Thor Ragnarok (part 1 of 2)

Thor Ragnarok (part 1 of 2)

First off, I really liked both of the other Thor movies. I enjoyed this one even more though. Thor 3 brings the 70s camp while furthering the Thor and Asgard arc. This movie fully embraces the 70s sci-ci look and feel. Thor 3 is a lot of fun and it also makes for an enjoyable Marvel movie. Despite having some major dark themes, it is the funniest of the Thor movies. It even changes the lore of the Thor universe going forward. I laughed and smiled as I watched this movie and that's what I wanted from Thor Ragnarok.

While not perfect, director Taika Waititi has crafted a fun throwback to 70s and 80s sci-fi adventure movies. Ragnarok is an early 80's movie with a bit of the Heavy Metal paint covering the edges.

Waititi took what happened before and molded into this strange hybrid of a Marvel movie and a homage to Tron and Flash Gordon. The movie is flashy and campy toward the second act when Thor ends up on a junk planet. During the planet stuff, we get to see some freaky colorful aliens and clothing. Even the planet looks like something out of the pages of Heavy Metal.

For that, I have to give credit to the movie for fully embracing the campy and in your face nature visuals. When the movie shifts toward the Junk planet, it takes on a 70's/80's look and feel. And, it is all wrapped up into the campy and over the top Jeff Goldblum. His take on the Grandmaster is a lot of fun and you can tell he's having a lot of fun. GM is the secondary villain in the piece and is better of the two villains too.

Goldblum plays the GM as that rich prick that thinks he's good at everything but sucks at everything. The GM even has a DJ table!

The GM's planet Sakaar is something we haven't seen in a Marvel movie and is an interesting take on that Star Wars worn-in environment. It's new and different for a Marvel movie and I like it a lot. (Loki seems to really like this planet too.) Again, it brings us closer to that Flash Gordon appearance.

The other thing that brings the strange campy 70s sci-fi feel is the score by Mark Mothersbaugh. Mothersbaugh is a founding member of Devo, so that is why you get that synth vibe in this movie's score. While the visuals embrace the Flash Gordon and Heavy Metal influences, Mothersbaugh's score bathes in the nostalgia of late the 70s and early 80s synth music. It should also be noted that the other Thor themes do come back during the later portions of the film.

The score does shift from being synth into a more traditional score in the third act, but some of the synth stuff does mix into the choral and strings. The score is the true star of the movie. (Make sure to listen to the Planet Sakaar track for a big smile.)

Chris Hemsworth is more laid back as Thor. The minor humorous elements from the first movie are bigger here. I like that Thor has changed from the first movie up to this newer movie. Because he has been hanging out with Tony Stark and Cap, he's a different person now. Hemsworth can is good with the improvisational nature of this story. While he is fighting demons and aliens, he makes jokes.