Heya geeks, Big Eyes here!
So I noticed some buzz about a comment I made about THOR: RAGNAROK on the MEN IN BLACK SPINOFF article I wrote the other day, and figured that this topic deserved a little more. Especially since I do not believe I was around soon enough to write my own review on the movie to discuss these views fully.
First, and most importantly, I would like to say that just because I'm calling it FILLER: THE MOVIE does NOT mean that I didn't enjoy the Marvel film fully! There were a lot of elements that made the film great, particularly the humor, the character interactions and well… Jeff Goldblum. I don't care who you are: if you ain't gay or straight for Jeff Goldblum, you're a husk of a human being. That's a joke, a laugh with me and this Freakazoid reference, hahaha!
Just because the majority, of the movie was filler, doesn't make it bad! Unless it's anime filler, then that should be exiled to hell, but hey! We're talking Marvel here, guys! The only comic book film franchise that has not yet disappointed the fans in the past few years. Am I putting too much pressure on INFINITY WAR? To be honest, probably.
Anyways, back to RAGNAROK. So here's the skinny of the film. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Minor Villain: I’mma bring the apocalypse!
Thor: No you're not!
Daddy Thor: Oh hey kids, I'm dying. But oh by the way, so you have an older sister. She's also older than you and heir to the throne before you. Oh, and here she is.
Hela: I'mma bad guy!
Thor and Loki suddenly get misplaced from said baddie, and spend 85% of the movie in hilarious shenanigans after meeting the Grandmaster. Hulk is there too, by the way. He is dealing with some deep internal struggles, that's actually interesting, yet irrelevant to the main story. If you haven't guessed, that 85% of the movie is the filler part.
Eventually everyone gets back to Asgard, takes down the baddie Hela! The film sets the second to last piece of the stage (BLACK PANTHER is the last) for INFINITY WAR within 15% of it.
Did this piece need to be set? Yes. Could it have been done in a 30 minute special? Yeah, but money is to be made in a full large budget film. Do I regret seeing THOR: RAGNAROK, even though right when the film ended I immediately decided that it was Filler: The Movie? It was well worth it, even after that comment made Comics Chad see red. <3
---------Comics Chad interjects!
Comics Chad here, and I’m going to say it’s more like Character Development the Movie!
I really enjoyed Thor Ragnarok, it was a departure from previous Thor movies and paralleled a classic hero’s journey for multiple characters! I will admit that Hela as a character felt flat, but that’s the point! The Asgardian Pantheon are old Gods, they are embodiments are human virtues or flaws and Hela is the Goddess of Death, of course she wants to rule over a broken and dead universe on a throne of skulls amidst rivers of blood, that’s right in her wheelhouse.
You might have also noticed that Thor actually shows some character growth, he shows more responsibility and starts to realize he can’t just brawl his way through every problem. With Odin’s death the pantheon has an opening and the remaining Gods can finally show some development, but only Thor, as Odin’s chosen, actually shows character growth, while Loki repeatedly shows that he is still the Trickster, even playing the long con to bring the Korg and the rest of the fighters back to Asgard so he could get the Tesseract back from the vaults.
Speaking of character growth, let’s not forget about Hulk! The last time we saw Hulk in the MCU he had beastial levels of intelligence and was a wrecking ball that would destroy everything in his path and then revert to Banner, but the years of constant fighting have allowed him to actually be at peace for the first time, making the combination of Banner and Hulk a more interesting character, since each one now has a legitimate personality and claim to their own existence. This make for a much more interesting character than the Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde knock off that had existed in the MCU prior.
And my favorite part about it? It really felt like a comic crossover event! The previous movies really failed to capture the same feel you get when you binge read an entire event, jumping from New Avengers: Illuminati to Incredible Hulk to Irredeemable Ant-Man.
-------Big Eyes back!
Well geeks? What is THOR: RAGNAROK?
~Big Eyes and Comics Chad
