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No spoilers ahead. In fact, this won’t even be much of a review. I can probably sum it up in the next paragraph.
Thor: Ragnarok is the most enjoyable superhero movie to date. The action scenes were incredible, including the best final fight scene ever by Marvel. There was plenty of comedy from start to finish, second only to Deadpool in this category. The story line was strong despite a few holes in the plot (but it’s a superhero movie… they all have holes). Most importantly, it never takes itself too serious but doesn’t devolve into pure silliness, either.
There, that’s the review. If you like the MCU and superhero movies in general, you’ll like this movie.
Now let’s discuss the disappointments, petty as they may be. There are three reasons I think this movie may be too much fun.
- Hollywood deserves an abysmal 2017. I’ll admit I’ve had a grudge against Hollywood for nearly a decade. 2017 has proven to be the year that starts what I predicted long ago: punishingly low box office numbers that should make Hollywood rethink what they’re doing. Thor will have an outstanding run through the holidays. The industry doesn’t deserve it. It’s not just the bad trends we’ve seen recently such as focus on franchises and recycling material. It’s the Harvey Weinsteins, Kevin Spaceys, and apparently a whole slew of sexual predators. Hollywood doesn’t deserve success.
- Superhero movies lower the overall quality that Hollywood puts out. Focusing on a more specific portion of first point, superhero movies perpetuate everything bad in modern filmmaking. It’s based on preexisting content and characters; original movies without built-in audiences are becoming more and more rare. It’s a franchise… THE franchise… and that trend keeps Hollywood focused on making tens of billions over time rather than pumping out quality standalone films. Lastly, it sticks to the formula. Despite doing it better than other superhero movies, it’s still built on the boring superhero framework that nobody is bold enough to rebuke.
- Justice League doesn’t stand a chance. I’m a DC guy, at least I was. After Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, I was really hoping Justice League could make a statement and be better as well as more widely viewed than the Marvel competition. That’s not going to happen. Coincidentally, I saw the latest trailer for Justice League before Thor. It made me even less confident that it’s going to be a major improvement over the first. With Thor’s success, there’s just not going to be a whole lot of room for it to succeed in the four weekends it has until Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released.
Final Thoughts
Outside of my personal crusade to rail against Hollywood every chance I get, there’s really nothing negative I can say about this movie. I could nitpick some flaws, but they’re overshadowed by the sheer fun of the flick. Go see it.
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One silver lining; ZERO percent of Thor:Ragnarok was shot in California or Hollywood. It was all shot in Australia or Georgia. I hope Marvel continues to take over the industry and take its business outside of Hollywood.