I'm going to start by saying that I do really like Thor: Ragnarok. It's a thoroughly enjoyable movie, and certainly far better than the previous Thor movies. It has memorable characters, some pretty good action sequences, and even a bit of real character development. The comedy – some of it, at least – is top-notch too.
That said, there's something just a little bit off about a lot of the film. If I had to put my finger on it, I'd say that it seems like two separate, very good movies that don't work well together at all: the outline of an MCU film, filled in by a Taiki Waititi film. The MCU part of the film feels like Ragnarok: many of the action scenes are amazing, and even the worst aren't any worse than average. The Waititi parts of the film seem to be mainly centered around Sakaar, and in all fairness they are hilarious, with some of the funniest lines and scenes in not just this but any movie. Many of them come from Waititi's own character Korg, so take that as you will. The problem is when the two try to come together, because it simply doesn't work.
Whenever the film tries to find its voice, it falters. Many of the most interesting parts of the movie were either not given enough focus (Valkyrie's unresolved issues; the changing relationship between Thor and Loki) or seem like they were just forgotten (almost everything about Hela, especially her relationship with the brothers, and how that affects their view of Odin). The final battle seems almost like they were trying to get through a checklist of what they "had" to include. The climactic battle boils down to every named character (and several random extras) going through Hela's supposed elite army like tissue paper; Thor and Hela's own fight is stunning and engaging but has no sense of weight, as both are portrayed as almost totally invulnerable (Hela more so) and the only major damage either of them suffers is brushed off like it was a papercut. Finally, in what is one of the worst examples of inappropriate use of humor ever, both the destruction of Asgard and the decision of how Asgard will live on –
which should be some of the most emotional scenes in the film – are undercut by unnecessary jokes (both, again, courtesy of Waititi's character).
Now, lest it seem like I hate Ragnarok, I don't. In fact I enjoyed it very much, and I would heartily recommend it even to anyone who has no interest in the MCU or superheroes in general. But it feels like something is missing, like it could have been more. Thor: Ragnarok is absolutely first-rate entertainment, and by any standard a good movie. But I couldn't shake the sense that there was a great movie somewhere in there, and unfortunately, this isn't it.
A good movie, and definitely fun, but it doesn't live up to its potential.
I'm going to start by saying that I do really like Thor: Ragnarok. It's a thoroughly enjoyable movie, and certainly far better than the previous Thor movies. It has memorable characters, some pretty good action sequences, and even a bit of real character development. The comedy – some of it, at least – is top-notch too.
That said, there's something just a little bit off about a lot of the film. If I had to put my finger on it, I'd say that it seems like two separate, very good movies that don't work well together at all: the outline of an MCU film, filled in by a Taiki Waititi film. The MCU part of the film feels like Ragnarok: many of the action scenes are amazing, and even the worst aren't any worse than average. The Waititi parts of the film seem to be mainly centered around Sakaar, and in all fairness they are hilarious, with some of the funniest lines and scenes in not just this but any movie. Many of them come from Waititi's own character Korg, so take that as you will. The problem is when the two try to come together, because it simply doesn't work.
Whenever the film tries to find its voice, it falters. Many of the most interesting parts of the movie were either not given enough focus (Valkyrie's unresolved issues; the changing relationship between Thor and Loki) or seem like they were just forgotten (almost everything about Hela, especially her relationship with the brothers, and how that affects their view of Odin). The final battle seems almost like they were trying to get through a checklist of what they "had" to include. The climactic battle boils down to every named character (and several random extras) going through Hela's supposed elite army like tissue paper; Thor and Hela's own fight is stunning and engaging but has no sense of weight, as both are portrayed as almost totally invulnerable (Hela more so) and the only major damage either of them suffers is brushed off like it was a papercut. Finally, in what is one of the worst examples of inappropriate use of humor ever, both the destruction of Asgard and the decision of how Asgard will live on – which should be some of the most emotional scenes in the film – are undercut by unnecessary jokes (both, again, courtesy of Waititi's character).
Now, lest it seem like I hate Ragnarok, I don't. In fact I enjoyed it very much, and I would heartily recommend it even to anyone who has no interest in the MCU or superheroes in general. But it feels like something is missing, like it could have been more. Thor: Ragnarok is absolutely first-rate entertainment, and by any standard a good movie. But I couldn't shake the sense that there was a great movie somewhere in there, and unfortunately, this isn't it.