#and seriously more of taika's promo should be like this

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Four (23.52% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Thirteen.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Loads of fun, though tonally dissonant; works best on first viewing. Easily the superior film of the Thor franchise, though that’s not a huge achievement considering its predecessors.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Sigh.

Female characters:

Hela.

Scrapper 142 (I know, she is credited as Valkyrie, but since the name is never used to address her in the film it doesn’t count by the rules of this blog; if she didn’t happen to be referred to by her scrapper number a few times, she wouldn’t count as a named character at all).

Topaz.

Natasha Romanoff.

Male characters:

Thor.

Surtur.

Skurge.

Loki.

Stephen Strange.

Odin.

Volstagg.

Hogun.

The Grandmaster.

Carlo.

Korg.

Bruce Banner.

Heimdall.

OTHER NOTES:

The use of Immigrant Song is my favourite thing about this movie, to be honest. I don’t mean that as an insult, it’s just such a good choice.

The inclusion of Doctor Strange in this film feels like a pointless misstep, a distraction at what is really a vital early point in establishing tone, especially considering this useless scene is what leads us in to...

...the literal death of Odin and introduction of Big Bad Hela, all of which should be emotional and intense and is instead flat and dissonant in the extreme. Watching this for the first time, I was very concerned that the whole film was just gonna end up gimmicky and soulless. While it does pick up, I was also not wrong about that early assessment.

Not that I was attached to Thor’s friends from the previous films, but they sure do just kill them off without fanfare, except for Sif who just doesn’t appear at all (logically, we should assume she dies off-screen, otherwise there’s no reason for her not to be up-front with Thor at the end of the movie). Fandral doesn’t even get a line in before he croaks, that’s how irrelevant these franchise-veteran characters are. Emotional engagement in plot and character is for chumps, anyway.

*whispers* Jeff Goldblum is here.

“Piss off, ghost!”

Hulk reveal is pretty solid, if you manage not to have been spoiled (a tall order, since it was in the promos).

Heimdall is still the MVP of the Thor franchise.

Can’t believe it took this long for any movie to squeeze some real fun and heart out of the Hulk character. This is way better than embarrassingly forcing a love match on him.

The valkyrie-battle memory is soooo good-looking.

This movie is too recent to be using the word ‘gypsy’...

Thor’s story about Loki pretending to be a snake when they were kids is the good shit.

But, Immigrant Song is still the most inspired choice of the film. Not sorry.

So, this is one of those movies which I felt was pretty over-hyped, to be honest. It is great fun, don’t get me wrong, it’s fresh and hilarious and subversive and way the Hell better than the previous Thor films, plus it has a great cast and strong visuals and they used Immigrant Song really effectively...but the tone of the film is an absolute fucking mess, the plotting is a shambles, and there’s nowhere near as much heart and weight underpinning it all as what there should be for a movie involving the near-total destruction of an entire civilisation. The majority of the movie is handed over to a shenanigan-heavy side-plot of no consequence to the central conflict, while the central conflict - LITERAL RAGNAROK - is relegated to a handful of scenes sprinkled across the film, obliterating any chance of it seeming meaningful or even particularly serious. The strongest point of the story is the final act, once Thor and company finally get to Asgard to confront Hela, but the narrative doesn’t earn that strong finish; it just goes to show how much more engaging the rest of the film could have been if they had stayed on track.

This is a big part of why this movie - while a delightful surprise on first viewing - doesn’t age particularly well on repeat; this was my fourth time through, and by the third quarter, as Sakaar draaaagged through its roster of jokes and pratfalls, my attention span was waning fast. Even if the entire garbage-planet sidebar was not distracting from what should have been a very serious main plot, I’m not sure it would remain engaging long-term, since it is rather spare and low on emotional/character investment; it’s not a pitfall of comedy that has to exist (heavily-emotional and/or dark comedies are definitely a real thing), but unfortunately, this is not a movie that is very interested in what has come before it, and it expresses that disinterest by neglecting any element of the established Thor mythology which might have brought this plot a sense of meaning. As such, rather than feeling like ‘the Thor movie that finally got it right’, it’s more like a reboot, with old characters unceremoniously ditched and any sense of purpose or import in old story threads or histories gone right alongside Asgard itself.

I’ve seen people praise this film for its ‘anti-Imperialism, anti-colonialism’ message, but I feel it’s a point weakly made onscreen; any depth to that argument would require a more sincere effort from the script in addressing those scant Asgard scenes, and as such, I feel that this element - though it isn’t completely wishful thinking - is much more in the eye of the beholder than it is a function of the narrative itself. The attempt to engage with any thoughtful discussion on Asgard’s legacy is a swift casualty of the film’s overall superficiality, just the same as the devastation of Asgard and the decimation of its population is blithely underplayed because, hey, Thor vs Hulk is worth way more attention than genocide, right? It’s that tonal dissonance in the two pieces of the plot which keeps me from really relaxing and enjoying the lightness, because that lightness is both excessive and out-of-place; I feel uncomfortable being asked to just shrug and go with it, I want to be emotionally involved and moved by the plight of the Asgardians, and instead I’m stuck watching Thor get a haircut and an eyeful of Hulk dick. Under almost any other circumstances, I would be all about a hard-comedy version of Thor, especially after the generic drudgery of the earlier installments in the franchise, but at the same time as Ragnarok? Not so much.

That said? This film is definitely not without quality. Comedic quality, for sure (anything with Taika Waititi’s name attached is worth a look), and there really are some great casting flourishes (though I maintain disappointment that the Asgard plot is so undersold, because it means Karl Urban and especially Cate Blanchett are under-utilised); for the interests of this blog, it’s that Scrapper 142 aka Valkyrie who forms the highlight (and she’s a worthy highlight without the context of this blog, too). Valkyrie’s drunk, angry sauntering and her snappy disregard for Thor’s righteous pontificating positions her within an archetype normally restricted to male characters only, too loose and unseemly for a female character, who might be found dislikeable and (horror of horrors) too sloppy to be sexy, whereas a man in the same archetype is funny, a ‘lovable asshole’, and the perception of his appearance is not tied up in his behaviour the same way nor is he under the same pressure to prioritise his appeal for the audience in the first place. Angry male drunkards who begrudgingly tag along with the protagonist in the end because they’re surly but not bad, those are a dime a dozen, but a woman in the same position? A rare gem indeed. And Valkyrie is more than just a fresh twist on an old cliche; her personality is grounded, it has a relatable simplicity (disillusionment with a side-order of survivor’s guilt), and there’s a confidence about the way she and the unspoken parts of her life are presented, without need to force a connection with Thor and his personal plight in order to justify Valkyrie’s actions or relevance to the plot. She’s an entirely self-contained character who could just as easily have the story to herself with no further mention of Thor et al., and that’s the hallmark of any well-constructed character: the ability to stand alone.

As a whole, this movie is far from bad - when I call it overrated, I am very much talking about the fact that it’s mostly a string of shenanigans with minimal narrative underpinning, and while that’s not a terrible thing in itself, I do think the hype around this movie implied that it had something more to offer than just laughs and a retro look. For me personally, the lack of emotional engagement and character stakes is close to a fatal flaw, and so while I enjoy this movie on a superficial level, it gives me nothing I need in order to really dig it (for others, obviously, this is not a problem). It always rubs me the wrong way to see something completely disavow previous chapters in the same story - there’s a big difference between developing an idea in a new direction, and simply ditching whatever you didn’t like about what came before - and I would have preferred to see this film make its changes with at least a modicum of respect for the foundations it is building upon (basic as the previous Thor films were, they weren’t catastrophic embarrassments). And yes, ultimately, the burying of the Ragnarok plot under a pile of Planet Garbage (feat. Jeff Goldblum) is just a little unforgivable in my mind, and it’s the first thing I think of whenever this film pops up; I really, really wish that Ragnarok were not part of this plot at all, that the Sakaar part of the story (i.e. the part that The Powers That Be were actually invested in, clearly) formed the bulk of the second film in the Thor franchise instead, since that movie basically sucked and took itself too seriously, and then the Thor film which took itself seriously could have been actually about Ragnarok. Basically, I wish that Marvel had gotten their shit together sooner rather than later with this part of the franchise, because while this worked out fine for them monetarily, narratively it’s just not a step I can get behind.

[acrownforaking]

Infinity War: First Impressions

Needless to say, my ass will be back in the theatre soon to see Infinity War again -- perhaps several times -- but after one go-through, I’m gonna cover my initial thoughts and feelings about the movie. And hooBOY, I have a lot of them.

****SPOILERS****

The Good

Is this Thanos: The Movie? Yes, yes it is. But that’s not a bad thing. Aside from Josh Brolin’s fantastic performance, the writers really outdid themselves with this one. For a giant, purple nutsack from space, he is remarkably human, with understandable motives, that while incredibly misguided, are almost...noble? I never expected to walk out of Infinity War and find myself grappling with a philosophical struggle over whether the villain was right or not. Besides Loki, most Marvel villains are as generic and comic-booky as expected, but Thanos fucking shined in Infinity War. 

This should have been a mess. For all intents and purposes, Infinity War (MOST AMBITIOUS CROSSOVER EVENT IN HISTORY HER DE HER) was doomed from the start. Juggling five-times the amount of characters of the original Avengers, while creating a followable plot and introducing a new villain. Sure, we’ve been teased Thanos, but we didn’t really know anything about him. We just knew Grimace was coming, and he was gonna get the shinies, goddamnit. But somehow, everyone had a chance to speak and do something relevant, everyone mattered, in some way, and even though the plot was largely fragmented, broken off into several simultaneous stories, there was no confusion. I still can’t get over how something so massive was so cohesive, so streamlined.

Some people have complained about length, but I didn’t register that the movie pushed a three hour run time until I’d left. I was on the edge of my seat, laughing, or crying for the entire run. I was never bored, never wondered when a certain scene would end. I thoroughly enjoyed every second.

The humor was on point. The Russos took a lot of good cues from the Gunns and Taika, because the GOTG/Ragnorak hilarity was there, with the perfect comedic timing and memorable lines. “Thank you, sweet rabbit.” and “I am Steve Rogers!” will stick with me for a long time. Nothing beats Trash Panda, but this came very close.

They picked some unusual pairs for certain stories that turned out really well. 

The dynamic between Thor, Rocket, and Groot was great to watch, and even with Thor rolling with them, had a very distinct GOTG vibe to it. Also surprised by the depth of emotion in that scene between Thor and Rocket (you know the one), but after the tear-jerking brilliance of the Yondu/Rocket scene in GOTG2, I should’ve seen the heartbreak coming. 

Strange and Tony together was also fantastic. They’ve been compared endlessly since Doctor Strange was released, and to have two massive egos butting heads like that was something that I think was long awaited for many fans, and didn’t disappoint -- and it did show that yes, Strange is not a copy paste of Tony in a different universe. Strange remains pretty Machiavellian while Tony sees more intrinsic value in every human life. Even though they had similar “redemption arcs” in their separate movies, the contrast between the two of them was more on display than anything else, and I loved that.

Peter Quill and Thor. Need I say more?

Some of the sweeping space shots were awe-inspiring. I thought that the Valkyrie scene in Ragnorak was peak Marvel beauty, but Infinity War was absolutely gorgeous. 

Red Skull coming back was a really interesting twist.

Those mindless, Resident Evil style monsters that Thanos released in Wakanda were actually scary as shit, and it was a lot more interesting watching the Squad tear into those than say, the Ultron minions, or...basically any other generic evil thing they’ve fought, just because they were so mindless and vicious.

SQUIDWARD. Great small-time villain, and whoever did his voice acting killed it.

Tony and Pepper talking about having kids, the broken-up conversation on the space-ship...oh, it wounds me so...but it was fantastic writing. Grounding for Tony, certainly, reminding us that he’s settled into a pseudo-normal life since Civil War AND HE WANTS LITTLE TONYS AND PEPPERS AND YOU KNOW THAT WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS DYING THAT’S ALL HE WAS THINKING OF, HE WAS THINKING, NO, NO, THIS ISN’T RIGHT, PEPPER AND I ARE GONNA HAVE A BABY, WE’RE HAVING A BABY

Bruce really shined and it made me so happy, and I don’t have much to say on the subject other than I’m psyched he got the amount of screen-time that he did. I vastly prefer Bruce to the Hulk, and the comic relief of Bruce basically having Hulk ED was great. 

Yes, the end crushed me, of course. But I appreciated that so much was subverted, tropes, expectations, you name it -- they failed. The heroes failed and the casualties are incalculable. The villain goes home to rest and sit on his laurels while the heroes mourn their dead. How often does that happen in blockbuster cinema? What a breath of fresh air. (I STILL HATE YOU FOR PETER PARKER, MARVEL.)

Speaking of me hating Marvel for Peter: that scene was crushing. I started sobbing, and I heard a lot of crying from around the theatre. Just...”Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.” ... “No, no, I don’t want to go.” It tore me up inside unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in the MCU.

And so spoke the prophet Ned: “Holy shit, we’re all gonna die!” 

The Bad

While everybody shined at one point or another, there were some characters that were really thrust into the forefront in promos that in reality had very, very few scenes in the movie. Mainly, I’m talking about Bucky. He got a new arm, hugged Steve, swung Rocket around, and then died. I was hoping for more. 

There were a few interactions I was hoping to see but never got. Mainly: Tony and Bucky, Tony and Cap, Shuri and Tony, Shuri and Bucky. But there’s time for that yet, because let’s be real: ain’t none of these motherfuckers staying dead. Except for Loki, Heimdall, and Gamora. RIP.  

While the humor always made me laugh, there were a few misplaced moments that undercut the emotional weight of whatever had just happened. Drax standing there while Gamora asked Peter to kill her if it came down to it is the main thing that stands out in my mind as jarring.

I was a little underwhelmed when I found out that the Soul Gem was on some random planet, but that’s mainly because I was hoping that the “Heimdall has the Soul Gem” theory wasn’t going to be Jossed. 

It seems strange at this point that no one in the films has acknowledged any of the canon introduced in Agents of SHIELD, like the Inhumans, but truthfully, I complain about this because I just want Coulson to be in the films and for the original Avengers to know that he’s still alive.

NO HAWKEYE. AM ANGRY.

The Ugly

Some of the cinematography was...meh. Especially when they were fighting in Wakanda, there was a lot of shaky cam and random cuts that made the action pretty hard to follow. 

Nebula getting ripped apart. Ouch. 

I feel as though Thanos announcing himself by murdering Loki and Heimdall was a great way to establish how dangerous he was (along with beating the shit out of the Hulk) but WOW it was hard to see Loki die like that.

I...I get what they were trying to do with the forge...and, true, it was pretty cool, but holy shit, why did Peter Dinklage need to do that voice. It sounded forced and ridiculous. Any GOT fans remember Tyrion imitating his cousin Orson? That’s what Peter’s character sounded like THE ENTIRE TIME. I couldn’t take him seriously. I get that they were probably trying to distance this character (I can’t remember his name) from Tyrion, but for the love of God, why not just let him do his American voice, then? Or just his Tyrion voice, because most people see Tyrion when they look at him anyway and that can’t be avoided sometimes. 

I’ll probably have even more to say about Infinity War once I’ve digested it a bit, but TL:DR -- this is one of the best films in the MCU. Possibly the best. My expectations were subverted and it was better than I ever dreamed it could be...so if you haven’t seen it, you need to!