I really enjoyed Ragnarok, and thought it was a great way to lampshade the inherent silliness of an ancient Norse god banging around Earth. That’s something the Dark World struggled with, taking itself too seriously. Plus it was as close to a Planet Hulk movie as we’re likely to get, what with the complicated distribution rights of the Hulk property. It made Thor simultaneously more badass and more mortal. And Jeff Goldblum is always a treat.
I know about the Shuri actor, and I try not to let their personal politics influence how I feel about their work. Obviously, the situation with Jonathan Majors is extremely different, but I try to compartmentalize what the movie did with him, and recognize that he wasn’t the reason Quantumania struggled. Shuri, on the other hand, was not good in Wakanda Forever. She never felt like more than an actress reciting lines. It didn’t help that her story was predictable and her character 1-dimensional. There were simply too many better actresses standing next to her in each scene. Her mother the defiant queen projecting power, Okoye the dauntless warrior stripped of rank, Nakia the isolated widow who still has the skills, Riri taking over as the enthusiastic teen nerdy girl, each of them more badass, it all just crowded out Shuri as a character.
Imagine Shuri wasn’t in the movie. What’s different? Okoye finds Riri, Nakia finds Atlantis, and one of those three could have fought Namor. It would have been a different movie, but not by much.
I really enjoyed Ragnarok, and thought it was a great way to lampshade the inherent silliness of an ancient Norse god banging around Earth. That’s something the Dark World struggled with, taking itself too seriously. Plus it was as close to a Planet Hulk movie as we’re likely to get, what with the complicated distribution rights of the Hulk property. It made Thor simultaneously more badass and more mortal. And Jeff Goldblum is always a treat.
I know about the Shuri actor, and I try not to let their personal politics influence how I feel about their work. Obviously, the situation with Jonathan Majors is extremely different, but I try to compartmentalize what the movie did with him, and recognize that he wasn’t the reason Quantumania struggled. Shuri, on the other hand, was not good in Wakanda Forever. She never felt like more than an actress reciting lines. It didn’t help that her story was predictable and her character 1-dimensional. There were simply too many better actresses standing next to her in each scene. Her mother the defiant queen projecting power, Okoye the dauntless warrior stripped of rank, Nakia the isolated widow who still has the skills, Riri taking over as the enthusiastic teen nerdy girl, each of them more badass, it all just crowded out Shuri as a character.
Imagine Shuri wasn’t in the movie. What’s different? Okoye finds Riri, Nakia finds Atlantis, and one of those three could have fought Namor. It would have been a different movie, but not by much.