https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgB1wUcmbbw
Directed by Taika Waititi
July 2022
If I never see another Marvel movie I'll still have seen too many.
It's Taika though.
And I remember when that used to mean something. :cry:
I liked Ragnarok a lot but Taika is insufferable now. Jojo Rabbit was cinematic atrocity and his performance in Free Guy was grounds for punishment. This has potential to be deathly twee, although it's a fun teaser
I understand Jojo being divisive, but I loved it, and the criticisms don't quite register for me.
Ragnarok is the best Marvel movie by a wide margin. He directed the best episode of The Mandalorian. What We Do in the Shadows & Our Flag Means Death are beloved (though I haven't caught up yet). I agree he's hit and miss as an actor, but I just don't see any reason to be concerned that he's on some sort of downslide as a director/writer.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on April 18, 2022, 10:04:11 PMI understand Jojo being divisive, but I loved it, and the criticisms don't quite register for me.
Ragnarok is the best Marvel movie by a wide margin. He directed the best episode of The Mandalorian. What We Do in the Shadows & Our Flag Means Death are beloved (though I haven't caught up yet). I agree he's hit and miss as an actor, but I just don't see any reason to be concerned that he's on some sort of downslide as a director/writer.
I just don't like his humor whatsoever outside of Ragnarok, which I liked, but still had some tonal issues and problems with stakes. This just seems like it'll be that amplified. Eagle vs Shark sucked, never cared for What We Do In the Shadows, Boy is insufferable milequetoast, Wilderpeople is...ok?
And I feel like Thor's arc was properly wrapped up in Endgame. He realized the meaning of heroism and finally learned to be comfortable with his identity
I actually like Taika Waititi a lot (I haven't seen Jojo Rabbit, so I can't speak to that). I look at it this way: Taika is ice cream, Marvel movies are wet dog food. Mixing them together doesn't make the dog food good, it just ruins the ice cream.
I'm tired of superhero movies as much as the next person, but I feel like suggesting there are no good Marvel movies is a pretty extreme take. And I think Ragnarok is an undeserving target. It goes far afield into its own thing, even more than the Guardians movies do.
Ragnarok, for me, does have bits of wet dog food here and there, but the ice cream has so many delicious toppings that you can't really taste it.
Re: Ragnarok's tonal confusion – for me that's a feature, not a bug. Taika walks that tightrope even more precariously in Jojo Rabbit, and to watch him actually pull it off it both films is enormously thrilling.
I'd rank like this:
1. Endgame
I'm a sucker for well-done conclusions
2. Infinity War
Lived up to the hype in crafting a thrill a minute spectacle where every character finally interacts
3. Civil War
Too much gray and shakycam, but I think it narratively handles the politics and the divide well
4. The Avengers
The first act always sucked and Whedon shoots it like a TV pilot but it truly did feel special
5. No Way Home
The best of these Spider-Man movies. It's fan service but MCU does nostalgia right and it honors the ideals of Spider-Man even if it cannot hold a candle to the Raimi films
6. Winter Soldier
It's very good, but the gray color grade and aesthetic grows tiresome in the flat 2nd act.
7. Ragnarok
What I mentioned already
8. Ant-Man and The Wasp
Even better than the first. Creative set-pieces.
9. Iron Man
Another overrated entry but RDJ's charisma is undeniable. Bridges is just a lame villain and movie itself is aimless/dated
10. Ant-Man
Fun and (mostly) self-contained. Some of the better uses of VFX
11. Black Panther
Overrated. Some of the worst cgi in all of these movies hampers Coogler's vision and insight on racial tensions and identity
12. Guardians vol 2
Slight improvement over the first and more emotionally involving but still a lot of flat humor
13. Guardians of the Galaxy
Overrated. Bad balance between a James Gunn film and a MCU film, but the cast is endearing
14. Far From Home
A slight improvement over the first.
15. Homecoming
The high school stuff is fun, the obligatory Tony Stark scenes are not. Keaton remains one of the better villains
16. First Avenger
Janky but sincere
17. Captain Marvel
The most whatever MCU film, but a great Stan Lee cameo
18. Ultron
Overstimulating yet underdone
19. Black Widow
Irrelevant but Florence is a standout
20. Shang-Chi
Maybe the most overrated MCU film with action that rarely rises above convention and a shallow lead performer
21. Incredible Hulk
As generic as these have ever been
22. Doctor Strange
Repeat what was said about Hulk, but more underwhelming
23. Iron Man 2
Has some moments, but not as fresh as first, Rourke is a non-essential villain
24. Thor
Basically a mid-2000s superhero film released in 2011 with planted/future MCU easter eggs
25. Iron Man 3
The Shane Black style immediately wears thin and proceeds to spin its wheels
26. Dark World
Can anyone mention what happens in this?
27. Eternals
One of my most joyless blockbusters of the century
In Dark World they imply that even before the Big Bang, within the nothingness of the universe, there were Dark Elves and Dwarves that harvested the power of to-be voids. An infinity stone is introduced and there's a sequence that feels like Valve's video game Portal 2. Also Kat Dennings gets a lot of dialogue and it sort of foreshadows how MCU will milk the characters from the Thor franchise.
Only cuz you asked ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go8nTmfrQd8
This looks ugly and not funny. Only Bale looks genuinely creepy, which is new territory for that kind of movie.
Yeah I'm kinda hoping this is just a poorly-cut trailer, because it definitely falls short of my expectations.
The fact that Chris Pratt doesn't appear at all in this trailer is particularly funny.
Rancid trailer
I will say, though...whatever the hell is going on with those Bale scenes..kinda interesting in a very gaudy, unlike MCU way.
Worse than I expected. Bottom 5 MCU for me
I wish it was desperate in recapturing the Ragnarok magic, yet it doesn't try. This is an aggressively cheap and lazy film that is content to smugly coast by on good will. Formless with no established tone or through line. Every scene is improvised, witless banter without direction that reveals nothing about character or advances story. Bale's subplot is intense but not supported by the overall tossed up vibe. And the CGI might be the worst yet. There's just no proper lighting or shade in any of the imagery on screen
Yikes! lol
Sounds like it will make Ragnarok feel like a fluke within the Thor series.
Waititi has done so much better, and probably will in the future. My friends and I were saying that maybe he's gotten too comfortable trusting the results of his talent, which has often led to some very good work...this had some great visual ideas, but overall lacked a certain substance his previous efforts had.
(and by very good, I mostly think of "Boy" if anyone has missed out on that 'un).