11/3/17

Thor: Ragnarok

Superhero time again! Thor is still in shackles and now he must do gladiatorial duties against The Hulk. Uff dah! By the way, in this context, "Ragnarok" sorta means war to end all wars.

Working from a humorous script by a committee of writers, Oscar-nominated director Taika Waititi ("Hunt for the Wilderpeople" which I recommend, by the way) brings us another CGI-laden actioner that is planned as a Fall tent-pole for cash-hungry Hollywood. I DO object when writers insert catch phrases from old TV series, e.g., "sorry 'bout that!" from "Get Smart."

Part of Waititi's enormous cast:
  • Chris Hemsworth ("The Huntsman") Thor is in for the battle of his life...over and over and over. How to defeat his sister with her awesome power is his main challenge.
  • Idris Elba ("Luther") Helmdahl has no doubt that Asgard is worth saving. He just hopes that help comes in time.
  • Tom Hiddleston ("I Saw the Light") Loki will be Thor's other challenge. Sibling rivalry!
  • Cate Blanchett ("Cinderella") Hela has always been angry that her father wouldn't allow their victories to continue. Now that Odin is gone...she is ready to make her move.
  • Mark Ruffalo ("Avengers") Once Bruce Banner becomes The Hulk he has no choice but to smash everything. Ruffalo has never been so effective, so sweet, or so real.
  • Karl Urban ("Pete's Dragon") Skurge has only one purpose: he wants to survive.
  • Jeff Goldblum ("Jurassic Park") Grandmaster is delighted with himself and Goldblum's delivery is delicious! (I like his eyeliner.)
  • Tessa Thompson ("Creed") Valkyrie seems a bit too smashed to be taken seriously... Seriously? She makes one of the best entrances EVER for a Superhero.
  • Benedict Cumberbatch ("August, Osage County") Watch Doctor Strange get Thor's attention!
  • Anthony Hopkins ("Thor: The Dark World") Odin appears to his children and dispenses his reasons for what he has done.
  • Stan Lee ("Captain America") We can't have one of these Marvel movies without a cameo from Stan. We LOVE him!
  • Spoiler - Watch for Sam Neill, Luke Hemsworth (Liam's older brother) and Matt Damon.
Movies are international events. Of the director and the eleven actors named, only four were born in the United States. For the rest, England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand are their places of birth; I think this is one of my favorite features of modern filmmaking.

If you are looking for non-stop fantasy/action, look no further. This PG-13 outing (a few bits of profanity) features one cliché after another but do NOT, I repeat do NOT miss that play within a play! Our screening audience ate it up!
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See what I mean:
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Posted by Jayflix at 12:08 AM