"Point me in the direction of whoever's ass I have to Kick!" Thor Ragnarok Review

Thor Ragnarok

1.5/5

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Rated: PG-13

           The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is extensive, and it is slowly building towards its climax, Avengers Infinity War (2018). Within this franchise's nine years of existence, audiences have seen great heroes team up with unlikely allies, take on hordes of evil and laugh and cry all the way through it. In the MCU's new action comedy Thor Ragnarok audiences will receive more of the same...but worse. This sequence of events that appeared on a screen in front of a viewer's eyes, otherwise known as a movie, provides lack luster entertainment, unstimulating visuals and little to no impact.
           Thor Ragnarok's most entertaining element is its characters, or rather its collection of walking and talking warriors that have their own quirks. Thor, Chris Hemsworth, is a brazen and brutish battler who wants to save his kingdom from the evil Hela, Cate Blanchett. Loki, Tom Hiddleston, is a conniving and charismatic combater who defeats his enemies through tricks and fakery. Valkyrie, Tessa Thompson, is a fierce and frigid fighter who drinks to her heart's content and won't take back any insult or injury. The Hulk, Mark Ruffalo, is a hearty heavy lifting hothead who speaks in broken English and breaks his challengers' backs. Based on these descriptions, it is expected that audience's should spend the majority of their time watching these people fight each other and various bad guys. While this is somewhat true, as there is enough fighting in this movie to keep a person in their seat with their eyes open, every battle is against a CGI opponent. Since the bad guys our heroes are unleashing their might upon are mostly computer generated faceless mobs, the impact of every punch, slam, kick, slice and smash is nullified.
           Other than a few interesting moments in this movie, Thor Ragnarok is not fun. The movie's dialogue is at moments comedic, but its primarily unenthusiastic and bland. The visuals in this movie are colorful, but the production design's color palettes are not emotionally rich. The villain is overpowered and worthy of being defeated, but it comes to a point where it does not matter how she will be defeated. All that matters is when, because that will signal the end of the movie. In addition to this Thor Ragnarok's orchestral score is forgettable and the movie's pacing is choppy and might make the story difficult following. The most effort this movie put forth was in its action scenes, but they are all fake and poorly choreographed. It is difficult separating each battle from another or recalling how someone took down their opponent. For all this movie's physical traits, it lacks an emotional center and the mental competence to make the movie impactful and worthwhile.
           There can be some enjoyment had with this MCU entry, but it mainly comes through knowing the backstory and previous character development that occurred in earlier entries. To best understand Thor Ragnarok's basic plot audience members should watch Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor the Dark World (2013), Avengers Age of Ultron (2015), and Doctor Strange (2016). It appears impossible for any new MCU entry to be watchable in its own right. The MCU shall eventually crumble under its own weight, and when that time comes only this franchise's best titles will be remembered and revered. It doesn't seem likely Thor Ragnarok will be amongst the chosen. As Thor would say, this movie is "not worthy."

Verdict: Thor Ragnarok is a poorly executed semi coherent sequence of events about a group of hotheads who take on a CGI army, and the movie lacks emotional impact and worthwhile entertaining value.