Start Getting Excited About Taika Waititi’s Thor

The Taika Waititi-directed Thor: Ragnarok might just be “one of the greatest Marvel movies ever,” according to Forbes contributor Dani Di Placido. It’s shorter, a lot was improvised, and it’s embracing the insanity of the comics, Placido says.

Modern-day blockbusters, especially Marvel’s, have a tendency to drag on, expanding the runtime with scene after scene of blurry CGI battles completely devoid of dramatic tension. Unless you have a mammoth, Lord of the Rings-style storyline to squeeze in, there’s no excuse for straining your audience’s bladders like that.

So it comes as a relief to hear that the current cut of Thor: Ragnarok runs at a trim 100 minutes, which would make it the shortest film of the MCU to date. Explaining Ragnarok’s short runtime in an interview with Collider, Waititi stated:

“I think that stories are better when you leave them wanting more, and this film moves at a clip, it’s got stuff happening all the time. I think people are still gonna feel exhausted by the end, they’ve been on this big journey and stuff, so I don’t think we need the film to be three hours.”

Waititi also claimed that around 80 per cent of Ragnarok is improvised. This is nothing short of extraordinary for a special effects laden, high-concept blockbuster churned out of the Marvel factory.

 Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled to be released on 3 November in 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D.

Original article by Dani Di Placido, Forbes, July 26, 2017.