'Thor Ragnarok' Review

It's safe to say that the previous 'Thor' movies haven't lit audiences up like many of Marvel's other projects have done so. The first two films haven't been bad, they just haven't been particularly exciting or memorable. However, the same cannot be said for 'Ragnarok' as the film creates an exciting identity that is unlike any other superhero film that we have ever seen.

After a family revelation, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself imprisoned on a strange planet by a man known as the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Whilst on this strange planet, Thor is forced to battle for his life and in doing so, he is reunited with fellow Avenger The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Together they must find a way to get off the planet and return to Asgard before the evil Hela destroys the entire civilisation. 

Comic book movies are often heavily criticised for lacking an identity that makes the film stand out from the others. Many claim that all the films look and feel the same whilst having similar if not identical plot points and storylines. With Taika Waititi directing 'Ragnarok', many were unsure to how much of his style would be replicated into this film as Marvel hasn't collaborated well with unique auteurs previously - see Edgar Wright and the 'Ant-Man' situation. However, Marvel have taken that risk they've held back on previously as 'Thor Ragnarok' is much more of a Taika Waititi film rather than a Marvel film.

Waititi's fingerprints are all over this film as it is a straight-up comedy. Over the years, Waititi has proven himself to be a true force when it comes to comedy and has made two - now three - of the best comedies of the last decade. With Waititi, you know that you will be getting a barrel of laughs in the film with cleverly crafted jokes, gags and slapstick humour. 'Ragnarok' has the same identity of Waititi's other film that allows it to truly stand out from the pack. Nobody else could've made this film as it is so distinctive to anything out there or that we have seen before in a big budget superhero flick. Waititi has been rewarded for his hard work on smaller indie films and has followed the likes of James Gunn in showing why such bright, creative minds should be given chances on a much bigger scale. 

The film most definitely possesses its own unique visual style to allow it to stand out further from the previous MCU films. The colour palette of 'Ragnarok' is off the chart with bright blues, yellows and red/pinks which creates a vibrant look that matches the tone of the film. As the film is a complete joy to watch and is 130 minutes of complete fun, the bright colours only enhance the film's exciting personality. The brightness of the film, again, helps the film stand alone as it goes against the norm to create something truly unique. The colours also blend very well with the action as it adds more excitement to these adrenaline filled scenes, as well as simply making them more appealing to the naked eye.

'Ragnarok' still does fit into the superhero genre but offers many moments that again differentiate it from other films, most noticeably within its climax. The film doesn't have the same ending as every other superhero film as it offers a fresh situation with a different solution. A lot of time is dedicated to the heroes actually being heroes in this moment as it isn't just a showdown to end the film. Instead, there is an abundance of characters fighting to save others, sacrificing themselves and looking to save as many people as possible. There are genre tropes that are hard to avoid but 'Ragnarok' manages to offer fresh and new situations that allow it stand out from a story perspective as well as the nature of its tone and visual style.

At this stage in the MCU, the films are still looking to develop the characters whilst adding many new ones at the same time and 'Ragnarok' does this tremendously. There are many regulars like Thor, Loki and Hulk who are yet again magnificent but the many new characters are great additions to the series. Tessa Thompson is the main example as Valkyrie, an independent tough female superhero who can hang with Thor and Hulk as she becomes an instant fan favourite. Waititi himself even appears as a rock creature Korg who manages to steal every scene he's in with his soft Kiwi accent. Cate Blanchette and Jeff Goldblum are two incredible additions to the already impressive cast and both commit to the wackiness of the film.  

Chris Hemsworth provides his best performance yet as the God of Thunder as his recent experiences in comedy films has helped his overall charisma as he truly shines. In previous films, he has sort of taken a back seat as others have stolen the show, even in his solo films. Hemsworth commands the screen and works tremendously well with the humour in what is his most enjoyable performance to date. His chemistry with Tom Hiddlestone is ever apparent as the two continue to impress working alongside together, with Loki continuously using his brother for his own good.

Once again, though, Marvel does not completely nail the villain as Hela is often forgotten about for large periods of time. We spend a lot of time away from Asgard where Hela is causing havoc but we see very little of it and at times, she becomes a bit of an afterthought. Blanchette does commit to the role but some extra screentime would really have made her much more fearful to our heroes. There are a few scenes that show her capabilities but not enough to consider her as a great villain. The film can be accused of not offering much more than laughs but as a bona fide comedy, these complaints cannot merit too much. 

Overall, Taika Waititi brings a very welcome addition to the MCU that is also one of the years best comedies. This is easily the best 'Thor' film there has been as this stands out from the rest of the films in this cinematic universe. A fresh film within a genre that is considered to have some fatigue, 'Thor Ragnarok' is a complete joy from start to finish.

Final Verdict = 

So have you seen 'Thor Ragnarok'? If so, what did you think of the film? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the movie or not, I highly recommend that you do so! Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

'Kong: Skull Island' Review

In the final days of the Vietnam War, a military organisation and some scientists jet off to an uncharted territory that is unknown to the rest of the world. In their search for civilisation, they find an island covered and ruled by monsters, none bigger than oversized ape and king, Kong.

The last time we saw the iconic, colossal ape was in Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' in 2005. That film was very successful, both financially and critically, even winning 3 Academy Awards. However, 'Kong: Skull Island' looks to take a different approach, looking to make the film a complete action movie. The 'beauty that killed the beast' story is swapped for more larger than life creatures. In a period where reboots are criticised for offering very little new content to the series, 'Kong: Skull Island' does look to do something fairly new with the character. With eyes looking towards a new 'MonsterVerse', 'Kong' brings something new to the table, bringing new creatures alongside it. Unfortunately, other than good action, there isn't much to rave about this version of 'Kong'.

In essence, 'Kong' very much is a blockbuster that you would really expect to see during the summertime, with huge creatures and explosions dominating the screen. This, of course, leads to the film being predominantly action based, featuring CGI monsters battling it out. The 2005 'King Kong' was highly praised for its special effects and that praise can be carried on into this movie. Not only does the main character Kong look incredible but so do the other creatures in the film. Now, it is expected for the creatures to look great in a high budget film like this, but it is still incredible to see lifelike creatures. As someone who's favourite film features large creatures, I'm a sucker for seeing an epic brawl between two behemoths and 'Kong' definitely delivers that. Due to this, the two-hour runtime does go past quickly as you can really sit back and just enjoy the spectacle. That only really goes for the action, however, as the quality of the rest of the film really lets it down.

'Kong: Skull Island' is ultimately undone by a very, very weak script. The script looks to balance brutal and hard hitting action with an abundance of humour. The dialogue feels incredibly out of place as the tones clash to make something fairly terrible. You will be rolling your eyes as jokes are seemingly forced in to try and make the film funny. There's no reason for this to be the case. This film should've been tension filled and even scary as these people look to stay alive on an island where everything wants to kill them. In fact, this even detriment the action aspect as something brutal will be about to or happen and then you get some cheesy joke. When you're showing the brutality of these creatures, you do not need the characters making a mockery of it. The humour is so out of place at times and it simply isn't funny. In fact, the funniest parts of the film are unintentional.

What helps make 'Kong' more enjoyable is the amount of absurdity within the film that you cannot help but laugh at. To some, these may be too hard to bear and will simply hate it. For me, I couldn't help but laugh at these moments which did actually bring enjoyment to the film, not necessarily in the best way. When you're trying to make an emotional death, you can't have a character be picked off in a brutal and ridiculous way. When you create a rule within an area or scenario, you have to maintain it. There are so many ridiculous moments in this film that are baffling. It really makes you question the studio's decision making as you can't imagine how some of these moments snuck into the final cut of the film. Again, these moments show just how much of a mess was made with the tone in this film which ultimately is its downfall.

When you look at the cast of this film on paper, you have an incredible ensemble on your hands. You have recent Oscar winner Brie Larson, Marvel fan favourite Tom Hiddleston, the always incredible John Goodman and highest grossing actor ever in Samuel L Jackson all starring in this movie. After seeing such an impressive cast, you'd be very disappointed to know that the film does not use any of them to their full potential. You could've used any actors in these roles as there was simply nothing to the characters. They are very one dimensional and you aren't given a lot of time to really relate, care or even like most of the characters. Any sort of development is completely rushed, especially the minuscule relationship between Larson's Weaver and Kong himself. It seemed as if they wanted to try to create a bond between the two but it was very half-hearted, only using two scenes to try to make it impactful. You're probably thinking, why would you go see a film like this if you are looking for strong, deep characters? Well, the film tries to make many emotional moments that pander to the audience to try and be more than just a dumb action film. Also, if the film is about those people trying to survive on this island, should you not want to root for them? Should you not want a reason for them to survive other than it's just a certain actor? The cast could have been utilised so much better, even if this was just another action film. 

I'd be lying if I said that the latest Kong film wasn't entertaining. Sometimes this was due to some great fights and moments of action - despite some Michael Bay-esque slow-motion scenes. However, a lot of the enjoyment comes from this being one of the most ridiculous films with unintentionally funny moments. A better script and utilisation of characters could've seen this become a great monster movie. Unfortunately, these aspects caused more damage than Kong ever could.

Final Verdict =

So have you seen 'Kong: Skull Island'? If so, what did you think of the film? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the film or not! Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

High Rise Review

'High Rise' stars Tom Hiddleston and is the adaptation of the novel with the same name by J G Ballard. It follows Dr Robert Laing who moves into a London high rise tower block. The high rise is a community in its own created by the architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons).However soon after he moves in, class warfare becomes a problem and anarchy then ensues.

Over the last few weeks the advert for 'High Rise' has constantly been playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the trailers which made me very excited to see the finished article. If you haven't seen the trailer, I highly recommend you do, it is highly fascinating and will surely draw you to wanting to see it.

However it's safe to say that I was quite disappointed by 'High Rise'. The movie came nowhere near to my expectations. I felt that this movie was a mess. So much was going on all at once at some points and it was difficult to keep up with everything all at once. The film moves onto so many different things and you just can't keep up with everything all at once. It is also hard to tell what happening is in reality or if its fantasy. The film certainly is very surreal but maybe a bit too surreal for its own good.

As there is a lot of different things going on in the film, there really isn't a lot of explanation to many things. There's a lot of times where actions happen and you're like "Huh?" and then there really isn't a follow up at all. There isn't even really an explanation to why everyone is so confined to doing mainly  everything inside this high rise. They leave for work but that's it. Everything else they do within the tower block away from the rest of society. A lot of things that go on are most certainly odd and would really of been more effective had their been more context to them.

The visuals in 'High Rise' are phenomenal to say the least. The visuals are sure to catch your attention and will make sure that you continue to pay attention although it may be hard for you to keep up with what is actually going on. The editing in this film is also pretty fantastic. Keep an eye out for the scene where someone falls from the high rise. A beautifully edited and very effective piece of film making.

Tom Hiddleston is also fantastic in this film. At first, he is just settling in and isn't really aware of the total bizarreness that he will soon become a part of. You can slowly see his character Dr Robert Laing become more and more a part of the madness until he just lets loose entirely. He only sees the strangeness at first but as he soon grows to become friends to the tenants such as Richard Wilder (Luke Evans) and even closer with the likes of Charlotte Melville (Sienna Miller), he only gets drawn further into the chaos. At times he is kind of a bridge between the two classes that are within the high rise. Due to being close with the likes of Wilder, he interacts a lot with the more common people or the riff raff. However he is always invited to socialise with the others in the upper floors as well as being a guest of the architect many times. Hiddleston excels in this role and shows the great talents that he has.

Laing and Wilder outside the High Rise

I also thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Luke Evans in this film as documentary film maker Richard Wilder. He kind of leads the brigade from the lower floors demanding change from the top floors. I won't ever get sick of hearing him shout 'Where's the sirens?' which I've heard so many times in the last month. His character was particularly interesting. Elizabeth Moss was also great as a bored and what seemed like a single mother a lot of the time. She did very well to draw sympathy as you see her not fully enjoying herself or is really happy at all with life in the high rise. A good contrast to Hiddlestons character who is sort of obsessed with the life in the high rise.

Richard Wilder played by Luke Evans

However due to their being a lot of different characters in this film, there wasn't really enough time to completely dive into the characters and learn more about them. Jeremy Irons was also pretty good as the architect Anthony Royal but I feel his character is one of many who could've done with a bit more focus on. Same goes for Melville's son. I feel he was definitely underused and could've been an interesting character to experience all that was going on especially since he really is the pinnacle of innocence. You'll also find yourself forgetting about several characters until they reappear again. As there are so many, there isn't really an equal amount of screen time. A combination of this and the characters not being overly interesting or memorable make some characters very forgettable.

Many forgettable faces throughout the film

The film does show how if you force people to live their lives a certain way with little opportunity to progress, it will not work out. The lower levels are expected to be content with life in the high rise with no opportunity or a fair share of the power. The film does show a good job of how many people wouldn't just settle for what they are being forced to live under. The tension between the classes is shown very well throughout the film as you can see them becoming more and more irritated with each other. This is mainly led by Richard Wilder who takes most of the issues into his own hands and is kind of the main focal point for the lower levels in the high rise.

Final verdict: High Rise = C+

I went into this movie really wanting to love it but the film is a big mess at times. Strong performances from the cast and some very nice scenes indeed. However overall, the chaos got in the way of a cohesive and understandable movie. Maybe after another watch the film will become clearer.

So have you seen High Rise? If so what did you think of it? Once again thank you for reading, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor