Surrounded by such easily accessible excesses in our lives, it can be tough to know when to tap out—when to say “enough.” “Maybe it was a bad idea to marathon Stranger Things until 3 a.m.” “Perhaps spending my morning reading plot synopses for every film in the Saw series out of morbid curiosity wasn’t the best use of time.” “Why’d I have that third taco?” Etc.
When you’re drinking from the firehose, you end up feeling hosed—and can find your thirst replaced with a sense of drowning.
That’s where I’ve found myself with superhero movies. Like others who grew up squandering their allowances on Toy Biz X-Men figures and Kenner Batman toys, when Iron Man came and rocket-blasted my adult-sized Superman socks off, I was thrilled with the prospect of a decades-long run of shared comic-book universe films following the colorfully costumed do-gooders of my youth. But then I realized for every Iron Man, there must be an Iron Man 2; for every Guardians of the Galaxy, I’d have to power my way through an Age of Ultron.
The biannual conveyor belt never stops, and after a years-long force-fed binge of superhero schlock, I had become numb to any sense of joy I once derived from seeing the heroes of my childhood comics and cards come to life on the big screen by the time the third Iron Man landed around in 2013.
Enter stage right, Thor: Ragnarok.
I wasn’t. No. I have become wary even of critical acclaim after too many just-OK films got labeled must-sees. “Dude... Logan,” you may have heard. “It’s actually good. Like, it might get a Best Picture nomination—and it should!” (It won’t, and it shouldn’t.) “Captain America: Civil War has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes,” you may have read. (What? No. Why?) Heck, even the The Dark Knight, the would-be Citizen Kane of comic-book movies, only seems like such a beaut' because it’s surrounded by its plain-looking entourage of superhero film friends.
When you’re drinking from the firehose, you end up feeling hosed—and can find your thirst replaced with a sense of drowning.
That’s where I’ve found myself with superhero movies. Like others who grew up squandering their allowances on Toy Biz X-Men figures and Kenner Batman toys, when Iron Man came and rocket-blasted my adult-sized Superman socks off, I was thrilled with the prospect of a decades-long run of shared comic-book universe films following the colorfully costumed do-gooders of my youth. But then I realized for every Iron Man, there must be an Iron Man 2; for every Guardians of the Galaxy, I’d have to power my way through an Age of Ultron.
The biannual conveyor belt never stops, and after a years-long force-fed binge of superhero schlock, I had become numb to any sense of joy I once derived from seeing the heroes of my childhood comics and cards come to life on the big screen by the time the third Iron Man landed around in 2013.
Enter stage right, Thor: Ragnarok.
I wasn’t. No. I have become wary even of critical acclaim after too many just-OK films got labeled must-sees. “Dude... Logan,” you may have heard. “It’s actually good. Like, it might get a Best Picture nomination—and it should!” (It won’t, and it shouldn’t.) “Captain America: Civil War has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes,” you may have read. (What? No. Why?) Heck, even the The Dark Knight, the would-be Citizen Kane of comic-book movies, only seems like such a beaut' because it’s surrounded by its plain-looking entourage of superhero film friends.
As such, maybe there’s no one you can trust when it comes to high-praise for the latest high-flying, big-budget superhero spectacle. And maybe the idea of seeing a sequel to a sequel of a Thor movie if you haven’t (or especially if you have) been keeping up with the series seems like an easy pass.
But this Thor soars with a neon-colored canvas of fantastical worlds, a script overflowing with witty back-and-forths, a soundtrack that includes not one but two uses of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (a little on the Norse nose, but it rocks, so we'll roll with it), and a killer cast of absurdly attractive and astonishingly ab-ed actors. A group that all seem to be having a blast, by the way—as they should, getting paid to play make believe in a film combining buddy comedy best practices, Norse mythology, Saturday morning cartoon sci-fi, and Ziggy Stardust at the opera costuming.
The main case for seeing Thor: Ragnarok is the man in the director’s chair, Taika Waititi. You may/hopefully know the New Zealand director as he co-directed the delightful vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows with Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement. Waititi even makes some time in front of the camera as a scene-stealing CG rock monster named Korg. (Related: this Wired piece on what it’s like to direct while in a motion-capture suit is worth a read.)
With Waititi at the helm, Thor is free to be a non-stop joyride filled with laughs and surprisingly entertaining and gorgeous action pieces, with none of the boring, brooding, self-serious super-heroics that bog down the bulk of comic-book films. It even makes Guardians of the Galaxy feel unnecessarily serious and overly sappy. This Thor is more Looney Tunes than Logan.
Thor: Ragnarok hammers away any notion of “superheroes, they’re just like us” in favor of characters who talk the way you wish you talked, and look the way you wish you looked. Quick-witted comebacks fly fast from a cast that plays it cool with a heavy dose of self-deprecating humor, even in the face of humiliation and near annihilation.
The stakes feel thankfully low because they are. This is more of a side quest than a main event. After all, Thor and Hulk can afford to crack wise about getting their skulls cracked because they’re basically in god mode. They're basically invincible, so why not have some fun?
And fun they have. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) could charm the superhero spandex of you with their clever dialog (and some nods to the funniest visual comedy gag from The Avengers). Mark Ruffalo (Hulk) is likable in green and the flesh, playing a more vocal, toddler-tempered Hulk. Even returning Thor’s dad Sir Anthony Hopkins gets to have a bit of fun, playing Loki playing Odin.
Newcomers to the cast include Jeff Goldblum, who plays Jeff Goldblum in the best way possible; Cate Blanchett, who—despite being part of the weakest thread of the film—is still the best baddie Marvel has introduced since Michael Rooker’s Yondu from GotG; and Tessa Thompson, who plays a female Han Solo and, like Loki in Thor, is so immediately magnetic on screen that she will surely become a mainstay of the Marvel universe to come.
Because it’s such a blast, even at over two hours and only 10 or so minutes shy of the monotonous Age of Ultron or the final third slog of Civil War, it feels an Asgardian lifetime shorter. And that’s even including the time I stayed in my seat for the two post-credit scenes.
If you’re the type who sees every Marvel movie on opening weekend, I suspect you will not be disappointed leaving the movie theater this weekend. If you think superhero movies are stupid or overdone, good news: Thor: Ragnarok does, too. Fortunately, Waititi, Hemsworth, and Co. had the brains to forget the formula and just sought to create a movie that will make you smile.
Thor: Ragnarok is gleeful and silly, here to save us from a lifetime of origin stories and superhero self-reflection. It’s easily the funniest movie Marvel has made, and it may also be the best.
—Eric Pulsifer
But this Thor soars with a neon-colored canvas of fantastical worlds, a script overflowing with witty back-and-forths, a soundtrack that includes not one but two uses of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (a little on the Norse nose, but it rocks, so we'll roll with it), and a killer cast of absurdly attractive and astonishingly ab-ed actors. A group that all seem to be having a blast, by the way—as they should, getting paid to play make believe in a film combining buddy comedy best practices, Norse mythology, Saturday morning cartoon sci-fi, and Ziggy Stardust at the opera costuming.
The main case for seeing Thor: Ragnarok is the man in the director’s chair, Taika Waititi. You may/hopefully know the New Zealand director as he co-directed the delightful vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows with Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement. Waititi even makes some time in front of the camera as a scene-stealing CG rock monster named Korg. (Related: this Wired piece on what it’s like to direct while in a motion-capture suit is worth a read.)
With Waititi at the helm, Thor is free to be a non-stop joyride filled with laughs and surprisingly entertaining and gorgeous action pieces, with none of the boring, brooding, self-serious super-heroics that bog down the bulk of comic-book films. It even makes Guardians of the Galaxy feel unnecessarily serious and overly sappy. This Thor is more Looney Tunes than Logan.
Thor: Ragnarok hammers away any notion of “superheroes, they’re just like us” in favor of characters who talk the way you wish you talked, and look the way you wish you looked. Quick-witted comebacks fly fast from a cast that plays it cool with a heavy dose of self-deprecating humor, even in the face of humiliation and near annihilation.
The stakes feel thankfully low because they are. This is more of a side quest than a main event. After all, Thor and Hulk can afford to crack wise about getting their skulls cracked because they’re basically in god mode. They're basically invincible, so why not have some fun?
And fun they have. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) could charm the superhero spandex of you with their clever dialog (and some nods to the funniest visual comedy gag from The Avengers). Mark Ruffalo (Hulk) is likable in green and the flesh, playing a more vocal, toddler-tempered Hulk. Even returning Thor’s dad Sir Anthony Hopkins gets to have a bit of fun, playing Loki playing Odin.
Newcomers to the cast include Jeff Goldblum, who plays Jeff Goldblum in the best way possible; Cate Blanchett, who—despite being part of the weakest thread of the film—is still the best baddie Marvel has introduced since Michael Rooker’s Yondu from GotG; and Tessa Thompson, who plays a female Han Solo and, like Loki in Thor, is so immediately magnetic on screen that she will surely become a mainstay of the Marvel universe to come.
Because it’s such a blast, even at over two hours and only 10 or so minutes shy of the monotonous Age of Ultron or the final third slog of Civil War, it feels an Asgardian lifetime shorter. And that’s even including the time I stayed in my seat for the two post-credit scenes.
If you’re the type who sees every Marvel movie on opening weekend, I suspect you will not be disappointed leaving the movie theater this weekend. If you think superhero movies are stupid or overdone, good news: Thor: Ragnarok does, too. Fortunately, Waititi, Hemsworth, and Co. had the brains to forget the formula and just sought to create a movie that will make you smile.
Thor: Ragnarok is gleeful and silly, here to save us from a lifetime of origin stories and superhero self-reflection. It’s easily the funniest movie Marvel has made, and it may also be the best.
—Eric Pulsifer
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