasn’t that important anyway because Ragnarok doesn’t seem to remember the last movie. Ragnarok’s plot isn’t the most original out of the MCU repertoire, but then again I wasn’t expecting anything more. Thor 3 draws heavily from Disney’s The Lion King (1994) and Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 (2013) twist in that the hero must loose the thing that’s crucial for their hero-status (ex: Iron Man’s armor, Captain America’s Shield). In this case, Thor’s magical hammer Mjölnir gets destroyed forcing Thor to learn how to delegate his problems away with the help of his fists and lightening-powers that he hardly ever uses. The rest of the “story” involves the emasculated, space-wanderer getting cast down to an unfamiliar planet, meets a colorful cast of minor alien characters, and returns to Asgard to stop a villain with a spiky headdress before something evil blah-blah-you get the idea; but this time they’ve taken all the seriousness of the last two Thor movies and replaced it with self-aware silliness, and it works wonders to the film’s advantage. Unlike Thor’s last cinematic solo-features (which I still enjoyed but didn’t love) Waititi seems to “get” the inherent ridiculousness of the comics and character and has thus delivered a tremendously enjoyable macabre, yet goofy, live-action puppet-show with big monster battles, lasers, Kate Blanchett, and other freaky alien creatures.
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| Chris Hemsworth as the blonde, bombastic bombshell: Thor. |
Ragnarok’s aesthetically fantastic with the bulk of the film taking place on a garbage planet popping with color and personality that’s also ruled by Jeff Goldblum; who is whimsically twisted as the Grandmaster, presiding over his techno-slum metropolis as a petulant Willy Wonka-type with all the candy and chocolate switched for commercialized violence and futuristic hedonism. The script’s fast-paced and loaded with enough Kiwi witticism and awkward demureness that I half expected Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords to show up in the background. This is by far Chris Hemsworth’s strongest portrayal as the vainglorious Thor; he’s charming, charismatic, and wiser than past depictions while maintaining that playful Nordic demeanor that’s so pleasing to watch. Tessa Thompson was wonderfully hoydenish and formidable as Valkyrie, replacing Natalie Portman as the female lead without being reduced to another love interest with a stylist just off-screen. Cate Blanchett’s villainous portrayal of Hela, the goddess of death is far more interesting than the most Marvel movie villains but you’ll most likely remember her costume before her actual character. It’s not your fault Cate, that’s just how the MCU likes their villains. She does get to ride atop a gigantic undead wolf-beast so she’ll probably be among of the top-5 MCU baddies. Fun stuff aside, Ragnarok still suffers from most of the major problems all MCU films tend to suffer from; the action’s enjoyable but at times can be a nip too short and nothing’s really challenges the viewer in any way. I would’ve also liked to have seen more of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (whose once again terrific as the god of mischief and trickery) but he barely does anything significant to the plot and comes across more as a missed opportunity. Though, much like the film’s dashing blonde protagonist, Ragnarok is a fun, dumb, and hyper-energetic ride of giggles and intergalactic shenanigans.
Ragnarok delivers on everything you’d want and expect from another Marvel outer space adventure and maintains the MCU tradition of a superhero’s third solo-picture being their best cinematic debut; it’s visually captivating, brilliantly comical, and safely anodyne despite there being many macabre jabs of dark humor and dry wit. Director Taika Waititi has put on a grandiose, heavy-metal beat-em-up action comedy with a sparky emphasis on the “comedy.” Fans of the genre will have a devilishly fun and ephemeral PG-13 experience, where even though there’s not a single speck of blood to be seen theirs still loads of dead Asgardians, aliens, and Nordic zombie warriors but if I’m being totally honest, isn’t that what you WANT out of these fun-for-the-whole-family space viking films?
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