I’m still
trying to decide how I feel about Ragnarok. It’s undoubtedly awesome and undeniably
entertaining – it’s a great, well-made film, and I enjoyed the hell out of
it. Still, I’m trying to decide if it’s
quite the movie it should be (premise spoilers.)
Death is
coming to Asgard. Literally – Hela, the
goddess of death, has broken free from her imprisonment and plans to rule Thor’s
world with extreme prejudice. In trying
to stop her, Thor (and Loki) are flung across the universe to Sakaar, an
intergalactic way station. Thor,
desperate to get back home and defeat Hela, tries to recruit a warrior with a
dark past and an unexpected familiar face to help him.
Let’s
talk about this first: this movie is hilarious. There are numerous comic situations and
surprising bits of physical comedy that venture into slapstick, and the jokes
are virtually – but not quite – wall-to-wall.
It’s so funny that there were moments in the theater where I honestly
couldn’t hear the lines because the audience was still laughing so hard over
the previous joke. All the actors
deliver nicely on this front, particularly Chris Hemsworth, who ably
demonstrated his comic chops in Ghostbusters.
And it’s
a little weird. Because I enjoy it –
honestly, I do – and it’s not like the Marvel movies in general skimp on humor,
the Thor movies included. But there’s just something about it here, the
general tone of it and the sheer volume of it, that doesn’t quite fit in with Thor or The Dark World. There are
moments in the film where, even as I’m laughing, I find myself thinking, “Is
Thor really that much of a meathead?” I
don’t know. Tonally, I’m still not sure
what to make of it. As fun as it is, I
don’t know if it’s quite right.
Fortunately,
the movie has plenty to offer besides copious, slightly-jarring hilarity. The action is killer – I’d be hard-pressed to
highlight a favorite fight, but anything involving lightning is pretty
sweet. It’s nice to see a non-earthbound
Thor movie, to really get into the
space opera of it all and exploit the potential in that. Everything about Sakaar is fun and awesome, and
it opens the story up to new characters as well as the new setting.
Speaking
of new characters? Basically, yes all
the way. Cate Blanchett is regal,
fierce, and wicked as Hela, a destructive goddess from head to foot. Jeff Goldblum is a hoot as the Grandmaster,
who runs the show on Sakaar – I mean, his main task in any movie is basically
to “bring that Jeff Goldblum energy” to whatever role he has, but it really
works in this setting. Special props to
Tess Thompson, who is sheer awesomeness as the Valkyrie, as entertaining as she
is badass. And for the “Marvel veteran, Thor movie virgin” characters, I could
take or leave Doctor Strange’s brief appearance, but the Hulk is terrific, and
I love seeing Mark Ruffalo getting to play the Hulk as a bit more of an actual
character.
Warnings
Comic
book violence, swearing, drinking, sexual references, and thematic elements.
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