Thor Ragnarok Review

I don't see a lot of movies. I see even fewer in the company of my First Reader. In fact... this would be the second movie we've seen while sitting next to one another, cuddling and making quietly snarky comments. I think it colors how I look at the movie, but maybe that's just me. The last time it was Guardians of the Galaxy, this time it was a whimsical decision to see the latest Marvel flick. We walked in with no real expectations. I didn't really like the first Thor movie, hadn't seen the last Thor movie or even the last few Marvel movies, so we went just because the First Reader wanted to see this particular theatre. 

We live in a little town in Ohio, with a quaint main street. It's one of the things we really like about this town. And we have one of those rare things, a cinema that dates back to the 1920s and is still in operation. It runs one movie every weekend - because it has only one screen - and it's very much a family affair. The tickets are cheap - the popcorn, not so much, but you have to make money somewhere. They don't, however, spend that money on cleaning. We went in and sat (to give you a sense of scale, there are three seats on one side of the aisle, and four on the other. I've been on jet planes that were wider) in the dimly lit theatre. Only some cool Art Deco lamps that gave off slightly more light than a candle. The room was cooler than the outside, and damp. I noticed something on the wall, and put the flashlight on my phone to inspect it closer. It wasn't, as I'd initially thought, shelf fungus, but instead ranked columns of weaponized dust bunnies carrying panniers of mold forward. 

Ahem. We sat by the aisles. 

I'm going to try not to offer spoilers, so here's the quick and dirty review: it was fun. We laughed, a lot. The motto of the movie is: embrace the cheese. The Ginja Ninja, who was our third wheel (she observed that, not us! LOL) commented later that it was over the top campy and of course, it was. 

Looking a little deeper: any movie that begins with a scene where the main character is wisecracking is probably going to be fun. The movie continues with this sense of self-aware mockery throughout. It laughs at itself, so it's easy to laugh along with it, and we did with no sense of cringing at lame humor. The whole thing is filled with action, of course, but it's campy over the top action. I don't remember a moment where I sat on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen to Our Hero. And of course, the Stan Lee cameo is one of the best I've seen so far. 

Speaking of heroes, I know why I don't particularly like Thor. He wants to be a hero so hard it hurts to watch, and he's not a particularly nice person. Neither is Loki, but we're not supposed to like him, either. Actually, the only main character I do like in this movie is the Hulk/Banner, but that would be spoiling to describe why in too much detail. Although I think it's probably in the trailers, so I can get away with this: the highlight of the movie is the fight between Thor and the Hulk. 

The storytelling is very straightfoward. But that's not what Marvel movies are about, they are more about the little things, like revenge, and saving one's peoples, and bonding with family. Even when that family just stabs you in the back as soon as they have a free hand. And the movies are about the gorgeous visuals, although this one fell down a little on those. 

Overall? It's cheesy campy fun and I really enjoyed it. I'm not sorry we went, even though we won't go back to that particular theatre again!