Tell Me What Are You the God of Again

Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Ragnarok.

"I don't hang with the Avengers any more. It all got too corporate." – Thor, Thor: Ragnarok

You'd exist justified in thinking I've been besides kind to Marvel's most contempo films. They really are singularly excellent at the art of seduction; of presenting you with dazzling visual spectacle anchored by just enough plot and grapheme coherence that you leave the theatre feeling satisfied, fifty-fifty if their appeal begins to wither once you're back exterior. I really take no want to always watch Md Foreign again, even though I gave it a glowing review. I can understand the shame that sometimes follows, where y'all experience y'all've somehow been duped. But I don't e'er feel taken advantage of, personally. Dispensable, enjoyable, escapist chicanery on the silver screen is as much an essential part of a balanced cinematic nutrition as anything else. It's quite plenty for me that Marvel'due south legion of technicians, production designers, digital artists, costumers, and stunt performers work their asses off to deliver what about moviegoers come across as exciting ane-off experiences (specially since the sequel is already coming downward the pike right backside the i you just saw, guaranteeing that these talented people are still getting work). I don't hate the formula. The formula works.

That said, I think the cure to the "superhero fatigue" that so many people complain about is to actually watch and evaluate these things as films, to identify and celebrate the small-scale ways in which they break from formula and manifest some kind of real creative expression. Thor: Ragnarok is easily the best argument for the "auteur blockbuster" method that Hollywood studios dear then much, and (different Doctor Strange) information technology'south the rare Marvel picture show I can see myself watching again and again. The studio gave managing director Taika Waititi a couple inches, and he ran away with miles and miles of fun, exciting, gut-busting comic volume farce. It'southward well-nigh difficult to believe this film exists at all.

I suspect that Waititi, like the balance of us, really didn't have much of an idea of what to do with Thor. He sticks out like a sore thumb from the residual of the World-spring Avengers – he's an invincible god, while they're all squishy humans; he's stately and regal, where they're wisecracking. Kenneth Branagh leaned into this more Shakespearean angle for the offset Thor outing to decidedly mixed results (I'g in the minority of people who thought that the stuffy Asgard scenes were more interesting than the fish-out-of-water shenanigans on Earth). Game of Thrones managing director Alan Taylor brought his gritty sword battle expertise to the sequel, Thor: The Dark World, but leaning into that stuff didn't experience right, either. It took Waititi – a kooky Kiwi whose credits include such excellent comedic fare as Flying of the Conchords, What We Do In The Shadows, and Hunt For The Wilderpeople – to notice the right groove for the musclebound God of Thunder, and he seems to have found it by throwing all that other crap out the window.

Turns out the groove in which Thor feels well-nigh comfortable is pure goofiness. Ragnarok is a advised, unapologetic farce, a consummate refutation of the cocky-serious tone that typified before entries like Captain America: Ceremonious War. Waititi delights at every turn in taking the piss out of his characters, their earth, and this whole ridiculous superhero blockbuster rigmarole, making even the desolation-laced ribaldry of Guardians of the Milky way expect positively stodgy by comparison. There'southward very little dramatic investment to be constitute here, and I didn't miss information technology for a second. I was likewise busy laughing my ass off and having a great fourth dimension.

Rachel Business firm, Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson in Thor: Ragnarok.

Nether Waititi, Ragnarok'due south plot feels more like an episode of late-80s cartoon tv than an entry in the MCU. Hela (Cate Blanchett), the hidden sister of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), threatens to raze Asgard to the ground to slake her thirst for revenge against their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Only Thor tin't do much about information technology afterwards Hela crushes his hammer, Mjolnir, and banishes him to the planet Sakaar, where someone called the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) enslaves beings from across the universe to participate in his gladiatorial bloodsports. It's just after discovering that the Grandmaster'southward prize fighter is none other than our very own Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) that Thor hatches a plan to escape Sakaar, with the help of Hulk, Loki, and the grumpy drunk Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who has reasons of her own to help take dorsum her homeworld. Information technology's some real He-Homo shit, enhanced past the flick's bright neon acid-trip visual palette, and its casual disregard of any plot or graphic symbol element that might become boring or slow things down. I can't describe how refreshing it is, afterward years of trying to take these comic book films seriously, to be let off the hook. Enjoy yourself, Waititi says, with every hilarious slapstick gag and perfectly timed quip. We're all here to take fun, mate.

It'south Waititi's strength at guiding his ensemble that really makes the film'southward comedy country. Hemsworth, constantly positioned as the stoic, noble hero classic, finally gets to play to his strengths and offering a version of Thor that'south more than of a blundering Prince Charming. He'south hilarious, and the feeling of the character finally working – the style he seems to merely effortlessly click into place from the opening scene – is supremely satisfying. Same goes for Ruffalo's Hulk, who is finally allowed to talk (!) and uses this opportunity to deliver some of the film's funniest material. (He'south exactly the kind of arrogant oaf that you would imagine Hulk to be, especially later on a long time spent burdensome puny rivals and being richly rewarded for it.) Ruffalo even explores new ground with his Banner, busting out of the flat, uninteresting "tech guy" he played off Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark and finding new life every bit an awkward, dweeby scientist who is just equally much an utter outsider on Sakaar as Hulk is a perfect fit. Thompson is dandy equally the salty Valkyrie, honing in on the graphic symbol's likable nature despite her antisocial behavior. Fifty-fifty fleck performers similar Karl Urban every bit Asgardian turncoat Skurge and Waititi himself as rock-alien Korg are given infinite to detect something hilarious and memorable near their characters, and exploit it for maximum comedic effect.

Just it should go without saying that Jeff Goldblum runs away with it. It should also go without maxim that when you hire him for your superhero picture, the performance y'all're going to become is simply Jeff Goldblum in a funny costume. Ragnarok thrives when he'south onscreen, fluently integrating his oddball personality and his unique affability into its overall tone, letting him gently poke and prod at the edges of what makes this maniacal galactic overlord tick. The Grandmaster is Jeff Goldblum in a funny costume, to exist certain, but he's besides surprising and wry and nuanced. Waititi gives generously of his total screen time to this character, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Listen, you lot want an example of a franchise that truly coasts on formula, look no farther than the works of Warner Brothers. (The upcoming Justice League is an example of their willingness to intermission from their established formula past artlessly plagiarizing the formula that works and so well for their rivals.) At least Curiosity, in one case in a while, is comfortable plenty to let its freak flag fly a lilliputian fleck. Ragnarok is a total outlier, and we're unlikely to see its kind again in the MCU. Allow'due south just have a bit of fun with information technology while nosotros can, eh?

– Justin Cummings  is a narrative designer at Ubisoft Toronto, and has worked as a author, blogger, and playwright since 2005. He has been a lifelong student of film, gaming, and literature, commenting on industry and culture since his childhood cinema first installed an arcade.

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Source: https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2017/11/thor-ragnarok-what-were-you-god-of-again.html

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