Thor: Ragnarok 2017 Movie Review: A very funny movie, in fact, it almost made me want to rewatch the other two movies - which suck compared to this. I was surprised that Marvel could pull off yet another comedic relief character (Korg) without reincarnating Jar Jar - always a good thing. The soundtrack is good for the most part but some songs feel super obvious; some people like the placement of Led Zep's 'The Immigrant Song' but it failed to work for me and didn't work as well as what they are trying to re-create from the Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Unfortunately, at the end (like most superhero movies) it turned into 'unlikely team defeats big evil bad guy against all odds' which is the genres most defining flaw. Every actor pulls out their absolute best, with Hopkins pulling his funniest role yet, Hemsworth bringing us a likeable and roguish Thor, Blanchett delivering the most powerful villain performance since Loki, Thompson is downright hilarious, Ruffalo gives his best yet, Waititi is side-splittingly funny and Hiddleston proves once again that he'll never run out of new ways and directions to take Loki. Personally, I see it as a shame that Rene Russo wasn't given much thought in this movie, given I loved her previous performances, but at the end of the day this movie knew what it could focus on and what needed to be pushed aside.
Thor Ragnarok is another solid entry to the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' with stunning visuals and good portrayals as usual. This film is very enjoyable and had great fight scenes. I loved that the Hulk was in this movie as he is one of the most underrated avengers so having him in this movie was a really neat choice. I do not like that Loki keeps faking his death. It gets repetitive now. The villain was actually pretty good and introducing Hela (Thor's long-lost sister) was a neat choice. Also, Stan Lee's cameo was really funny and had a big impact on the film. Thor meeting Dr. Strange was funny and Odin's death wasn't that shocking. Thor Ragnarok is able to to be exciting and fun while telling us an extraordinary narrative. This film will shock haters of the previous films. I loved this film. Marvel fans should love it.
An average film at best, Thor: Ragnarok is basically the same film as its two previous installments with a much lighter tone. The ending is predictable and even the cameos (of which there are plenty) don't do much in way of excitement- In fact, after some time they start becoming annoying. What is most unfortunate is that buried deep below the stale narrative lies fantastic lore which could have been utilized. Thor: Ragnarok is an afternoon diversion at best and should be watched with this notion in mind.
If you want a movie with drama, emotion or strong plot, this is not the movie for you. My brain feels like it's rotting after this, I cannot for the life of me understand how others are not thinking the same. The comedy is bad and it sounds like an exaggeration but every single line in this film is either an attempt at humor or some sarcastic, nonchalant comment that belittles any sense of drama. For a film that is meant to be about the Norse equivalent of the end of the world, it's astounding that such a topic is treated so poorly. It's a disjointed mess. I haven't hated a film this much in years.
Definitely the best Thor movie to date, Ragnarok takes Thor on a journey that is both surprising and fresh. Jeff Goldblum exercises incredibly funny moments in the film as the secondary villain and Hemsworth owns the character of Thor - both in comedy and badassery. We truly get an enjoyable experience with Ragnarok and await more from Marvel's imaginative storytelling.
This was clearly done on a budget and trying to be in the style of Guardians of the Galaxy. I mean they reused music from Thor: The Dark World. That's a serious attempt at saving some cash. Most of the film work, but the attempts at "awkward" humor don't pan out very well. Not every movie has to copy the last successful movie that was made, c'mon guys... This thing has some solid bones, and the most solid bone I found was whenever I saw Jeff Goldblum on screen.
The best Thor movie so far and I would even go as far as saying I enjoyed this movie the best out of all of the Marvel movies. I just don't think it's very re-watchable. I went to the theater for the second time and it had lost some of its appeals. Largely I think due to the jokes. It's a very funny movie but once you know all the punchlines some of the charms wear off Thor Ragnarok takes the Thor franchise (the MCU property which has thus far generally been viewed as the weakest,) and sells the character out in a bid to breathe new life into itself. This film is successful at making a compelling Guardians of the Galaxy movie with its cosmic jet-setting and new comedic direction but as a result of Thor no longer feels like Thor.
The Fantasy theme which has led the title character to this point in two solo movies and two Avengers movies has been almost completely lost. The character himself loses many of his more noble and somber traits and has become more of a fool making wisecracks which would have been below him in previous films and even resulting in himself being the butt of many jokes. The same goes for some of the supporting cast, in particular, Loki who has become more of a human punchbag than the fearsome supervillain from Avengers and the first Thor film. This tonal shift fits Marvel's trend of favoring comedy as it has done in other MCU films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man but for a character based deeply in more serious, historical, family-based action drama, it feels out of place. This also feels out of place in a film with a foot in two storylines dealing with the end of the world (Ragnarok) and slavery (Planet Hulk.) In particular, there is a line in the finale which I shall not spoil, but it feels not only out of place but highly inappropriate.
Speaking of multiple storylines, the addition of Hulk makes for some entertaining scenes as Thor is reunited with his fellow Avenger, however, this distracts from the titular story arc. At times it even feels like the creative team had more fun making the Planet Hulk sections than the Ragnarok ones. I would have liked to have seen more of the events unfolding in Asgard. The introduction of Hela could have been more impact and would have fit the aforementioned historical, family-based, action drama themes perfectly. I was left wanting more from the flashback scenes and the film misses out on delving further into the relationship of Thor, Loki and their father Odin. Other supporting cast members feature either very little or are just not used to their utmost potential as the film always seems in a hurry to return to Sakaar (the planet which Hulk is trapped on with the Hulk.) By the end of the film, I felt like I was told two half stories, neither one providing enough detail or quite realizing their central themes.
This film is however filled with enough to keep you entertained. Despite the tonal discrepancies, if you enjoy the comedy of Guardians of the Galaxy, then you will love the jokes in this film. There are some fun and unexpected cameos. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) proves he can be funny even though some of his jokes fail to land, however with many of his lines improvised, it would be unfair to expect perfection. Its action is well paced with standout fight scenes from both Thor and Hela. There is a good use of colors and visuals which add character particularly to Sakaar but also to Asgard. There are also some great performances in this film such as newcomer Valkyrie played by Tessa Thompson, who for me, stole the show from Thor with great actions scenes and the strongest character progression of any of the main players. Thor: Ragnarok also makes some progression towards fixing the MCU's villain problem as Hela is a strong villain played well by Cate Blanchett, however, she falls just short of greatness as the film misses too many opportunities to flesh the character out.
Overall, the film is fun with a strong use of comedy and plenty of action. However, it fails to tell a solid story with its dual arcs ultimately dragging each other under. The ambition to merge a classic Hulk story into Thor's third installment distracts from the main plot and drags down more intriguing themes and arcs. This also results in Hela falling short of being a highlight villain in the MCU. The new tonal shift further fuels this as Ragnarok loses much of the charm and originality. This results in a Thor film which never feels like a Thor film and runs a risk of paving the way for an MCU without any diversity in style and genre.
Marvel keeps getting better and better, The third installment of Thor is the funniest yet has more heart than the first 2, The pairing of Thor and The strongest Avenger works really well in terms of chemistry and humor. Its fast paced has its own theme, visually its very good and very colorful, there is no way you can miss this, whether you are a Marvel or DC fan.
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