Stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Idris Elba, Rachel House, with Jeff Goldblum and Anthony Hopkins Directed by Taika Waititi Well, that was fun. Not quite what I expected (thanks to the trailers), but it was fun in a old-fashioned space-faring Buck Rogers / Flash Gordon pulp serial kind of way. At least for much of the middle of the movie. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finally learns of Loki’s deception that had been in place since the end of Thor: The Dark World, and together, they go in search of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), only to find Hela (Cate Blanchett) who intends to take over Asgard. In their initial fight, Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) end up on Sakaar where Loki has endeared himself to the ruler of the planet, the Grandmaster (Jeff Glodblum) while Thor ends up facing the world’s champion in a gladiatorial match. Of course, Loki is happy to stay while Thor wants to return to Asgard and take down Hela. As I mentioned, that middle section is rather like a Flash Gordon adventure, instead we have a hammerless Thor having a bit of a misadventure trying to find his way back to his real mission. AND that misadventure includes brawling with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) who has been missing since Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also along in this little adventure is a Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), a member of some Asgardian Amazons who had faced Hela before. The thing about this entry in Thor’s series of movies is Kiwi director Taika Waititi and he brings his rather cheeky sense of humour to the proceedings. While there is a lot of humour going around, the director also contributes his fair share while appearing as Korg, a gladiator Thor meets on Sakaar. Waititi was a unique choice as director for a Thor movie, having had some quiet success with his NZ films such as Eagle vs Shark, select episode of Flight of the Conchords, the very excellent and must see comedy/horror What We Do in The Shadows, and the incredibly charming and hilarious adventure Hunt For The Wilderpeople. (go find these movies, really!) His light touch and sense of humour works incredibly well with Thor, although it’s hard to judge if the action scenes might have been any different with any other director. One very glaring aspect of the movie is the production design, with it’s bright, almost neon coloured, world on display. It is almost in line with that of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, which would suggest a corporate synergy going on. The use of colours also makes this the closest to a comic book coming alive on screen, and all that adds to the element of fun to the overall movie, particularly with the slightly dour palette tone for the Earth and Asgard scenes. Very much a far cry from the darker tones of Thor: The Dark World. Waititi keeps the pace going fairly well through the 130 minute runtime even if some scenes feel like padding. The humour defuses that quite a bit and Mark Mothersbaugh’s retro score helps as well in keeping the proceedings frothy and fun. If you haven’t seen the movie as yet, keep in mind there is one post titles scene and a post credits scene… and also keep an eye out for some stunning and surprising cameos sharing a scene, one of Interstellar proportions. That’s not counting Stan Lee’s absolutely hilarious turn. Rating: ****/5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. Please Support.
1 Comment
Karl Urban's Executioner was totally wasted though, he didn't add anything to the movie
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