A descent into total collective madness

Rating: 6/10 (2 November 2017)

There is an unprecedented general approval of MCU movies without any regard for how good these movies actually are. In all fairness some of them are truly brilliant (Avengers, Winter soldier, Iron man, Guardians of the galaxy), and some of them are just, in lack of a better word, bad (Incredible hulk, Ant-Man). In the last couple of years we have been served with extremely bland and generic action movies that lack any grit, power or, in some cases, story (Doctor Strange, Guardians of the galaxy 2, Spider-man Homecoming, Civil war). All of these movies are fun, the time spent watching them is extremely fun. But, regarding the historic importance of the cinematic universe importance (and the fact that no one so far has managed to do the same even though attempts are being made), is fun and entertaining all you aspire to? Herein enters Thor: Ragnarok.
The trailers boiled ones blood. The adrenaline of the music, visuals and characters blew one away and you simply couldn't wait to see it. The end result was a question: "What happened to the movie the trailer promised?"
Let's break it down a bit.
1) Story. There are several actually, and not one of them makes any sense. The Surthur story is seen in the beginning and the end of the movie, destroying one of the most powerful characters in Norse mythology/Marvel comics. The Hela story is underwritten, shabby in execution and a waste of a spectacular character (played beautifully by Blanchett). The gladiator story is a disaster in every possible way. The irrelevance of the story or unprecedented, the way it slows down the progression of the Hela story is just criminal. So, the viewer is presented with multiple ongoing stories that do not have any relevance in regard to each other, they are stuffed together without any real idea of how to execute them. The result is that the story we were promised was never actually given to us.
2) The humor. That lighthearted approach to every situation, no matter how dark or difficult it is, that Marvel has been doing lately (e.g. Civil war), has in this case actually killed the movie (Civil war does have a redeeming ending that is as dark and gritty as it needs to be). Comedic segments serve as wonderful relief in many ways. In horror movies, if implemented correctly, can be a great layer to the whole experience (e.g. IT). In dramas they can create mixed emotions in viewers so that they actually laugh instead of cry. The key - IMPLEMENT CORRECTLY. Ragnarok not only overused comedic elements, it used them in all the wrong places. So, when one is supposed to feel sorrow - laugh; when on is supposed to feel excited or filled with adrenaline - laugh etc. etc. etc. There was only one moment in the entire movie that was relieved of the humor - the bridge and main fight scene between Thor and Hela. But, even in the very end when all hell breaks loose (literally), we can't fathom the gravity of the situation because yet another character dropped a pun or a joke. So, enough is enough, really.
3)The portrayal of characters. So, all of the above can be blamed on bad direction (the terrible way of telling the story and not knowing how and when to interlock certain story segments) or bad screenplay (humor EVERYWHERE). But, the way the characters were portrayed was unbelievable. At the end of the movie one thing is certain: this movie was made just to depict where Thor and Hulk were during the events of the Civil war. Why and how certain story segments occurred - no answer. The criminally underused Antony Hopkins, the lack of screen time for Blanchett or Elba (the only actor that took his role seriously, God bless him), the absolutely unnecessary Dr. Strange cameo or Karl Urban's forgettable and cliché character just proves that bundling together too many characters that have no relevance to the story(stories in this case) doesn't make it fun or good in any way.
All in all, Thor: Ragnarok just continues the general downfall Marvel movies have established. The once brilliant concept of a shared cinematic universe is now a money making machine that has no real idea of where it is going or how it is going to end. At one point it will have to end, my concern is do the executives know that. I was really excited for Infinity wars, now I am just scarred to death they are going to do the same thing they did to all of the movies in the last couple of years.
Congratulations, enjoy a bland action movie, have a great laugh to the end of the world, because that's what the end of everything (Ragnarok) should feel like - lighthearted