![]() Having said that, I have often found that the chief pleasures of the Thor movies have been merely the opportunity to spend some time in good company. Truth be told, the overall story is no less generic than the previous two Thor pictures. The picture is so afraid of grimdark that it forgets to give certain sequences (like the early deaths of a few minor supporting characters) proper weight. But since the B-plot concerns a genocidal monster slaughtering countless people in her pursuit of limitless power, there is a ticking clock scenario that slightly undercuts the fun. ![]() There is a certain pleasure to be found in a big MCU movie that is just kicking back and seeing the sights as it goes. It feels padded as if Marvel couldn’t bear to have a 95-minute movie. Much of this middle chunk of the picture feels like a distraction. Oddly enough, much of this material, which includes Jeff Goldblum essentially playing himself (or at least someone playing Jeff Goldblum) and Tessa Thompson providing able support as the last of the Valkyrie, is unfocused and stretched out. If you’ve seen any amount of marketing for the picture, you’ll know that Thor finds himself without his magic hammer and forced to compete in a gladiator competition against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). We spend the next hour or so alternating between Hella’s plans for Thor’s home and Thor’s attempts to escape the hostile world in which he has found himself. Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett, going full camp and loving it) has returned and quickly gets rid of both Thor and Loki before making short work of Asgard’s security. So far, so fun.Īfter tracking down Odin (Anthony Hopkins) with the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, in a delightful snarky cameo with Loki and Strange trying to outdo each other), we get to the core of the story. ![]() After that rocking action sequence, as it literally rocks out to “Immigrant Song,” the picture heads back to Asgard where we get a delightful bit of camp theater (with a few fun cameos) which resolves unfinished business from Thor: The Dark World. It’s an almost courageous choice, essentially having its core hero complete the title mission in the prologue, leaving us on our toes about what else might transpire. Things get off to a superb start, as the curtain raiser reveals Thor succeeding in efforts to prevent “Ragnarok” (an end-of-all things apocalyptic event). Still, this goofy and visually dynamic adventure is enjoyable to a fault, and if I may carp that it drags in the middle (not enough story for a 130-minute running time) then I will also note it starts and ends very well. It finds itself overcompensating for a non-existent problem as if it believed the myth about the previous Thor movies being too serious and goes 180 degrees in the other direction. In fact, its core flaw is that the film is so in-on-the-joke witty that it often forgets to acknowledge its own drama. There is a certain “Hmm, that didn’t go as I intended” or “That big moment fell flat!” wit that permeates Taika Waititi’s occasionally delightful and always entertaining fantasy comic book threequel. As you may recall, the running gag of that recent action classic is that Ethan Hunt and his team were constantly vexed by gadgets that didn’t work and plans that didn’t quite come together. So, barring a fluke (or unexpected competition from Justice League), the $232m domestic/$677m global cume of last year’s Doctor Strange may be the floor for this one.Īt its best, the self-aware and often self-mocking Thor: Ragnarok has a sensibility that will remind viewers of Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. Avenger smackdown with those newbies (along with Ant-Man) while this installment offers Thor, Hulk and sure-to-be-buzzy supporting turns from Cate Blanchett and Tessa Thompson. Captain America: Civil War was an Avenger vs. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a “mythology episode” and featured a winning supporting turn from Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the introduction of Anthony Mackie’s Falcon. ![]() Marvel has been quite good of late about making sure that their sequels have added value elements. Whether absence makes the heart grow fonder or causes interest to subside is an open question, although I will merely note that three to four years between installments used to be normal for these kinds of sequel-friendly movies. That was four years ago, which means it’s been four years since we saw Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and 2.5 years since we saw Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron. That means we’re arguably looking at a bump from Thor: The Dark World’s $206 million domestic ($221m adjusted for inflation) and $642m worldwide cume from back in November 2013.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |