I really liked Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Thor Ragnarok was a mixed bag for me. I thought overall it was a movie with grand imagination, a terrific cast and a solid story. I went to the movie with a friend and I think my friend nailed it when he said: "It was a little flippant."
Flippant means: Not showing a serious or respectful attitude.
Now I am know I'm talking about a Marvel movie. But one thing that I think that Richard Donner, the director of Superman the Movie taught us, was that a director has to make sure the movie has verisimilitude which is "the appearance of being real or true". This is especially true when you are making a movie about an iconic character or a set of characters. I felt like I was watching a cartoon much of the time.
There was a lack of weight to the film. For instance when it came to certain scenes like the sudden dispatching some of Thor's closest Asgardian buddies who we got to know and love in the previous two movies it was like, "Oh well, Hella is powerful and those good guys just couldn't stand up to her." I think that is flippant. When a director has inherited a universe like Thor, which was revealed in rich detail in the first and second movie I don't think it is a good idea to just summarily dismiss what has gone before. So, Jane Foster, a major character in the first two films--Gone! She dumped Thor. That's it. Or he dumped her. I don't like Thor talking to the camera at the beginning. And those really awesome Warriors Three? Nothing to see here.
Production value was amazing, if not a bit cartoonish. I always love the Hulk. I love the humor in the film. There was just a little too much of it. I think the filmmakers were going for a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe. They achieved it. My brother and I absolutely loved Marvel's Contest of Champions when we were kids. So I loved that.
The music was very cool. A great mix of electronic and orchestral. I like that Thor's theme by Patrick Doyle was respected.
Overall, I would rather Thor Ragnarok be what it is than Zack Snyder's bleak DC Movies. Wonder Woman struck the perfect tone and I guess that balanced tone is what is missing in Ragnarok for me. Maybe a more respectful tone. Wonder Woman had the right mix of humor and heart mixed with the weight of a world in crisis.
Having said all of this I must admit something.
My Thor Ragnarok experience may have been tainted by the news I came across right after church yesterday about the horrific shootings in Sutherland Springs, Texas at the First Baptist Church. My heart was heavy. I didn't feel very good after that. I wish I had seen Thor Friday or Saturday night instead of Sunday night.
I usually go to movies to escape. That news was hard to escape despite the fact that Thor Raganrok provided a lot of light-hearted escapism.
'Nuff said.
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