Watched this last night. I loved Ragnarok, but this wasn't nearly as good. They tried to go even heavier on the humor in this one with an endless barrage of quips. But it felt a lot less funny than Ragnarok. A lot of the jokes failed to land with me, and/or felt forced. This felt like Taika cashing a much larger check than last time, and just using a 2x multiplier on the Ragnarok script.
I thought they worked Jane into the She-Thor role well enough, though they yada-yada'd past the part I wanted to see, which is her first transformation and testing of her abilities. I'd also like to know how they moved Mjolnir to that display case, seeing as you'd have to be worthy to do so. She didn't use the shattered form of Mjolnir enough either, given that ability is so OP. There was wasted potential there.
Tessa Thompson, talented actress that she is, continues to wear out her welcome with me. Between this and Westworld, I think I've had my fill of her. I think it's because her character really doesn't have a ton of depth to it. I tried to like the character, but Valkyrie just doesn't work for me. Maybe it's because Tessa doesn't have the physicality you'd expect of a viking warrior god. It might be what throws me off about her in WW too.
Don't get me started on the child soldiers at the end nonsense. I mean, it's the thing I hated most about Shazam, and Thor went and turned it up to 11. The whole idea of distributing power is fine. But why does it have to be kids? And why are they suddenly super-skilled fighters as a result? If you could transfer fighting ability to others, along with magic, then why didn't he just give the GotG his powers while he went to meditate? It just doesn't make sense. YES, it's a fucking comic book movie. It's not realistic. But there is a limit to how far I can suspend disbelief, and I have a super-high tolerance. This kind of stuff pushes me off the ledge though.
As for the implications of Thor having a daughter...I'm indifferent. I guess it opens the door for the continuation of the Thor storyline, even after Hemsworth is too old to juice. More likely, it sets up a TV series for younger comic fans. I'll let stuff like that play out before overreacting. What I can say with certainty is that this film wasn't what I expected. I came away a little disappointed, but I think I might need to recalibrate my expectations for the MCU going forward. The quality of this phase's films has not been great. I think my expectations should be set accordingly.
