Ragnarok finds humor at the world's end

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in Thor: Ragnarok. Image courtesy Disney.

Thor: Ragnarok is a weird movie. It's weird because it's a movie about Norse mythology that focuses more on technological marvels than the mythology inherent to its title. It's weird because of the dramatic tonal shift from the other Thor movies. And it's super weird because Jeff Goldblum shows up with shockingly blue facial hair and literally melts a man with a stick. Ragnarok is a trip, but it is one heck of a journey to a place more bizarre than other Marvel movies have ventured.

What's so hard to reconcile about Ragnarok is how lightly the movie takes the end of a world. Superhero movies are all about saving planets from destruction while making sure the people are safe and the damage is minimal. A few jokes are sprinkled in to ensure the story doesn't get too dark, but for the most part the superhero as savior concept is a foundation for a lion's share of comic book-related lore. Except for Ragnarok, in which the threat of the destruction of Asgard starts as a gag between Thor (Chris Hemsworth reprising his role) and a skeleton just above a pit of fire. It sets the rhythm for the rest of the movie, with the comedy taking a precedence over the gravity of the situation the characters face. Everyone cracks a few jokes, from the naturally talkative Loki (Tom Hiddleston), to the goddess of death/destroyer of world Hela (Cate Blanchett), to the otherwise stern Heimdall (Idris Elba), to the fallen Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Even the Hulk, the Incredible Hulk and not Bruce Banner (both of whom are versions of Mark Ruffalo) showcases something resembling a sense of humor.

And you know what? It's actually kind of glorious in its own way. The sense of humor is akin to what’s found in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Ragnarok makes it unique by changing the context to make the jokes a greater joke itself. Ragnarok is a slightly different family tree as Dr. Strangelove, in which the biggest laugh is earned by the insanity of the movie mocking the inherent somber nature of earth's destruction. The story Ragnarok tells is just as dark as Dr. Strangelove, but with brighter colors and Disney's stamp of approval. That also means the Thor movie can't be as nihilistic as Dr. Strangelove is; it is still a blockbuster first and foremost. But director Taika Waititi and the screenwriters push Ragnarok further than the other Thor films to do what the best MCU movies have done; make a movie with their own imprint on it. There are, again, limits to how far creatively the filmmakers can get with the Marvel movies – an entire cinematic universe is at stake – but Waititi and company turned a Thor movie into a comedy. Like the excellent Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the very good to great Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Ragnarok stands on its own as a piece of cinema.

Still, there remains a bit lacking with Ragnarok that pushes it a step or two down from the aforementioned Marvel movies and puts it more on par with the fun Spider-Man: Homecoming and Iron Man 3. There is what should amount to a great story arc involving Thor and the uncovering of his father Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) past, something that should force the mighty god of thunder to confront his own background and the demons his father has wrought upon his people. It's a Shakespearean bit in line with the first Thor movie, with the evil Odin committed living far beyond the good he brought in. Ragnarok barely touches the surface of this story, having Thor just sort of go with the news that his father was a monster for a very long time. That could be marked as a sign of character growth, but Thor does drop a few tears for Odin early on, and the amount of time the movie spends reconciling Odin's history is disappointingly minimal.

But the baseline for a quality superhero movie – good action, likable characters, expansive world building – remains intact, and the goofy nature and general oddness of the situation only add to those key elements. To repurpose another classic literary line, Ragnarok opts to end the world not with a whimper but with a bang and a lot of laughs along the way toward doom.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 130 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: As with every Marvel film, everyone who has ever watched a movie from the MCU and wants to keep up with the ongoing story.

Take the whole family?: Really depends on how OK the parents are with a lot of violence but little blood to show for it. A couple years under the PG-13 mark should be fine.

Theater or Netflix?: It's fun for a trip to the theater, although the 3D isn't really worth it though.

How has 2017 been for the MCU?: Pretty great. Despite releasing three movies, two of which were a second and a third installment to long-running series, this is the first time in a while that Marvel fatigue hasn't hit that hard. It helps that the three movies released were good and different enough to offer some separation to the weary viewers. It also offers some hope for 2018, with the release of Ryan Coogler's Black Panther and the probably stupidly stuffed Avengers: Infinity War.

Watch this as well?: Along with the other MCU entries, comedian/author John Hodgman has a comedy special devoted to the impending Ragnarok, called John Hodgman: Ragnarok, that is quirky and hilarious, highlighted by his decision to send a kid out in the cold to wait for doom to come

Kong smashes in Skull Island

Kong faces down helicopters in Kong: Skull Island. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

There are precious few complications to Kong: Skull Island. The movie sets itself up to be a good old fashioned monster movie featuring a giant ape smashing all the things and giant lizards eating people, and it delivers exactly all of that with even more creatures and a little emotional undercurrent to offer just a little something else beyond mindless smashing. But, really, it’s the smashing that matters most.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and his team of writers get right to the monster from the get-go, using the opening sequence to contrast Kong's enormity with the first wave of intruders to come to his island, American and Japanese fighter pilots who happen to be fighting to the death in 1944. It doesn't take too much longer than to jump the story to 1973 and establish the key players who keep the plot going and get them right back to that island located somewhere in the South Pacific so viewers can watch Kong demolish a fleet of helicopters and piss off Samuel L. Jackson's crazed colonel. What people want to see from a movie called Kong: Skull Island is Kong acting very ape on his home turf, and the gaps between the human interactions designed to push the plot forward and the wanton craziness with Kong are short and sweet.

Skull Island has a few themes it hits on with a decent amount of success. The Vietnam War backdrop serves as a tool to set up important plot machinations and acts a thematic parallel between the Americans invading Skull Island and the actions taken during the war. Along those lines is the Ahab in Apocalypse Now subplot involving Jackson's character losing his mind over the ape and, again, the war. It’s an interesting idea that works in no small part from Jackson’s consistent ferocity in the role and one memorable shot of Jackson staring down Kong through a wall of flames. It looks just as cool as it sounds.

The humans as a whole though are a little less important, especially in comparison to King Kong's emphasis on the romantic subplot between Kong and the respective female protagonist. Brie Larson's photographer Mason Weaver is as close as this film gets to a Fay Wray, Jessica Lange or Naomi Watts, but her relationship with Kong is less amorous and more protective of each other. But there’s just enough emotional justification for Skull Island to work on that level and the movie establishes character motivations efficiently before settling on the island. Larson's Mason and the young geologist played by Corey Hawkins are both drawn to the island by curiosity. Jackson is fueled by his remorse for the unsatisfactory end of the Vietnam War and the emptiness that comes from a man who lives to fight but has no more battles left. John Goodman's government official Bill Randa is motivated by desperation. Tom Hiddleston's tracker James Conrad is in it for the money. It’s not enough to forge fleshed out characters, but it is more than enough to care about which humans will or will not get eaten.

Skull Island never asks any of them to do more than solid work or be a menacing Samuel L. Jackson. It leaves the emotional heavy lifting to John C. Reilly as the slightly loony Hank Marlow, the American soldier who crashes to the island toward the end of World War II. It’s easy to feel for a man stuck on an island of death for almost three decades, only wanting to go to home to his wife and see his son for the first time, all the while losing bits of his mind. Reilly sells his character's humor as expected from his comedic background while hitting on the loneliness the character, making the final few silent moments with Marlow more rewarding than expected.

There’s just enough there to keep the moments between monster action interesting as the humans wait for Kong or some other creature to strike. The battles are the selling point, and Vogt-Roberts put a lot of time and effort into making them engaging, enthralling and surprisingly gory given the rating. Watching Kong rise from the trees is intense and astounding, a great figure rising from the depths to protect his home from unwanted invaders. The vibe these fights give off are rooted in the atavism of its main character, messy and violent and without too much complexity. Vogt-Roberts’ film promised a giant ape fighting humans and monsters alike, and Skull Island gave the world a very good version of what it promised.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 120 minutes

Genre: Action
 

Ask Away

Target audience: Loyal King Kong fans and people interested in what will happen to this monster franchise and several others in the very near future.

Take the whole family?: I really have no idea how this thing got a PG-13 rating. There is a lot more gore than expected for this rating, so make sure your kids can handle blood if you take them.

Theater or Netflix?: Big screen is cool if you do it matinee style.

Any other things worth noting?: One of the cool touches Jordan Vogt-Roberts uses are a few bait and switches where characters try to sacrifice themselves. Most films emphasize a blaze of glory for characters after a kiss-off line, but Vogt-Roberts turns that on its head and shows the more realistic result of their attempts at martyrdom in a land of enormous creatures.

Watch this as well?: Any of the three versions of King Kong is watchable on some level. The 1933 iteration remains the best, while Peter Jackson's remake is a step above the one starring Jessica Lange. Track down Godzilla circa 1954 – although not the one remade for American audiences – and the much more recent creature feature Monsters for some more monster mashing.