Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Taika Waititi) In last years mega-hit film 'Captain America: Civil War' we saw pretty much all of the earthbound Marvel characters turn up except Thor and The Hulk/Bruce Banner. So now its time for us to see what they have been up to in the meantime. New Zealand indie director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) works with a budget for the first time to bring us the third entry in the Thor series that looks and feels more like a Guardians of the Galaxy film in many ways. We have a film set mostly in space and other planets with colorful and goofy characters everywhere and jokes inserted into every scene... but unlike Guardians and the other better MCU films.. this one lacks any emotional resonance. The story telling is a bit of a jumbled mess but tries to blow through plot points so fast that you might not notice. The action scenes are effects heavy but lack excitement, stakes or tension. Despite its many shortcomings though it is fast enough and funny enough to entertain throughout. The highlights for me were Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and the director himself as a humorous side character names Korg. Hemsworth was great as always as Thor and Tessa Thompson did not disappoint as Valkyrie. The new thing that I noticed atmosphere wise was a much more interesting score than the traditional MCU films have had with a mostly Synth' based score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh (The Lego Movie), who is an unusual choice for score but it paid dividends. In the end the film is not a great film, nor a bad film but an inconsequential yet funny film. 6/10
Really, you had to use The Lego Movie as the reference point for Mark Mothersbaugh? Frickin’ DEVO, man!
Updated MCU rankings 1. The Avengers 8/10 2. Iron Man 8/10 3. Captain America: the First Avenger 7.5-8 4. Captain America: Civil War 7.5-8 5. Ant-Man 7.5 6. Thor 7.5 7. Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 - 7 8. Guardians of the Galaxy 7 9. Spider-man: Homecoming 6.5 10. Avengers:Age of Ultron 6.51 11. Captain America: Winter Soldier 6.5 12. Thor: Dark World 6.5 13. The Incredible Hulk 6 14. Thor Ragnarok 6 15. Doctor Strange 5 16. Iron Man 3 - 4.5 17. Iron Man 2 - 4