The day has finally arrived for Marvel to show us what acclaimed director Taika Waititi has been cooking up with everyone’s favorite Asgardian.
We’ve heard rumblings about how different in tone this film would be from the previous entries, but there’s nothing quite like seeing the goods finally delivered. When asked on Reddit if he made an effort to have this movie gel with the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large, Waititi simply responded: “I didn’t even bother trying.”
Looks like that paid off, because this is wild, loose and playful in such a refreshing way. The first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok is here, and it is every bit as glorious as we could have hoped.
There’s so much here to take in, from the visual style to the tone to the gobsmackingly perfect casting. For me, the standout here is Cate Blanchett as the villainous Goddess of Death, Hela. She may only appear in a few shots and speaks only one line of dialogue, but everything about this character looks like Marvel has finally found its next great villain. The prevailing theory is that Hela will serve as the stand-in for Death herself in Avengers: Infinity War, and if this is true, Blanchett seems to be nailing the look.
Furthermore, the look of just about everything here is such a welcome change from the drab, muted colors of Thor: The Dark World. There’s a hearty dose of Guardians of the Galaxy in the production design, as well as some really great looking alien species on display. There are shots here that evoke Star Wars and even The Fifth Element in terms of a creative, diverse cosmos.
The main event, as Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster proclaims, is the arena match-up between Thor and Hulk. It’ll be incredible to see some Planet Hulk imagery on the big screen (even if that sadly means we may never get a straightforward live action adaptation of that story). Thor’s reaction to seeing his missing buddy for the first time in what must be several years is absolute perfection and perfectly showcases how Waititi will put his irreverent stamp on this material.
In a year where Marvel is putting out three high profile superhero movies (yes, I know that Spider-Man is technically Sony, but who are we really kidding here), I’m impressed with how solid all of them look. Superhero fatigue is setting in fast, but it’s reassuring to see how Marvel is embracing the weird and fantastical elements in their properties.
Thor: Ragnarok will HULK SMASH into theaters on November 3, 2017.
