3.5 stars out of 5
As a kid, Thor wasn’t one of my guys, and I’ve never really been drawn to sword-and-sorcery junk. (I did see all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and that’s quite enough to hold me, thanks very much.) So I have not seen any previous Thor movies. I’m familiar with him from Avengers flicks, but that was going to be that.
It all changed when I heard a Studio 360 interview with director Taika Waititi. He’s buddies with Flight of the Conchords. And he previously made Eagle vs. Shark and What We Do in the Shadows, both of which I enjoyed. His take on Thor seemed pretty funny. And then — and this is key — my pal Patrick asked, “Do you want to see Thor?” and I said, “OK.”
Now, it was maybe not as flat-out wonderful as Kurt Andersen had led me to believe, but it was a fun time at the movies. I tend to prefer superhero films that 1) have bright colors and “open space” in fight scenes, 2) don’t take themselves too seriously, 3) utilize a plot that isn’t too convoluted, and 4) involve saving lots of people, not just the protagonists. Thor: Ragnarok checks all my boxes.
Star Chris Hemsworth is one of those S.O.B.’s who is both incredibly handsome and can do comedy, like Jon Hamm. And Hemsy has that Australian accent, the rugged bastard! So he carries this movie on his well-defined shoulders. Cate Blanchett is slumming as the villain and gets to have some fun. Same for Ruffalo and Cumberbatch. Anthony Hopkins collects a paycheck. ‘Allo ‘allo Idris Elba. Jeff Goldblum is a dependable hoot. Tessa Thompson, very good in Creed, here auditions for her own feature as Valkyrie.
In my mind, however, the best character in this is Korg. He is a big made-of-rock dude like The Thing but I guess Marvel Studios doesn’t have rights to The Thing? So we get Korg instead. He is voiced by Waititi, and is positively hilarious throughout.
I do not want to press my luck with these movies, so I guess I’m skipping Justice League. Sorry, DC. But I just reserved another Taika Waititi film through my public library system. The guy is alright.
Jack Silbert, curator