Thanksgiving Break is an awesome time to go to the movies. With all the free time we college students aren’t used to, it’s definitely worth it to head to the cinema with your high school friends. But what movies are worth spending money to see?
I went to see the new Thor movie last night, and I can tell you that if you enjoy science fiction, cool fight scenes, and Jeff Goldblum, you’ll enjoy this movie. I’m not sure if it’s worth the exorbitant ticket price, however. Let’s examine the pros and cons here.
1) Pro – Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston!
My 15-year-old self was SUPER excited to see these two make a reappearance as their roles from their 2011 film. The callbacks to Thor and The Avengers weaved throughout this film, paired with our handsome protags, will make any Marvel fan happy. Plus, it’s kind of general accepted knowledge that Chris Hemsworth is one of the most handsome men alive (NOT Blake Shelton, thanks very much.)
1) Con – Weird Humor
I understand that the success of Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy made Marvel want to imbue comedy into their films a lot more, but the serious subject matter of this film paired with the odd joke here and there felt disjointed and campy sometimes. Luckily, when it was Jeff Goldblum cracking the jokes, I was appeased.
2) Pro – Diversity!
There’s a woman of color as one of the main protagonists! I’m happy to see that Hollywood is taking the hint and diversifying who we see on screen. Tessa Thompson kicks ass as Valkyrie in this film.
2) Con – Poorly Written “Strong Female Characters”
There’s a difference between a strong female character and a mean woman who punches well. I don’t think Marvel has quite gotten the hang of differentiating this, unfortunately. Hela and Valkyrie do a lot of criticizing, bullying and fighting. While it kind of makes sense for Hela, the movie’s main antagonist, it still leaves her one-dimensional and flat. I eagerly await the day where Marvel and the rest of Hollywood start writing women as complex characters, who aren’t “strong” just because they’re mean for the first act of the film.
3) Pro – The BEST Score
With the use of Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin in two major fight scenes and weird, funky electronic music to drive home the sci-fi themes of the film, this movie kept me bopping up and down in my seat. The whole score is a banger.
3) Con – Weird Editing
I don’t know if my editing eye has just gotten better, but there are a lot of strange cuts, like a sword being thrown in one scene and already being embedded in the enemy in the next–no transition. Stuff like this happens a few times, leaving me to wonder if this movie was maybe pushed out of the editing room a little too quickly. Quick, sloppy edits had me losing my grip on the intrigue of the plot every few scenes. It’s nothing unforgivable, it’s just distracting.
I’ll let you decide for yourself if you think this movie is worth a watch; for me, it ended up redeeming itself by the end with an absolutely epic conclusion. While I was a bit disappointed and distracted by a few of the film’s shortcomings, I think Thor: Ragnorak is a pretty fun action-packed movie. Whether you want to enjoy it on the big screen or the phone screen when it comes out on Netflix in a few months is up to you!