Thor: Ragnarok [spoilers]

Went to the IMAX showing last night, and was suitably impressed.

Closest touchstone is the 80's Flash Gordon, and - speaking as a fan of the first Thor - this actually works better as a Thor-finding-himself than the Shakespearian themed one.

Oh, and yes, that is Matt Damon. You'll know when you see it.

First part suffers a little from choppiness - similar to Rogue One - and would've benefited from another 10 minutes or so to smooth things over, it's not like the film ever outstays its welcome so it wouldn't have been a stretch to add in.

It also suffers from the usual Marvel malaise of undercooked villain, but solves this by using her for impact, and Blanchett merges menace and camp straight from Sydow's Ming.

But once it gets going... It's a real laugh-out-loud film. Hulk is done brilliantly, he's basically the annoying little kid who laughs at others misfortunes, only in the body of the ultimate bully.

The film is going to be a love it or hate it, it's unashamedly camp, neon lit - the attempts to make Asgardians as being just technologically advanced is binned, it embraces all the silliness that is the shoehorning of Norse mythology in the MCU and is all the better for it. And, as befitting campiness, don't expect complex humour, and some of the jokes can see coming a mile off.

It also subtlety underlines the sibling rivalry a bit, Thor just does shit and it all works out in the end, Loki carefully plans things and they usually blow up in his face, so you can see why Loki may just get more than a little pissy about it.

Goldblum must've had fun as Grandmaster, and Waititi certainly did as Korg who is very different in personality from the comics.

The stingers are okay, the first one leads into the start of Infinity War, but in a foreboding way rather then going for the jugular, the second returns to Sakaar.

It leaves things in an interesting place too

It's a crazy film that works, and one I'd have happily seen again right after watching it.

So Blanchett's a tongue in cheek villainess?

No, she's not tongue-in-cheek, but she revels in being able to ham it up. Scenery is chewed professionally, with verve, and its fun to see.

Usually when a film regards plot as a minor irritation the result is terrible, in this case you get something more akin to a Bill and Ted or Jay and Silent Bob movie, only with a Marvel sized budget, scope and scale.

I saw the trailer for this when I was at "Only The Brave" or whatever that name of that movie was about the Yarnell AZ fire. I'm 55 years old, so it looked to me like a super-hero movie that looks all CGI. Sorry not my cup-of-tea.

Saw it. Great movie.

Most fun I've had with a Marvel film so far.

Doesn't take it self too seriously but does make Thor a lot more interesting than he was in previous movies.

Very different tone from the first two Thor movies and much better for it IMO.

What happened to Sif? She was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, they made up for it with Valkyrie, another fun character in a movie full of them.

Just saw it and thought it was great. Thor movies are so much better than Captain America movies.

Saw it this afternoon. A great fun romp more reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy than anything else. Which is what makes it, in the end, a disappointing movie.

Thor should not be spouting one-liners. Loki is not comic relief. And freakin' Surtur is not a chekov's gun.

Annoying little details: Hela is supposed to be Loki's daughter, not Odin's. The Valkyrie character should have been Sif, tho that would have required some different storytelling. Skurge deserved better. I mean, if you're gonna nod to Simonson's amazing take on the character, then do it some justice.

On balance this felt like two thirds of a good movie with some important bits edited out.

Fun movie! I like that it didn't take itself too seriously. Love the changes for Thor.

http://dickynoo.blogspot.com/2017/11/big-winter-movies-part-3-part-4.html

I had a very good time with it.

The humor worked, and the not-so-serious take seems to gel very well with the world Thor occupies.

I liked this version of the Hulk, who has become way more talkative than he ever was. He also looks even more like Ruffalo than he has in the past.

I find Cate Blanchett...kinda hot...when she's in her Goth getup. And she has a lot of fun with the role. I hope we'll see her again.

Bummer about the Warriors Three...and, what, no Sif?

Where did Skurge get those 800 round magazines for those M16s? I was amused that those artifacts came from a place in Midgaard called Texass. Sad that the character didn't quite get the redemption he earned.

Goldblum is at his Goldblumiest and he's fun to watch and listen to. I liked the stinger where we find out what happened to him. I'm guessing "food." But I hope we see him again.

So, so, so many callbacks to earlier films: Loki getting uneasy when seeing the Hulk, Thor getting slammed by the Hulk the same way Loki did, Black Widow's message, "sun's getting low," "Point Break," the Tesseract, etc.

On the downside, it might be a little too light to be truly memorable.

Fun, but light. 7.0/10

Oh dear GOD yes. I kinda like her anyway but with the wild black hair and whatnot . . .

I was with you until the last sentence.
I think it'll live comfortably between the two Guardians.

Might I just say how much I loved every but of Jack Kirby that was in this film?

There was so much Jack Kirby in Thor: Ragnarok that I couldn't even believe it!

Saw it, enjoyed it quite a bit. I've never been a Thor aficionado, so details such as Hela being Loki's son in the comics went over my head.

Lots of plot elements were quickly glossed over, and I ended up wishing a few more seconds had been spent explaining some things.

How was Loki able to cast a spell on Odin? Why did Odin choose to spend two years in exile on Earth? Now, why exactly did Odin "die" at that particular moment?

Odin's death did seem like a kick in the face to Thor and Loki.

Sure reminded me of Yoda's death


"You have a sister...gak....

I was very surprised at the casual way the Warriors Three were dispatched. I felt that those characters deserved a much better sendoff.

The problem I had with Skurge was that the movie was very careful not to depict him as doing anything truly heinous. Sure, he's about he lower the ax on a poor Asgardian, but he's stopped at the last moment. He mostly just follows Hela around, scowling and glowering. And him trying to escape from Asgard with the blanket over his head reminded me an awful lot of Alfrid from Battle of the Five Armies.

I thought it had been confirmed he would return and interact with Del Toro's The Collector, who is Grandmaster's brother.

Nah, no lower than 9.0/10. Geeks are pretty spoiled at this point. For Ragnarok to be considered one of Marvel's lessor efforts shows how spoiled fans are, Ragnarok is spectacular by any measure, regardless of how jokey it is.

Did I miss huge things by not seeing Thor 2 yet?

The play with Matt Damon gives you everything you need to know about Thor 2.

So, was Jane Foster casually erased from the MCU with Thor's throwaway line about them breaking up?

Not that I mind. I've never cared for Portman as an actress, and the attraction between her and Thor wasn't believable in the slightest.

Thor should forget Jane.

And jump on Darcy!

Yummy Khazar milkers!

Actually, it would complete her character's arc if she kissed "Meow-Meow", back to life, and became Lady Thor.

She could kiss my meow-meow back to life, then I'd hammer her with it.

So, nobody answered my question. Is Jane Foster gone from the MCU? Has Portman said anywhere that she's not coming back?

Yes, I think you can consider Jane Foster gone.

She couldn't come back unless Natalie Portman wanted it, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want it. Thor: Ragnarok has one or two lines of dialogue that essentially set up Jane's permanent absence from the films.

So, this is pretty much like the beginning of Karate Kid II, when Daniel has a brief line about the girlfriend having dumped him for a football jock, and she's never seen or referenced again.

Sorry, but I think this is just lame. Although I didn't care for Portman or buy into the romance, they did spend two movies building it up, and in Dark World she's important enough to Thor that he leaves Asgard and forsakes the throne to be with her.

And then she....dumps him?

KK1: "Allie is the most important thing in the world to me, and I have won her heart!"
KK2: "Yeah, she dumped me for a football player. No big whoop."

I agree. Lame. But what else are they gonna do? Re-cast?

Besides, Jane didn't really fit into the plot of the third one, anyway.

My fan theory?
Jane ran off with another guy who looks like Chris Hemsworth, but is into science stuff, and they became the descendants of JJ-Kirk.

Four-way with all the other Chrises in an effort to produce the most handsome man ever.