After almost an entire decade of being on the Silver Screen, the MCU has a spoil of riches. From the successful Avengers films (2012, 2015) to the Iron Man trilogy (2008, 2010, 2013) and the Captain America trilogy (2011, 214, 2016). But one thing that, I feel, that Marvel has yet to fully encapture is the world of Thor. Yes, the Norse god of thunder has had something of an unfortunate track record on the big screen. With the first one being made just to establish the character for The Avengers (2012) and the Thor: The Dark World (2013) being one of the weaker MCU films. There is a lot riding on this third film to truly capture the essence of the comics. But, with visionary director Taika Waititi (Hunt For The Wilderpeople, What We Do In The Shadows) taking the helm, it looks like this new direction might just be what the Thor franchise needs to live up to both Iron Man and Captain America.
First Thoughts
Yeah, this is a good film. The visuals are stunning, the action is incredible and the characters are probably the best they've ever been. But, that being said, I couldn't really get into this film that much. I'm sorry to say it. This is, by far, the best Thor film ever made, and that's mainly down to actor Chris Hemsworth (Rush, Ghostbusters) and director Taika Waititi. But this film doesn't really live up to more better films of the MCU, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Thor/Chris Hemsworth
This is perhaps the best that Thor has ever been on screen. Primarily because he has more of a personality in this film than he has in any other film. In the other films, it kinda felt like stuff was happening to Thor and he was just there for the ride. Which is okay, it's the blank slate for the audience to relate to. But it wipes the character of any personality. But in this one, he has a personality! He's a lot more like the Thor from the comics! He's confident, brash, hard-headed, cocky and, most importantly, comedic. Yes, whilst I'm not a big fan of giving a character a lot more comedic chops than he had in the source material (We'll get to that in a minute) I felt it worked with Thor, mainly because one of Chris Hemsworth's strengths as an actor is comedic timing. But besides that, I really liked the journey that this film put Thor through. There was clear character development in this film and he wasn't the same at the end. So yes. Thor is one of the better elements of the film (Luckily).
Hulk/Bruce Banner/Mark Ruffalo
I have slightly mixed feelings about Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in this film. If you're going to see this film mainly because of Hulk then I wouldn't bother. There's really not much of him that hasn't already been shown through the trailers and adverts. I did really like his fight with Thor. I thought that was very well done and very well realised. I did think that maybe they could have pushed it a bit more with how much power both characters possess, but it was still great to watch. I also quite liked the scenes connecting with Age Of Ultron (2015) showing where Hulk emotionally. But I was really disappointed with how the Planet Hulk (2008) was adapted. With a lot of the characters from that incredible story being down-sized to back-side comic relief characters. Basically, the writers took on of the Hulk's most iconic storylines and made it play in the background of a Thor film. So I was disappointed in that regard.
Hela/Cate Blanchett
Possibly the most disappointing character was Hela (Cate Blanchett). But this was mainly because my expectations were so high. The trailers set her up to be this incredibly brutal and complex villain. And, whilst they did a good job on the brutal part, she seemed somewhat one dimensional. Now, Cate Blanchett did a good job with what she was given, it's clear that she was having a lot of fun with this role, and her fight scenes were nothing short of spectacular. Hela had a lot of raw power and wasn't afraid to use it. So it was cool to see her in that way. But there was a lot about her character that was left to the imagination. The film never truly dives into why she is the way she is and how she feels about Odin and Thor. The film merely just touches upon it with a few throwaway lines and that's it. So I was very disappointed in how Hela was written. Mainly because the promotion for the film really built her up to be something she wasn't. But I did like Blanchett's charisma in the role. Given a second chance in a future film, I believe Hela can be done justice.
Visuals
This is one of the most visually stunning MCU films to date. Just a fraction behind Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014). From the artistic backdrops of all the sets to the beautiful use of colour. Perhaps the standouts, in terms of visual beauty, was the planet Sakaar. Which was mesmerising, from it's horrid junkyards to the epic gladiator arena. Just about everything with that planet was dripping with beauty that drew into this different world. The second big stand-out was the flashback to the fight between Hela and the Valkyries, with each shot looking like an oil painting! It only lasted less than a minute. But I was entranced by those shots. I wish that they had made more of a sequence out of that flashback just so I could have more of those kinds of shots. Absolutely stunning!
Pacing
One of the things that stopped me from really getting invested in this story was the pacing. Whilst, if you've read my Blade Runner 2049 Review, you'll know that I had problems with that films pacing. Saying that it was really slow. Well, this film has the exact opposite problem! It's so damn fast! It makes it somewhat difficult to get invested in what's happening because we're moving on to a different scene. And it cuts out time for characters to become a bit more fleshed out, such as Hela and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who really needed it. And, at the end of the film, I was left thinking "Is this really the ending? Oh... Okay." Which I shouldn't be feeling! So yes, that is a serious issue that affected my movie-going experience.
Comedy
Okay, before I get into this part of the review, I want readers to know that I am not against comedy in Superhero movies. Comedic moments help to lighten the mood and not bring the audience down so much. Even The Dark Knight (2008) had a few jokes thrown into it for the audience. And, even I can agree that Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016), which I loved, could have benefited with just a couple more laughs. However, I do have a serious issue with comedy being one of the main genres in the film. I feel it takes away a lot from what made the source material unique and makes the film feel more like a parody than an actual Superhero film. And it seems that this is the case in Thor: Ragnarok. There are some scenes which are set up to have this epic, or emotional, feel built up only to be cut down by a gag or some slapstick. Now, don't get me wrong. Now, for most of the comedy, I liked it. It was timed very well and set up quite good. But there were some scenes which could have worked better with more emotion than comedy, in my opinion. These characters have been part of mainstream consciousness for almost a decade. You don't need to always make fun of them! Some more emotional moments wouldn't go amiss!
Final Thoughts
This is an enjoyable film. In terms of where it stands in the MCU, it's one of the most visually-interesting and well-acted films that the franchise has to offer. But it's still held back by lack of character development (Particularly with the new characters), pacing and use of comedy. If you're a big Thor fan or the MCU in general, then this is definitely a must-see.
So those are my Non-Spoiler thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok. I will be posting a spoiler review in a few days. Is there anything you disagree with? What did you think of the film? Please write a comment and tell me. And, if you like what you've read then please subscribe to this blog for more content. :)
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