Thor reminded me that movies can be fun

Man this is hard for me to write.

I always feel like when I watch a movie that I am always have two parts of myself pulling at my ego. As a film maker I want to see art and see something that is going to push my perspective farther than I currently at.

But then there is the other side. A person that spends more than 50 hours a week working hard job that while is fulfilling but emotionally and physically taxing to the point that I use the weekend to reset my life and my house.

Much like The Hulk... and Bruce Banner I tend to always be at war with myself on the media that I am going to enjoy.

But man... Thor Ragnarok was a very fun movie that’s pace is just about perfect. I guess I have been studying film way too much in my life as it was really hard to watch Blade Runner 2049 as all the subtext of the film was clear and open and easy to read.

Performance wise I think Chris Hemsworth did a great job of playing a lost Thor as he has lost grasp on himself, his relationships, and his kingdom. While I think it was a bit confusing at first to see him take out the anger on his brother Loki for the death of their father. The thing is that Thor always knew that his father was going to die eventually and at some length it was his own negligence to the throne that allowed his father’s early demise.

The tone and pace of this film hits spot on for what it is. I am surprised because it is not quite as cookie cutter as other MCU movies are, but yet does not go way outside of the box either.

I would have to say that there are plenty of weak points of the film as parts of the gags do go a bit far, and there is a bit too much fan service towards the end but at least it is a the end of the movie right at the climax... But again sometimes resulting a character at the end of the film into an outfit that looks forced and cheesy. (But I am talking about a crazy fun film that does not even try to take most things seriously)

In some spots I can see where it borrowed humor from Guardians of The Gallaxy... But it actually manages to pull it off without seeming to be self actualized. Which is odd to say about a Super Hero movie in the season of the hero film world that understands it won’t change the mold but rather not allow itself to even be produced in the same factories... (again that is not quite as possible since Disney owns everything)

This movie is a clean slate for Thor. Like literally into the 1/4 of the movie it kills off a lot of the side characters that were introduced in the first and second movie. I know some people love large casts and I think that when planned out well a large cast can be very effective. But Thor’s old buddies were never the highlight of the last two films and they always slowed the pace of the films down and not in the way that helped the narrative, as much there were just kind of there... So I kind actually really like the fact they all get wiped out so film maker was free to get the audience to focus on Thor, Angry Lady, Hulk, and Loki.

That really helps the narrative as we don’t have to follow the action of other character more than Thor. Which as the title refernces should be the film’s main focus and I think even though in the grand scheme of things is that this might just be a side story, but this film leaves us with much more to look from Thor’s gaze and it is great.

It seems like the MCU started having issues with this since the massive success of the Avengers and the films while following a small group always stuck to the group as the main characters and while they were great sometime lacked that nice personal touch that a singular character film can.

While this film is somewhat predictable it was a fun trip, as throught the movie there is a lot of synth that is reminiscent the 70s 80s synth world. Which I personally cannot get enough of as I love video games and anything that reminds me of chiptunes I cannot get enough of. So I am very happy with the sound track as it also plays back The Immigrant by Led Zeppelin. Being part of the people rediscovering metal in the early 2000s it was totally nice to show up... though it was kind of over played much like Beastie Boys in Star Trek.

This film will not teach you some new crazy visuals. Make you think too hard for the plot. But it is a lot of fun and does a great job of telling a story and holding my attention for more than 2 hours.

While I have no clue where the series can go... if there is even a possibility for Thor 4... But dang I never wanted to question it like other hero movies. For what it is this film is a great excape.

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