Gonger Reviews: Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson and Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis: Hela has returned from her long imprisonment to wreak havoc on the people of Asgard and it's up to the wildly incompetent Thor to stop her! He meets some mad cap and colourful characters along the way and it's just delightful!

Directing: Other than Guardians of the Galaxy this is the riskiest Marvel movie to date... or is it? Taika Waititi is a fantastic comedic director and his style is plastered all over this one as he creates an awesome character comedy within the Marvel universe. We have seen this before, though, at great success with James Gun's Guardians and it makes me wonder if we aren't just going to get sci-fi/comedies from now on. I hope we do because this flick was a blast! It needed better dramatic scenes but Waititi - who I thought would be too indie to take on a project like this - makes it his own and flips the universe on its head! 1.5/2

Editing: I thought the pacing was a bit off in this flick but it flowed fine and there wasn't any junk in the trunk so to speak. So I did my research, because there was just something strange about it and discovered the film got a comedy editor and an action editor in the same booth! Now Zeke Baker and Joel Negron have obviously read my reviews because this flick is a tight two hours. Much appreciated fellas! But I just can't get over how weird the pacing was... might have to see it again but for now 1.5/2 (Yeah, benefit of the doubt)

Writing: It's your typical hero's journey, however, Eric Pearson pens a pretty dang good script here! First off, we are on Earth for fifteen minutes tops and then blast off to parts of the galaxy unknown! Right where a Thor movie needs to be! Then we get a wide range of fantastic characters and settings! This is great but the gem in this flick is the wildly funny dialogue! It comes at you in the most unsuspecting ways and it's just a treat. The dramatic scenes once again needed work as the emotion was all wrong but this flick knows exactly what it wants to be and that is awesome! 1.5/2

Acting: Our players are wicked this time and that's fine but this flick was just so easy for them. I imagine Waititi saying, "Just go out there and be cool" before a take (in his delightful Kiwi accent). Not to say they weren't, because they really were cool as ice cubes, but there really wasn't any challenge here! Now here's the thing about the bad guys in these Marvel movies, they're constantly calling it in. To have a good superhero flick you need a good bad guy or gal. In this case, Blanchett nails Hela and has a great time doing it! I loved the way she delivered the lines right down to the way she moved on screen. I hope we get to see her again as the titular villainous again! Top notch! Hemsworth has taken the drivers seat finally as Thor, too! About time seeing how we are five films deep here. I never thought his portrayal of the Norse God was any good until now. It must be the comedic elements. It really brought out the best in him this time around. Jeff Goldblum... nothing more said. Now for some venom as I thought Hiddleston and Ruffalo where a bit laboured in this one. They seemed a little out of there element in this with Ruffalo delivering lines oddly and Hiddleston looking panicked half the time. Didn't take too much away from the flick though. I had a good time watching it. 1.5/2

Costume/Art Direction: One thing must be known before we go any further, I'm a huge fan of Jack Kirby. Who's Jack Kirby you ask? Ahem, Rhys could you put up some pictures and educate the readers? Thanks, buddy.

Now we can see the distinctive style of his art and this flick is drenched in it! The movie looks just as weird as any of his illustrations and I think the art direction is a excellent tribute to the late Kirby! It would seem that we are entering the Kirby age of Marvel films and I couldn't be happier. What these films needed was, oh I don't know, a colour pallet for instance! This flick just jumps out at you and its about time Marvel got it right. And the costumes! I mean Cate Blanchett looks Hela good (see what I did there?). Her costume is sexy and cool. Actually every body looked sexy and cool! And again right up Kirby alley! Top grade 2/2

So bad news folks, the sound in the theatre I saw this in had crud sound so I couldn't effectively evaluate the soundtrack but I did download the score and it's really friggin cool! Mark Mothersbaugh does this whole video game thing with it. I likes it. Bonus 0.5!

Final score

8.5/10 Not to shabby considering the other ones are low sevens. I blame Portman. But we ain't going there today folks. I hear she has powers... 

Allan Stringer @Gonger_Reviews

Allan Stringer (if that's his real name) hails from the Mutara Nebula and has travelled through space and time to check out the only thing us pathetic humans have to offer: movies. Marvel at his intelligence!