Now in Theaters
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Hiddleston
Chris: Welcome everybody to the next installment of the Duo Reviewo. TJ and I both recently saw Thor: Ragnarok. We’re going to take some time and talk about how we feel about the acting, the effects, and the movie as a whole. Taika Waititi’s first foray into the Marvel universe paid off for me. I loved the humor in this movie. What did you think of the comedy? Does it take away from it being a successful MCU entry?
TJ: No way! Guardians of the Galaxy, especially the first one, was hilarious and takes nothing away from the MCU as a whole. I loved the direction Thor: Ragnarok took. I thought it was a fantastic addition to the universe.
Chris: Me too. Chris Hemsworth’s fish out of water style humor is so effective, as is Hulk’s. I also really like Jeff Goldblum as the trash planet’s Caligula.
TJ: Yep. A lot of Goldblum’s dialogue was fantastic. Very dry and very funny.
How’d the story hold up? Outside of Iron Man and Captain America the plot has never been the strongest part of a MCU movie. Even though I loved GotG I’m not sure I followed along during my first watch, if you know what I mean.
Chris: Yeah, I follow. Umm… as far as plot is concerned, it was pretty par for the course. Hero loses power, has to prove himself without it, and then realizes IT WAS INSIDE HIM ALL ALONG!
Just one of many trite super hero plot lines that could be applied to any of the Avengers. What’d you think of it?
TJ: More of the same. I appreciated the way Loki and Hel (Hela in the film) were portrayed. Especially Loki. I was getting kind of burnt out on Hiddleston, but this was refreshing. Loki is super smart, super annoying, and super tricky. But generally not an evil guy. I got a little lost in between escaping from Jeff Goldblum and fighting Hel, but other than that it was fine, I suppose.
A lot of what Marvel excels at is supporting one-off characters. Anybody jump out to you as particularly memorable?
Chris: Oh yeah. For me it was all about Korg and Miek. Both of those were incredible. I loved how soft-spoken and delicate that Korg was. He and his constantly karate-ing bug friend really made it for me.
TJ: That’s exactly who I was thinking about. Really good stuff.
What about Hulk? That’s a character who has had some genuinely funny quips, but has had a steady stream of drama throughout their story in the MCU.
Chris: He had a completely stakes free appearance. He was all jokes and very little heart. That’s supposed to be the point of the Hulk and I think they missed it. However, I still liked him in it.
One of my other favorites was Doctor Strange. Did you know he was going to be in it? Did you like his bit?
TJ: I had no clue. But he was good. I like that character and I like the film Doctor Strange a good bit. I’m hoping we’ll get to see more of him in Avengers: Infinity War next year. I don’t see him appearing in the other two MCU projects for 2018 (Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp).
Where do the visuals hold up with some MCU movies known for them? I’m thinking Doctor Strange and Guardians in particular.
Chris: I think they’re alright. The opening scene with Surtr was really neat. Also, Fenrir was really cool to see. In Norse mythology, Fenrir is the one who ultimately kills Odin so I’m glad we got these extra little pieces of the mythology that the visual effects could make sing.
But when I said they were alright, I wasn’t big on the design of Hela or the way that she had those summoned blades. Thought it looked a little too look-at-my-3D-movie. But this was a much more grounded Thor movie. There was no flying hammer this time around. Anything here stand out to you?
Cate Blanchett as Hela (2017, Disney/Marvel)
TJ: Almost nothing. Which is weird for such a well-liked superhero movie.
I’m interested in your dislike of the Hela design. TELL ME MORE.
Chris: The throwing knives and swords just had that gimmicky look to them. Almost if you looked at them too closely, you would catch them materializing as opposed to coming from somewhere believably supernatural.
Does that make sense? She was just such a cartoon character compared to the surprisingly grounded superhero movie where the protagonist is a literal god. Comically evil to the point where she has blacker than black battle armor, she just fizzles in design and execution.
TJ: Fair enough.
For a movie I really enjoyed, and would recommend. I’m finding it hard to tell you exactly what I like about it.
Chris: I get that feeling too. I want to know what you didn’t like about it.
TJ: More of the same plot problems with Marvel that I touched on earlier. There’s some good guys, there’s a big bad, and it doesn’t really matter how you get there. But they are going to fight and the good guys are going to win. Think Avengers. Did you REALLY know what the hell was going on when the sky opened up and those giant robot worms were flying into Manhattan? OR, were you just like, “HELL YEA THOR AND IRON MAN TOGETHER, FINALLY” because I was definitely the latter. I think the main thing the great MCU movies (Iron Man, Winter Soldier) have over the others is their clear plot. Not that I was confused when watching Thor: Ragnarok, but I didn’t have a clear handle on what was going on. The MCU has gotten away with that many times before, but maybe it’s starting to take a heavy toll on me.
Chris: Hmm. Interesting. See I was even a fan of Thor: The Dark World. Because along with the excitement of the super team, I like to see the bat shit, bananas, crazy nonsense that only properties like these, that are steeped in wild concepts, could get away with. Maybe its starting to feel too safe? Well now I have to think about every Marvel movie.
If Iron Man weren’t “first” would people hold it in such high regard? I think so. But I’m not so sure about others. One of the reasons why Winter Soldier and Spiderman: Homecoming were so good to me is because they didn’t do the origin story and could build on the good will and character development of the previous movies. So maybe it’s the opposite of a sophomore slump.
Again, though, I really liked this. I just don’t know why.
TJ: Same. It’s strange.
Well. Iron Man 2 holds the designation of being the only MCU movie I won’t recommend adding to a watch list.
Chris: So. Here’s the question – what is your MCU top 5?
TJ: 5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Captain America: Winter Soldier
2. Iron Man
1. The Avengers
You?
Chris: I’m disgusted you wrote it backwards…
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Iron Man
3. The Avengers
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming
5. Ant-Man
LAST PLACE: TJ’S UPSIDE DOWN LIST
TJ: Chris HATES SUSPENSE
Chris: So that will do it. Thor is good, we don’t know why, but it might be the last straw for us with respect to the clichéd plot lines. I would recommend this movie. TJ?
TJ: Absolutely. It’s a really good time.
Chris: GRRRREAAAAAAT JOB
Is it Watchlist-worthy? Yes and Yes