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| Courtesy of Disney |
First and foremost, director Taika Waititi (working from a screenplay credited to Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost) has finally figured out how to make the title character work: turn him into Jack Burton, the bumbling truck driver Kurt Russell played in Big Trouble in Little China. John Carpenter’s underrated kung fu comedy is one of my favorites, so I’m fine with Marvel stealing from the best. Besides, it renders that long-threatened remake even more unnecessary.
Turning the saga into a full-blown comedy doesn’t mean the story lacks stakes, however. Quite the opposite. When Hela (Cate Blanchett), the long-lost sister of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), returns to the kingdom of Asgard after being imprisoned for millennia, she immediately banishes her siblings to a planet where a crazed, bloodthirsty ruler known as the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) forces captives to fight to the death.
Things begin to look up when Thor realizes the undefeated warrior he must face is the arena is Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), his Avengers teammate. Soon, the duo joins forces with a reluctant Loki and another Asgardian with a tragic past (Tessa Thompson, establishing an incredible career for herself over the last few years) to prevent Hela from destroying their homeland.
Waititi gets what makes these larger-than-life characters appealing. He takes them seriously, but also makes sure to undercut their arrogance with absurdity. It’s a wonderful mixture, especially since the cast is clearly having a great time. Hemsworth gets to go to weird places with his humor, as do Hiddleston, Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins (who plays dual roles in his brief screen time), and Waititi himself – he voices a hilariously odd CGI creature named Korg.
But the clear MVP of the weirdo Olympics is Goldblum, who delivers some bonkers line readings as the Grandmaster. Any time he was on screen, I ended up laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
In addition to being one of last year’s best comedies, Thor: Ragnarok is positively gorgeous to look at. Waititi makes practically every scene look like the cover of a 1980s Trapper Keeper. The soundtrack is also a nostalgia overload thanks to Mark Mothersbaugh’s synth-heavy score.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. Marvel continued its trend of underwhelming villains, even though Blanchett is entertaining and does what she can to breathe life into her underwritten role. After last month’s Black Panther demonstrated what a compelling antagonist can do to strengthen a film’s narrative, I hope the creative brain trust took detailed notes before crafting the screenplay for April’s Avengers: Infinity War.
Special features: Deleted scenes, gag reel, behind-the-scenes featurettes, “Team Darryl” original short, a hilarious director’s commentary (worth the purchase price by itself) and more.
Thor: Ragnarok is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive material.
Grade: A-
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| Courtesy of Disney |
(Rated TV-Y7)
The second and final season of this Disney XD series follows three siblings who scour the galaxy for useful debris they can use to build new vehicles of their own design. Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these 12 episodes (and five bonus shorts) are full of action-packed adventures and surprising guest stars. The DVD also comes with an exclusive Darth Vader pin.
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