By: Jim Scroggs
November 8, 2017 JHScroggs on Twitter/Instagam
Edited by Katie Westbrooks
This franchise hasn’t been the best in the MCU and we all know how kind of lackluster Thor: The Dark World was. In fact, Chris Hemsworth wasn’t all that happy with the direction of the movies but Thor: Ragnarok featured some amazing cast additions along with an out of left field director. So, let’s get into what Thor: Ragnarok and all of it’s metalness has to offer.
What I liked
Chris Hemsworth/Thor
He took so well to Taika Waititi's direction and humor that I’m convinced a fairly sizable portion of his lines/quips were ad libbed. When Hela destroyed Mjolnir, I was wondering how this would affect him going forward and it turns out, not very much. He wasn’t even in a position to use/need his hammer until the final battle with Hela when, through a vision with Odin, it was revealed that the hammer was merely a means to help channel being the God of Thunder. We saw a glimpse of what power he truly possessed early on when some lightning was on his fingers but I didn’t expect that moment to turn into a similar plot point to Wonder Woman – being that the true power was really in him the whole time. In the last 2 films, he’s wavered back and forth about wanting to be king but I feel like he’s really grown up as a character. When the people of Asgard were in imminent danger from Hela, that’s when I felt Thor became the leader we’ve been waiting for. And in that very battle with her, he loses his right eye. He and the rest of the team end up trying to figure out where to go after the destruction of Asgard but abruptly getting confronted by a giant ship, which could be a connection to Thanos as a tease for Infinity War.
Cate Blanchett/Hela
I was already ecstatic when she was cast but I’m glad that a new villain isn’t being treated as a throw away character. Her portrayal of Hela was great although, she wasn’t given a whole lot to do. I wish we spent more time with her but I really hope the speculation of her being the representation of death for Thanos to court keeps her in the MCU and in Infinity War. When Odin died, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Hela was the first born of Odin and when she started to take control of Asgard there was a painting that showed the true story of how Asgard rose to power and shows Hela holding Mjolnir. She was powerful, completely in control of her character, very formidable foe for Thor and even went toe to toe with Surter when he turned into a mountain and destroyed Asgard. I seriously don’t know if I can hate her as a villain.
The supporting cast
Mark Ruffalo’s appearance as Bruce Banner proves that as much as we love to see Science Bro’s with him and Tony, the real friendship, in my opinion, is with him and Thor. We get a little hint of what happened to him between the end of Age of Ultron and now. There’s a cameo from Black Widow and that video that he turned off before the jet took off into space. One of my favorite moments from him is when he gave a suplex to Hela’s giant wolf that she resurrected – the WWE fan in me perked up. This is probably the best performance from Bruce in the entire MCU and I’m glad we get to see this version of Hulk and Bruce before Infinity War. Also, I can’t forget to mention, we saw Hulk butt.
Tessa Thompson gave a great performance of Valkyrie. She not only showed how much of an amazing warrior she is but she showed how strong she could be on a planet that wasn’t her home and was still able to connect with Thor through their shared history on Asgard. Seeing her history as a warrior in that battle, which looked like a painting, was an amazing sequence and I’m glad that kind of technology was used so well. I really hope we get more of her in Infinity War and in future films since she is such a strong character.
Jeff Goldblum in a Marvel movie is the dream we’ve all had but I hate to say this, I was expecting a tad more from him. This is probably since I was hyping the idea in my head of how awesome this is but I would have loved to see more of his eclectic nature. He still had a sense of humor mixed into the Grandmaster's dictatorship but the most important thing is he didn’t die and we get more of him in the post credit scene.
Heimdall was going to be my most intriguing character because of how little he has been used in the past. I’m glad that Idris Elba was given more to do and actually have a purpose in this film. He became the man on the ground for Thor – as he was taking care of the remaining Asgard citizens since Hela was taking over everything. Heimdall even helped fight in the last battle on the Rainbow Bridge to help rescue his fellow Asgardians. He showed how powerful of an asset and friend that he could be and I hope this will give more confidence in Marvel Studios from Idris Elba.
Karl Urban’s Skurge was a very solid addition to the cast, including his stash of things that he’s collected since he took over for Heimdall. In one scene, he uses a shake-weight (insert joke here) but he was very quick to join Hela as her executioner. But once he went to actually perform the job, he was saved by someone speaking up. Later on, he knew he made a mistake by joining her and tried to make up for that by helping fight the zombie army that she resurrected. He ended up dying but he certainly didn't die in vain.
Loki wasn’t selfish as much in this film but I fully attribute that to the popularity of Tom Hiddleston in this role. I know this is short but come on, it’s Loki. Who hates Loki?
Humor/Easter Eggs
I knew going in that this would have that special type of humor that some people might not get but I’m glad to see how special Taika Waititi is. There’s almost too many to pick from without giving this movie a second watch, but my favorite 3rd tier character in this movie is Korg. He’s voiced by Watiti and when you see this monstrous rock creature with a high pitched New Zealand accent, it’s almost too spot on. I really think he stole the movie for me. When you watch it or even re-watch it, New Doug is probably my favorite running joke in the movie. A moment when Thor is captured and pretty down on his situation, Loki comes to talk to him in his own little way. The whole time Thor is sitting there throwing rocks at this image of Loki and they are going straight through him. He tries it later for a nice payoff of that joke. Even off the bat, there was a great scene when Thor is captured and talking to Surtur but since he was spinning, the humor was definitely there get the film to a great start.
There are a number of surprise cameos in this film that I didn’t expect – or just forgot about. I remember Sam Neill being cast but was surprised to see he was cast as Odin in a fake performance of the end of The Dark World that’s being lead by Loki (disguised as Odin). But that’s not the most surprising, Luke Hemsworth was cast as Thor in that performance and who played Loki you ask? Matt Damon. Yep, THAT Matt Damon. When Thor and Banner are trying to get the Quinjet off the ground, Bruce’s name in the jet is Strongest Avenger – the name Thor tried for himself among many names including Point Break. During the gladiatorial battle with Thor and Hulk, Thor tries to calm down Hulk by using Natasha’s AOU technique by saying “The sun's getting real low”. I almost thought that would work… until Hulk grabs Thor and tosses him like a rag doll like he did Loki in Avengers. And of course, Loki had a great reaction to that as he’s watching with The Grandmaster. I can’t leave out when Thor is about to be introduced to The Grandmaster and he’s in this chair going through a tunnel ala Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. If I forgot your favorite moment, please forgive me.
Not so much
The CG backdrops weren’t great looking all the time and that kind of took me out of it at some points. I fully understand that this is a space/cosmic movie and those kinds of effects are necessary but that’s just a little thing for me.
The Doctor Strange cameo was something that I was really looking forward to but I felt like it was a tad forced into the story line. I understand that Strange can see what others can’t but I’m glad it didn’t go longer than it did. There was a nice comedic moment with Stephen, Thor and Loki but overall, I’d say it was fan service but it didn’t help or hurt the plot.
Oden’s death early on wasn’t as much of an event as I would have expected. Thor finds him on a cliff in Norway reflecting on his life and what legacy he’ll leave. Loki is there with him as well so I’m glad he passed away – or in this case dissolved away – into the wind in front of his sons.
Final Verdict
I’m glad that Thor finally got his Jack Kirby-like cosmic movie that finally took advantage of the casts strengths but I don’t necessarily agree with the score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s easily one of the most enjoyable movies in the MCU, probably the funniest of the group. It was course correcting for the franchise and was the best move on how to end this series. They took plenty of risks going in this direction with this director and while some of the jokes didn’t land and some of the emotional moments were a tad lackluster, I’d put it in my top 8 of the MCU.
Thor: Ragnarok is in theaters now.
