44. Thor: Ragnarok

I really wasn’t bothered at all about this film. I’ve never seen any other Thor film before, and we all know I’m not bothered about superheroes unless is it’s Christopher Nolan’s Batman. I’d heard really good reviews, but as the film started, I wasn’t particularly enthused. The starting scenes I thought were trying to be funny, with Thor captured and struggling to escape without his hammer. I guess this kind of sets the scene for those who managed to see the 2 other films, read any sort of comic, or be culturally aware. For me I didn’t really understand what was going on, and didn’t really care.

However, about 15 – 20 minutes into the film, I was completely hooked. The storyline was good, and captured my imagination. To keep my attention, we have lots of fun cameos from other Marvel characters. My personal favourite was Benedict Cumberbatch, where I exclaimed ‘it’s him, what’s his name, Magic Fingers’. Apparently that character is called Dr Strange (the 2016 movie wasn’t bad at all). I didn’t have a full understanding of the Hulk’s character, but quickly picked this up as we meet him along the way as well. Who knew, maybe I do like superhero films.

We also come across the best character in the film by a country mile, Korg. Voiced by Taika Waititi (the film’s director), Korg is completely hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing his  dry deadpan humour, hilarious stories, and one liners. In fact, Thor on the whole is a pretty funny movie. It wasn’t try hard funny, and it wasn’t laugh a minute funny, but the light relief throughout the film really enhanced the plot and dialogue.

I thought the film on the whole was really well done, I guess when you are on the third in the series of a franchise, you expect it to be a bit rubbish, but I genuinely thought it was a good film. I don’t have anything to compare to, but IMdb gives both the first films a solid 7/10. I thought the acting was pretty good, the interaction between the characters and the CGI characters was believable, and the plot alongside it worked really well. I picked up the gist of the film quickly, and didn’t feel alienated, although I’d imagine there are lots of points of reference for fans of the first films.

Overall, it might sound generous, but Thor: Ragnarok gets an 8.5/10 from me. I went it not expecting much, but thoroughly enjoyed my evening. If you can catch it, it’s definitely worth a watch.

26. Wonder Woman

I'm so late in uploading this, but I've been super busy and also I have been enjoying the glorious weather we have been experiencing/complaining about. Last week's film was Wonder Woman - another superhero film. I was getting to a point when I was unsure which direction we could go with more superhero films - Dr Strange, Deadpool, the terrible flop that was Batman vs Superman - DC and Marvel just can't stop themselves. However, I really wanted to write this review today to urge you to go and see Wonder Woman if you can - it really is great.

Wonder Woman follows Diana, Princess of the Amazons (Gal Gadot), as she goes through her warrior training, something her mother has prevented her from doing for so long, to protect the tribe and paradise-like island from the imminent return of Ares, God of War. After a dramatic family incident, Diana flees to a cliff edge to do some wistful staring into the distance, and as she does so, World War I spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) enters the realm. He is fleeing the Germans, who realised he was undercover, and Diana saves him, coming across a man for the first time. From here, Diana realises it is her duty to stop the war happening across the world, and to destroy Ares. Much to her mother's dismay, Diana pops across to England, battles in trenches and finds her self right in the centre of the action.

I really enjoyed the film and found it really balanced. There was intense action, the training and battle scenes were exciting and interesting. Lucy Davis was fabulous as Etta, a great comedy character adding another angle to the film. I also really enjoyed the political angle on the film; discussions about war, politics and evil. Is war down to one person? Is evil just one person? Questions about deindividuation. There were many parallels to our own history which I thought added depth to the film. I really do wish it was a badass lass that sorted us all out, and again I think this film worked really well from a feminist point of view.

There were also a few twists and turns, keeping the film interesting, and I think there were surprises and unexpected moments to keep you on your toes. As well as this, the cinematography was great. The island of Themyscira was truly beautiful, and the contrast between the foggy industrial London and the dingy trenches made it enchanting to watch.

Overall, for the first time in quite a few films, I'd really recommend giving this a watch. Exciting, interesting, political, and with a female lead who shows the lads how it's done, you just can't knock it. I'm giving Wonder Woman a solid 8.5/10!