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Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.
Marvel/DC films have become painfully repetitive. I used to crave more darkness and depth in superhero fare. Be careful what you wish for. Post-Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy, the deluge of increasingly ponderous, $200mil.+ films, revolving around God-like men and women in frankly ridiculous-looking outfits experiencing existential angst, has ironically rendered them more and more laughable.
Taika Waititi, a New Zealand director known for the cult HBO series “Flight of the Conchords,” as well as oddball, charming indie comedies (“Eagle vs Shark,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” and last year’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), infuses the “Comic Book Movie” with a much needed shot of irreverence. With “Thor: Ragnarok,” Waititi nails the humor/action balance, while also managing to adhere to the conventional Marvel structure: there is a villainess that a ragtag team of pseudo-Avengers must confront, and it all ends with an epic showdown.
The filmmaker peppers “Ragnarok” with all his auter-ish trademarks. There are the self-referential puns: he voices one particularly memorable character, and stages a meta play-within-a-film, with cameos that I am dying to reveal here. There are the non-sequiturs and lightness of tone, particularly welcome in this day and age of “the darker the better.” “Thor”’s third stand-alone adventure plays more like a tongue-in-cheek fantasy, without (quite) venturing into “Flash Gordon”/“Batman & Robin” camp (although Waititi did make the actors watch the former cult classic prior to shooting).
Plot in nutshell: Thor has to defeat his evil sister Hela (Cate Blanchett, having a blast out-hamming every villain in comic-book history), who wants to take over Asgard. Thor’s team is quite something to behold. Thor and Hulk (the always-perfect Mark Ruffalo) are joined by the beautiful/powerful Asgard refugee, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), as well as Korg – a character made out of rocks (quietly voiced by the director), and good ol’ Machiavellian Loki (the, let’s face it, much-overpraised Tom Hiddleston). Jeff Goldblum makes a memorable, flamboyant appearance as the Grandmaster, who engages Hulk and the titular hero in a gladiatorial smackdown.
Waititi mentioned in interviews that there was quite a lot of improvisation on set, and it’s obvious: there’s a joyous, “anything-can-happen” vibe that’s evident not just in the action (watch Hulk battle a monstrous wolf) but the dialogue as well (see: the gradually developing friendship between Hulk and Thor). “Thor” pokes fun at all the things that make superhero movies ridiculous: the heroes’ righteousness, the solemnity of tone, the inherent concept of all-powerful, death-defying deities battling it out. It does so wisely, Waititi proving that he can sustain that intricate balance of comedy/self-awareness/zaniness and actual, you know, intrigue, with maybe a dash of drama that he displayed in his indie fare. What may be even more impressive is his adept handling of gargantuan smackdowns, as “Marvel”-conventional as they may be – something he’s never done before.
The word “Ragnarok” comes from Norse mythology, meaning both Armageddon and celestial rebirth. This Ragnarok, along with “Deadpool” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” marks the dawn of the gleeful, self-aware Marvel superhero – one who gives himself the finger, while traveling through an inter-dimensional portal called “The Devil’s Anus.”
In theaters Friday, November 3rd
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