Thor: Ragnarok has gotten off to a strong start. The film is one of the most critically acclaimed Marvel Studios outings yet and seems set for a strong box office performance. Despite this success, the film is proving somewhat divisive among fans. While I enjoyed the film, I can't help but feel disappointed with the direction it took. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I am with what I believe could've been a much stronger film. (FULL SPOILERS BELOW)
It has been clear from the first trailer that Taika Waititi's take on Thor was going to be a colorful, quirky, funny, romp that skewed more towards James Gunn's take on Guardians of the Galaxy than the world of Asgard that Kenneth Branagh established back in 2011 or Alan Taylor's turn with the franchise in 2013's The Dark World. There was nothing inherently wrong with this new direction, but I hoped that there would be a little more of an emotional core underneath the surface of what they were presenting through the marketing.
While I love comedy and believe it can compliment emotion to create a more fun experience, Ragnarok seems to prioritize comedy over emotion to a point that's detrimental to the story. This isn't to say that the movie is devoid of emotion. However, it seems unconcerned with fleshing out its emotional beats and letting them breathe in a way that would give them greater weight and power. I could feel Taika Waititi's enthusiasm and creative energy poured into the comedic riffs and building the offbeat world of Sakaar. By contrast, the core story elements feel executed in a more obligatory way.
Waititi recently spoke about stripping Thor down and creating a broken version of the character.
The experience of Ragnarok doesn't really serve this idea, though. It's strange, because there is actually a lot that happens to Thor in this film:
Yet, as we come to the end of Thor: Ragnarok it doesn't feel like our hero has been through a harrowing ordeal. The film has all these great elements of loss to work with, but it never really treats them as true moments of despair that break Thor down emotionally so he can build himself back up in a moving way. What if it did, though?
As a way of conveying the potential I think this film had, I've broken down each of the elements I would've liked to see given more dramatic weight to create a more powerful story.
The Return of Loki:
At the end of Thor: The Dark World, Thor witnesses what he believes to be Loki's death and he mourns this loss. In Ragnarok, we don't get to see Thor figure out that his brother is alive since it happens off screen. Their reunion doesn't carry the emotional weight you'd expect it to have, forgoing this opportunity to dig into the mixed feelings of relief and betrayal.
Ragnarok has a few nice scenes focused on the relationship between the two brothers but there's not really a strong, tangible arc to it. A lot of it feels like a retread of what we saw between them in The Dark World. They work together out of necessity, but Thor still can't quite trust Loki. In a way, this feels like Part 2 of TDW's arc. That film brought peace between them while this film seemingly seeks to repair their bond. By the end of the film, Loki is by Thor's side and their relationship appears stronger than we've ever seen it. But how exactly did we get there? What really changed between them from beginning to end?
The arc is muddled by the fact that Loki attempts to betray Thor (once again) very late in the game. He eventually comes to Thor's aide with Korg and the gladiators, but we haven't witnessed the change of heart that leads to this. On the surface, this functions similarly to the classic Star Wars moment of Han Solo returning to rescue Luke, but I think there's a key difference that makes that pivotal character development moment work better. Han Solo's major character flaw that we're seeing him overcome is his selfishness. For Han, giving in to his selfish nature gives him the escape that he wants. Coming back means making the choice to go against that nature.
Loki in Ragnarok is a little different than Han Solo. He's more than selfish. He's duplicitous. He gives into that duplicitous nature when he attempts to betray Thor, but he's thwarted in this betrayal and left without the power of choice. Loki leaves with Korg and the gladiators out of necessity, then opts to help Thor. Yet, when he makes this choice, he's not choosing to go against his duplicitous nature. This offscreen decision lacks the power of showing Loki grow beyond his primary character flaw by either fighting his inclination to betray Thor or succeeding in his betrayal, then being compelled to right the wrong he's committed.
The Death Of Odin:
Ragnarok does very little to attempt to connect us with Odin before his death, opting to let the first two Thor films do the heavy lifting. Thor and Loki find Odin, he has a nice little farewell scene with them, then he dies right there. Unfortunately, there's no real time to let this sink in because Hela shows up immediately and our focus shifts very quickly. Later on, we see Thor saying a prayer of sorts for his father, so the loss is felt to a degree. However, he really doesn't seem to carry his grief with him as he moves forward.
Throughout the majority of the film, Thor maintains his swashbuckling hero swagger, as if this is just another one of his fun little adventures. As he stages the breakout and humorously plays “Get help” in his team-up with Loki two-thirds into the movie, Thor doesn't seem to be in a different emotional place than when we saw him battle Surtur at the beginning of the film. I understand that they wanted to give Chris Hemsworth a chance to utilize his comedic talents, but I think there were ways to make the character wryly comedic while maintaining a sense of seriousness that suits the trauma that he's been through and the weight of his burden.
The aftermath of Odin's death provided a chance to delve a bit deeper into both Thor and Loki's feelings toward their father. For Thor, Odin is both his mentor and his hero. The first Thor film gives the impression that Thor's adventurous, warrior spirit is in part fueled by his desire to live up to his father's legendary exploits. Odin's death means that Thor must attempt to fill the shoes of a man much wiser and more powerful than himself. Combined with the sense of inadequacy that could have been played up after the breaking of Mjolnir, this could have really enriched Thor's arc.
For Loki, Odin's death is likely more confusing. It's clear that Loki believes that Odin favored Thor. After finding out that he's actually the son of the enemy Frost Giant king, Laufey, Loki feels that Odin's love for him has been a lie. Yet, even up until the end of the first Thor film, Loki was seeking Odin's approval and love as he attempted to annihilate the Frost Giants. By the time we come to The Dark World, Loki seems to have given up on his relationship with Odin, engaging with him in a more antagonistic way and ultimately banishing him to Earth.
Considering all this history, it would've been interesting to explore the conflicting emotions Loki must have towards the death of his father. Confronting those in a more direct way would also serve to develop his relationship with Thor, as Odin's preferential treatment of Thor is at the heart of Loki's animosity towards his brother.
As Loki has seemingly gone from villain to antihero, Loki's feelings of resentment toward his father provided an opportunity to more closely compare and contrast him with Hela, who has a similar experience of being cast aside by their father (as well as a similar green outfit, pale skin, and black hair look). What makes Loki different from her? Maybe Odin realized his mistakes with Hela and taught Loki to have greater humanity. Maybe Hela had a different mother, who didn't show her the kind of love that Frigga showed Loki. Maybe Loki's bond with Thor made the difference. There were all sorts of possibilities there.
The Breaking of Mjolnir:
In thinking about this film, I can't help but compare it to Spider-man: Homecoming. Homecoming has much lower stakes but manages to create greater tension and deliver a richer character journey (while still being very funny at points). When Tony Stark takes away the Spider-man suit, there's a definite sense of loss and failure in Peter. He's on the verge of tears as he tells Aunt May that he lost the “Stark internship.” You may think it's just a suit, but Peter sees it as a representation of his worth as a hero. His hopes and dreams are being crushed in this moment and we feel it.
Imagine if Ragnarok gave that kind of weight to the breaking of Mjolnir. Especially after the events of the first film, Mjolnir carries a great deal of symbolic significance to Thor as an extension of himself and a representation of both his power and worthiness. While I wouldn't necessarily want to see Thor mope and cry about his hammer, it would've been fitting for him to have a moment in which he feels powerless and hopeless after being defeated by Hela. If he couldn't beat her before, what chance does he stand now that he's lost the weapon that he's come to rely on?
Perhaps then, the appearance of Hulk takes on a new significance. Hulk embodies the power that Thor feels he has lost. On top of that, Thor finds one of the legendary Valkyrie and all of a sudden there's a chance. Rather than seeing himself as Asgard's best hope, Thor believes that these two heavy hitters are the key to victory. There's a shift from being Thor the warrior to being Thor the leader who rallies the other gladiators to fight for their freedom then join him in saving his world. A greater focus on his leadership in this film would strengthen the ending of Thor finally taking his seat as the king of Asgard and round out the journey he began in the first film when his coronation was interrupted.
The Death of The Warriors Three:
The Warriors Three have never been fleshed out or given much to do in the Thor films. It's a shame to see them killed off rather than being utilized as vital, interesting characters within the story. In spite of that, if we embrace this decision to kill them, their deaths could've been used to greater effect in this film. I believe Hela tells Thor she killed them in the climax, but there's too much going on for this to really sink in and have Thor mourn them.
Imagine if Thor had learned of this earlier in his conversation with Heimdall. Thor asks if Heimdall has enlisted the aid of The Warriors Three. Heimdall says something like “I'm sorry your highness, but The Warriors Three have perished at the hand of Hela.” That's Thor's last takeaway from this conversation. His best friends are dead. He's already lost his father and his hammer, now boom. Another punch to the gut. That anger fuels him, making him more determined.
Perhaps Valkyrie notices the sudden change in his demeanor and asks him what has happened, leading him to reveal this news to her. We get a moment of Thor reminiscing about what his friends meant to him as the older brother figures who taught him how to drink and fight when he convinced them to let him tag along on their adventures (see Thor: Tales of Asgard). This gives Thor and Valkyie something to bond over as they both know the pain of losing close friends and fellow warriors. As this new friendship developed, the void left by The Warriors Three could have been used to give greater emotional significance to the formation of the “Revengers.” Notice the number of allies Thor has on that team...
The Loss of Thor's Eye:
This is a fairly minor one, but I think the moment of Thor losing his eye feels rather sanitized. It would've felt out of place to depict this injury in a graphic way in a fairly light-hearted PG-13 film, but I do believe the pain and shock of the injury could've been emphasized a little more by drawing out this moment of feeling overpowered and defeated. Something akin to the moment of Darth Vader cutting off Luke's hand would've sold this injury a little more effectively.
Ragnarok:
We're told that Thor has been having visions of Asgard's destruction, but unless I'm mistaken we don't get to see them in this film. I believe bringing us into one of these dreams to see how Thor is being haunted would give greater weight to his quest.
In the end, Asgard is destroyed but the people survive. We're told that Asgard isn't a place, but a people. It's a nice sentiment but it feels hollow because the movie (and the Thor franchise as a whole) hasn't really explored the place or the people. We see Asgard, but we don't get an idea of what it feels like to live within it. Aside from Thor's family and friends, we never meet the people of Asgard to get a sense of their culture or community. This could've been helped by having Thor spend a little more time at home among his people before seeing through Loki's deception rather than figuring it out offscreen and getting right down to business upon his return. It'd be fun to see Thor as the most popular guy in town who's really loved by the community. He's the guy who entertains the children with stories of his adventures (opportunity for humorous retelling of Avengers or Age of Ultron) and drinks with the bar patrons. That connection with Asgard's people would make us care more about their fate. Spending time within Asgard and creating that sense of home by showing it as a place of comfort for Thor with cherished memories would help us feel the destruction of Asgard as a true loss.
Aside from a moment of bravery when interrogated by Hela, the people themselves are just a helpless mass herded to safety by Heimdall. Rather than giving Skurge an unnecessary subplot, it may have been cool to see an Asgardian commoner rise to the occasion and play more of a role in getting the people to safety. Perhaps a young woman with the potential to join the ranks of the next generation of Valkyrie would be a fitting embodiment of Asgard's people.
Conclusion:
I believe these kinds of tweaks would've helped to make Ragnarok into a more emotionally satisfying journey. That doesn't mean that all the fun and humor would've had to be sapped out of the film or that I'd want an additional 30 minutes tacked on. I think a lot of this could have been achieved by prioritizing the dramatic moments and giving them a little more time to breathe while cutting a few of the comedic bits that didn't serve the story.
For many people, Thor: Ragnarok delivered everything they were hoping for. I can understand how if you go in just looking for a good time, this is a satisfying experience. I don't think anyone is wrong for feeling that way. However, I can't help but want more out of a film like this when I can see so clearly that it can be something more.
Thanks for reading! Please check out the fancy, abridged video version of this article below and share your thoughts on both Ragnarok and the Thor franchise as a whole in the comments.