The Return of Thor

 

(might contain mild spoilers)

Yes! I absolutely loved this movie. So much so Id have watched it more than the two times I did in the cinema if I had the time… For me, this is not only the salvation of the Thor franchise, but overall return to the direction Marvel is best at and tends to waddle away from (example: Deadpool, Guardians vol 1 – thumbs up, Avengers 2– poop). I generally also seem to agree with the opinion that Thor: Ragnarok had the heart and soul the Thor movies should have had from the start (slightly touched upon by Kenneth Branagh in the first movie, but whose sensitivity and depth went astray in the mix of random action and humour, while the dark, serious take on Thor: The Dark World was not received as well overall and moved more in the direction of the dark Marvel vibes, which seem to be more miss than a hit lately). So yes, overall I absolutely enjoyed this one, many lolz and great visuals and Id recommend for the comic geeks among you or even beyond, go check it out! It will surprise you, seriously!

And here a few reasons why:

1)   Cast

This is definitely winning factor number one. The cast of this movie is quite spot on. Of course you have the returning stars from the Thor universe, but adding on Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban and Tessa Thompson – hello ?! The Grandmaster is fabulous with his airheadedness and hot alcoholic Valkyrie is just something you want to see more of all the time. Cate Blanchett as Hela I am having some issues with – while I think the actress performed as top notch as one can as this cliché, OP villain figure (or maybe I am biased, she is my favourite actress after all), I feel this was the bit of the movie I was least engaged with – I felt her character to be forced, shallow and well… boring?  Even her talent couldn’t make this character match the wittiness, eccentricity, colorfulness and originality I felt the other characters brought and that is saying something. For the rest, generally, I felt the mix and match of all the talents and overall nicely written characters, offered just enough depth to keep things interesting and in-line with the story, yet offered a light and mostly humorous take on pretty much everything else. Watch out for the cameos!

Can we take this moment and salute the amazingness of Taika Waititi !? And while he wasn’t super well known until now, unless you have super good taste , he takes on this massive franchise with a brave twist and not only succeeds, but in my humble opinion really actually surpasses expectations. Yes, it can be argued that you can still feel the restraint of the MCU cannon, the PG-ness and house-style (in comes Hela & Asgard), but I think it cannot be denied he still managed to inject a small revolution into MCU and it doesn’t go unnoticed. It better not.

…And of course… there is also Korg. <3

2)   It doesn’t take itself seriously

And it shouldn’t. But how refreshing is it to see the filmmakers finally not only accepting but utilizing this to its full potential (while not overdoing it, which is borderline true for Deadpool). The backbone “plot” and Thor storyline, while unavoidable seems to finally not be the central point of the movie as a wholesome experience, now taken over by what can be described simply as a peek into the daily doings and randomness of a sarcastic sci-fi universe, where things make sense in how much they don’t make sense.

3)   The atmosphere

For me this is the winning cinematographic tool that makes this movie so successful (some argue the best Marvel yet). While the first CMU’s (Iron Man, Avengers 1) had some character, or maybe it was the novelty of it all, in any case managed to transform the idea of superhero movie (aka popularized them successfully across generations), there has been no originality but rather milking of the same old dull bland cliché settings. And how ready were we for a change. From music, to costumes to special effects, Thor: Ragnarok takes on the winning formula of the first movie that broke rank, (Guardians Vol 1) and just re-births it into what I saw online brilliantly described as a “Technicolor dreamscape – a movie of brilliant cosmic hues and lasers and spaceships and other sorts of pulpy sci-fi cheese” (GQ) and how fucking accurate. And how fucking awesome?!

So, seriously, go see it, I promised you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

In the meantime, check out What we do in the Shadows and The Hunt for the Wilderpeople for some more Waititi.

Total Score: 8.9

[Poster source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3501632/mediaviewer/rm1413491712 , Trademarks & Copyright © 2017 Marvel Characters, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]