Story by Nicholas Lester / Contributing Writer
If you’ve read any reviews for ”Thor: Ragnarok” before this one, you might walk into the theater with the expectation to see Marvel Studio’s production of the cure for cancer. While it’s definitely good, it’s not all that many critics would have you believe.
Yes, the movie deserves praise, but it’s too early to give it an over-ecstatic label of approval. So what about the movie has the critics praising it like the gods that these characters are?
For one, the humor. There’s a scene where a character names his two swords Dez and Troy to create the name Destroy, although it remains unclear why he named them after Dallas Cowboys players. Also, Doctor Strange uses his powers that he perfected in his own movie to mess with Thor’s mind, which is quite comical. Lastly, Thor, Loki, Bruce Banner and Valkyrie play off each other very well and share some hilarious exchanges.
Also, the trailers that had you thinking that this movie was “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3″ didn’t entirely lie to you. The humor, style and characters are straight out of a “Guardians” movie. Thor is the strong guy with abs who can take a comically unrealistic amount of punishment and walk away pretty much unscathed, just like Drax the Destroyer. Hulk is the muscle of the team who can take out several dozen interchangeable, faceless bad guys at once, identical to Groot. Valkyrie is basically the town drunkard who is also the team’s female tough guy, a combination of Rocket and Gamora.
Another reason critics love the movie is the costumes and set design, which are some of the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. Jeff Goldblum’s character, who mostly acts and speaks like Ian Malcolm in ”Jurassic Park,” looks like a professional interior designer painted his costumes on him. Tessa Thompson also sports a costume that’s pretty impressive and even looks like a female version of the Tin Man from ”The Wizard of Oz,” minus the helmet. And let’s not forget Hela’s elk-like version of Maleficent’s costume; all of them somehow look incredible.
However, no movie is perfect and this one is no exception. As usual, Marvel continues to struggle to create an interesting, multi-dimensional villain. Hela was not all that intimidating. In fact, it seemed like her script was copied and pasted from pretty much every other Marvel film to date. Plus, a big reveal that involves her character felt forced.
There were also a handful of elements that I could clearly tell were borrowed from other films; they even lifted the river scene straight out of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
But for the most part, it lives up to the hype. If you like the MCU or if you just want to have a Hela-vatime, go see ”Thor: Ragnarok.”
To contact Lifestyles Editor Tayhlor Stephenson, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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