Based upon the Marvel Comics series created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby
Screenplay Written by Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Directed by Taika Waititi
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
RATED PG 13
To the God Of Thunder, the lighter touch suits you very, very well!
We should really admit what a difficult character and landscape the character and world of Thor actually is to visualize. Of course, with costumes and special effects, we can envision essentially anything at all these days but in regards to the tone...that is dicey indeed as we have this figure who represents the grand epic reach of Norse mythology and the earthly eye candy of comic book derring do. Should he be presented with a certain reverence or as full on camp because in essence, Thor is a bit of a silly character who is shouldered with heavenly realms, rainbow bridges, faux Shakesperian heft and of course, that mighty hammer.
Thankfully, with his cinematic entries and inclusion within the ever expanding Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe, the filmmakers have provided Thor with a bit of a conceptual hybrid firmly anchored by the genius casting of Chris Hemsworth in the titular role, an actor who has rolled so confidently with everything a variety of filmmakers have tossed his way over the course of the four previously released films.
Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" (2011), our hero's debut feature, was a real kick to me, as it was a blast of fun that struck the right balance between the bombast and the ridiculous, giving Thor a strong solo introduction. Joss Whedon served the character exceedingly well in "The Avengers" (2012) and "Avengers: Age Of Ultron" (2015) by merging his otherwordliness seamlessly with his earthy superhero companions. Only Alan Taylor's "Thor: The Dark World" (2013), failed the character (and as far as I am concerned, the Marvel films as a whole) as it was ponderous, bloated, and just plain dull.
So, now that we know Thor very well, there remains the problem of how to proceed because in essence, he is not terribly interesting conceptually and the primary conflict of his character regarding his sense of heroism and a growing humility and empathy for his fellow inhabitants of the universes of Asgard and Earth has been more than completed. After all of this time, what could possibly make him more compelling?
Who would've thought that what Thor truly needed was a healthy dose of humor. Not the dabbles we have received in the previous films but a truly hefty supply, so much so that it nearly re-invents the character, fully revitalizes Thor's solo film adventures and further injects the Marvel films with higher creative risks without dismantling all that has arrived before.
Taika Waititi's "Thor: Ragnarok," our hero's third solo entry, is precisely what the God Of Thunder needed as Thor is catapulted into what has got to be his wildest ride to date, augmented with a dazzling array of sights, sounds and most surprisingly, a level of pure comedy that only elevates the action, the characters, the drama, and the odyssey. Finally, Thor has been given a film completely worthy of a Norse God while also illustrating that the superhero film genre, one that I have grown increasingly weary, indeed possesses quite a bit of remaining vibrant life.
As "Thor: Ragnarok" opens, we find or hero in a bit of a mess. Now two years after the events of "Avengers: Age Of Ultron," Thor has traveled the universe in an unsuccessful bid to locate the Infinity stones and in the process, has found himself caught within the clutches of the demon Surtur, who reveals to Thor that his Father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is no longer living in their kingdom of Asgard and that once he joins his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns beneath Asgard, the prophecy of Ragnarok (i.e. the apocalypse) will come to pass.
It is not a spoiler to tell any of you that Thor does indeed defeat Surtur, robbing his crown in the process. But the prophecy of Ragnarok, however, has not been fully extinguished as Thor is confronted with the unprecedented fury of Hela, Goddess Of Death (a scorching Cate Blanchett), who is also Odin's firstborn daughter, of course making her sister of Thor and the duplicitous Loki (Tom Hiddleston)!
Hela's unrepentant rage and desire to destroy Asgard, once unleashed, propels Thor into uncharted territory externally as well as internally, as he finds himself in the far reaches of the universe and trapped upon the wormhole ridden garbage planet of Sakaar, overseen by The Grandmaster (a delightfully unctuous Jeff Goldblum), and completely without his trusty hammer, which Hela disintegrated.
Forced to serve as The Grandmaster's gladiator in battles reminiscent of sights seen in George Miller's "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), Thor is fully reunited with The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), also missing in action since "Avengers: Age Of Ultron." Yet, in order to survive and hopefully save Asgard, Thor eventually joins forces with not only Loki but the hard drinking bounty hunter, former winged horse warrior Valkyrie (a wonderful Tessa Thompson).
Taika Waititi's "Thor: Ragnarok" is easily the very best of Thor's solo features and alongside Joss Whedon's "The Avengers" plus Peyton Reed's "Ant-Man" (2015) and Jon Watts' "Spider-Man: Homecoming" from this summer, Waititi fulfills and often exceeds the cinematic promises made with the inaugural Marvel feature Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" (2008) as he has delivered a film that is irreverent as it is epic, all the while suggesting where this film universe could possibly extend itself if they are willing to follow Waititi's lead and jump into the deep end of creative risks.
Just with the character of Thor himself, Waititi almost immediately takes everything we know about this figure and either playfully alters what we know or discards it altogether, especially through the shearing of his long blonde locks, and the destruction of his hammer, which he does indeed go without for nearly the entirety of the film. But the most notable change to the once stoic figure is his newfound sense of humor, which runs in quick witted fashion from the sardonic to the satiric to the downright silly while not sacrificing all of his other heroic qualities. He hasn't become glib, so to speak. He is just looser, doesn't take himself quite so seriously as he used to, fully suggesting that his time spent with the likes of Tony Stark has been positive, to say the least.
That frisky spirit is indeed the tone of "Thor: Ragnarok" and it is as welcome as it is daring and even dangerous as the silliness and self-acknowledgement of its own silliness often threatens to runs the film clear off of the rails and miraculously, Waititi keeps himself and his film on that knife's edge balance where one really false move would cause the film to unravel altogether and somehow, someway, it just never happens.
Waititi is a smart enough filmmaker to realize that he still needs to tell a story and thankfully, he isn't quite willing to make the entire proceedings a flat out joke (something I was indeed a tad worried about before I saw the film). Waititi is affectionate towards the character and world of Thor, even while being all too knowing of how preposterous it all actually is. But, instead of being self-congratulatory with the film's comedy--a failing of both of James Gunn's dishearteningly smug "Guardians Of The Galaxy" entries (2014/2017) and especially, the self-congratulatory arrogance of Tim Miller's "Deadpool" (2016)--"Thor: Ragnarok" flies by the seat of its "kid-in-a-candy-store" aesthetic and we are all whisked away in tow.
Chris Hemsworth truly appears to be enjoying himself is grandly new levels in the titular role as his riffs with Loki, Hulk and this odd rock like creature performed by Waititi himself showcase the light footed swiftness of his comedy ad the film is all the better for it. And just as with the film's director, Hemsworth has also not lost sight of who Thor is and whatever dilemmas he may find himself confronted with and in "Thor: Ragnarok," he does indeed find himself faced with life altering choices, conflicts and consequences which will reverberate throughout subsequent Marvel films unquestionably.
Cate Blanchett is indeed one of the actresses I felt would be least likely to appear in a superhero film and believe me, with "Thor: Ragnarok," she has proven herself to being one of the finest (in more ways than one--I can't help it, her new look is hotter than molten lava). As Hela, Blanchett evokes such palpable fury, rage, and destruction that you can firmly believe her but as with the surrounding film, Blanchett performs it all with a slight "isn't this hysterical?" wink that only further draws you in closer and you hang onto her every outrageous, venomous threat and command.
Even as terrific as Hemsworth, Blanchett and the bulk of the cast happens to be, the arrival of Tessa Thompson is undoubtedly one of the Marvel film's greatest catches. As Valkyrie, Thompson is gloriously perfect in the role, supremely convincing from her first appearance and captivating from one end of the film to the other, so much so that I strongly feel that she demands to have her own movie. After her striking turns in Justin Simien's incendiary "Dear White People" (2014) and Ryan Coogler's stirring "Creed" (2015), Tessa Thompson has grabbed this opportunity to be seen by a larger, wider audience so powerfully with both hands and the pure unadulterated energy of "Thor: Ragnarok" is elevated every time she appears on screen.
And what a sight every single frame of "Thor: Ragnarok" happens to be!!! Again, Taika Waititi's approach to the film is unrestrained gleefulness, as if he was a child who was able to grab every crayon and marker in their respective boxes and was allowed to use them all in any way he wished. The visual display of the film is stunning with its resplendent rainbow psychedelic glory, a crucial element that adds to the overall playful, and most importantly...comic book tonality of the film.
Even with all of the fun, Waititi has crafted a host of images and sequences (the Thor VS. Hulk battle is one of many showstoppers) that would make Zack Snyder fall to his knees in amazement. Unlike Snyder, Waititi understands to make his film downright fun to behold and not some torturous, bludgeoning slog, the comedy does indeed accentuate the drama and vice versa. As frivolous as "Thor: Ragnarok" often is, I greatly appreciated how Waititi ensured that we do indeed care about Thor's latest adventure, we are excited when we need to be, thrilled when necessary and struck with a certain shock and awe at the precise points when they need to arrive.
In many ways, if there is a film that I could sort of compare "Thor: Ragnarok" with it would be none other than the cult classic, Mike Hodges' "Flash Gordon" (1980) starring a voice dubbed Sam J Jones in the title role and the brilliant Max Von Sydow as the arch nemesis Ming The Merciless--a film I loved and saw countless times growing up. It was an absolutely ridiculous film that lovingly honored its 1930's-1940's comic book and film serial roots and was filled wall to wall with purposefully cheesy visual effects and day-glo colors which adorned a downright crazy plot that included boisterous flying Hawkmen, alien guards pummeled by footballs, mad scientists, an enormous and hungry swamp spider, a tilting platform filled with dangerous spikes, lusty alien women, an interstellar wedding, and all manner of space battles decorating a story of Flash attempting to save Earth from destruction...and set to a theater shaking film score composed and performed by none other than QUEEN!
As I think about "Thor: Ragnarok," I cannot hep but to wonder if "Flash Gordon" was anywhere in Taika Waititi's mind when conceiving of this new installment--especially as Led Zeppelin's classic "The Immigrant Song" is perfectly used as Thor's battle cry.
You know, even further than "Flash Gordon," I really think that "Thor: Ragnarok" is Taika Waititi's cinematic version of Queen's mammoth "Bohemian Rhapsody," a song that is by turns majestic, hilarious, inscrutable, preposterous, stunning, glorious, beautiful and filled with an ocean of sounds that feel like the colors of the largest paintbox come to life and dancing through our speakers.
That's what "Thor: Ragnarok" is like--a paintbox come to life with rock and roll energy combined with a terrific stand-up comedian's expert sense of comic timing. This is exactly what a character like Thor deserves and so thankfully, this is heroically what we have all received.
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