Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - Written Review
Two years after departing Earth in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor Odinson has been travelling the galaxy in search of the Infinity Stones. Returning to Asgard, Thor finds that all is not well, and that Hela - the Goddess of Death - has arrived to wreak havoc. Allying himself with his adopted brother Loki, Thor endeavours to find his father Odin and prevent the perils of Ragnarok - the end of Asgardian civilisation...
How does the film fair? Well, after a fun opening prologue along to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, the film stumbles into exposition mode as it tries to navigate around loose plot-threads from Thor: The Dark World and weave in a new story to actually start Thor: Ragnarok. Zipping around from Asgard to New York to awkwardly green-screened Norway, the film eventually gets its plot going as Thor is stranded on Sakaar. It's at this point when the actual story of Thor: Ragnarok gets going, and where everything suddenly shoots up in terms of quality.
One has to question what went wrong with this first act of the movie though. Is this the interference of the dreaded re-shoots? Is this a sign of the poor quality of the physical screenplay (which director Taika Waititi has said he almost entirely reworked with the cast), or perhaps Waititi's lack of interest in the dangling plot-threads - and perhaps The Dark World in general, as the film generally tends to ignore or poke fun at the previous Thor entry.
Now, this is not a bad thing. As I said, once we're past the repercussions of Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok actually begins, its an absolute blast. Mark Ruffalo makes a welcome return as Bruce Banner, while Jeff Goldblum Jeff Goldblums-up the screen as the Grandmaster. There are several nice cameos throughout, but Waititi's turn as Korg is very entertaining, while Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie tops my list of favourite Thor characters.
Of course, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston reprise their roles as Thor and Loki respectively, and while they aren't given a huge amount of dramatic weight to chew on, both are so comfortable in their roles that the improvised comedy just bounces between the two effortlessly. If you wanted something more dramatic or heavy, Ragnarok fails to deliver this - for the most part, at least.
Karl Urban gets a surprisingly understated arc as Skurge, while Cate Blanchett chews on the scenery as much as physically possible in her turn as Hela the Goddess of Death. She's absolutely magnetic in the role, and while her first few scenes are a little...weak, once she's able to actually just be evil, she has so much fun you can't help but savour every moment she's on screen.
For those looking for more of Sif and the Warriors Three, prepare to be very disappointed, while Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins make very much glorified cameos as Heimdell and Odin respectively.
Crikey, how big was the cast of this movie?
Anyways, the production here is top-notch from Marvel Studios, albeit with a few dodgy effects (particularly the green-screening in "Norway") and a surprisingly flat-looking filter to the whole piece. That being said, there's some cracking action sequences in here, some stellar production design and a general emphasis on fun - albeit arguably detrimental to the stakes of Ragnarok as an event. Taika Waititi has very much taken a studio-mandated film and made it his own, meaning that some will probably not be fans of his style. It doesn't fit well with Thor and Thor: The Dark World, but does so with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 & 2. No one acts out of character, but the dramatic heft isn't of any real importance to the film. Character drama is present, but the focus is put on their adventure together as opposed to their personal issues. For some, this might be a wasted opportunity, but no character feels underdeveloped, you'd just like to see more of them.
The trailers have been a little bit misleading with this one though, showing shots and scenes that don't appear in the film, whilst also focusing perhaps too much on plot points that shouldn't have been revealed. That being said, the trailers haven't actually revealed any of the action sequences, and the best of the film's humour seemed to stem from long-running jokes as opposed to quick one-liners.
I feel like I'm being a bit more critical towards Thor: Ragnarok than perhaps I was intending to be. I mention these critiques more as potential criticisms, playing devil's advocate to a film which I personally loved, but can see why some will be lukewarm towards.
The score is excellent, and definitely sticks out from previous Marvel soundtracks. The Ragnarok Suite is a great new theme for Thor, while Patrick Doyle's original score from the first film has a reprise. Mark Mothersbaugh blends synth and orchestra together a strangely fitting hybrid score that works wonders.
Overall, I personally found Thor: Ragnarok to be a really fun, great time at the movies. It's confident, bold and funny, whilst perhaps lacking in its first act. It might not be deep, or have much character drama, but the film wants to entertain you, and it certainly did that for me. Perhaps not a masterpiece from Marvel Studios, but a film I look forward to re-watching.
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