FMC 052: Marvel’s Thor Ragnarok Directed by Taika Waititi

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary Marvel's "Thor Ragnarok," exploring its production, performances, visual style, and the creative decisions that shaped its unique tone within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Opening Discussion: Thor Ragnarok Budget & Box Office Success
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary episode 52. Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary, where we give you insights from our favorite filmmaker commentaries. These commentaries can be heard on your DVDs and Blu-rays of your favorite movies. We'll show you how you can use these commentaries and apply them to improve your video production and filmmaking techniques. All of this here on Filmmaker Commentary. I'm your host, Reginald Titus Jr.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome to another episode of Filmmaker Commentary. I'm Reginald Titus Jr. I am joined with.
Casey G. Smith: Casey G. Smith.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome back, sir.
Casey G. Smith: Good to be back, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Today, we are going to cover Marvel's "Thor Ragnarok," 2017, directed by Taika Waititi. And we have a budget of $180 million. Wow. That's a lot of money. But hey, it's on the screen. It's on the screen.
Casey G. Smith: It's yeah. Yeah, oh yeah, in this one, in standard fare for for a blockbuster Marvel.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What's the highest budget for a Marvel film?
Casey G. Smith: Uh probably was in that was uh "Avengers Infinity War." Up until now, "Avengers Infinity War."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Which, uh, It's like a small country's uh budget.
Casey G. Smith: Gross domestic product for.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, for a country.
Casey G. Smith: "Infinity War," $320 million.
Reginald Titus Jr.: $320 million. That's a lot of special effects though, man.
Casey G. Smith: A lot of a lot of actors.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The prices go up. The visual effects prices go up on that one. I wonder how long it took to develop. Because it takes so long just to render some of these visual effects. It's like, well, if you want me to take his hair off, it'll be ready next month. You know what I mean? It's like.
Casey G. Smith: And they're outsourcing to so many, you know, smaller places as they do this.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And another was like a decline, we talked about this before, of there being a decline in the level of certain special effects, you know, not uh being up to par. Uh because they got to make certain cuts and the sustainability of being able to do that. But um uh "Infinity War" doesn't look like cut too much.
Casey G. Smith: I don't I didn't really there was only like a few parts of it, some floating heads, but outside of that, everything else was on point, especially the villain.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh yeah. Thanos was, ah, man.
Casey G. Smith.: They spent their time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That Thanos look that looked like a real person.
Casey G. Smith: He did. He did.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, so we have a budget of $180 million. US and Canada, $315 million. And we have a worldwide of $853.9 million. That is a win.
Casey G. Smith: That is a win. That's a solid solid win for Thor uh and the the Thor franchise, which.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I've seen all of them.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, so have I. This was this was a nice boost in re kind of a a not a reboot for the character, but a nice change of pace.
Reginald Titus Jr.: For sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Before we talk further about Thor, let's talk about news and movies watched.

News & Movies Watched
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right, do we have anything in the news today or this week?
Casey G. Smith: So, a couple of uh just a couple of quick tidbits uh as of the recording of this podcast. "Captain Marvel" uh is coming off its opening weekend at the box office and it came in uh with a a gross within the US and Canada of $153 million. Uh worldwide, $455 million. So, uh yeah, it's kicking butt and taking the names out of the gate for "Captain Marvel."
Reginald Titus Jr.: International is the play.
Casey G. Smith: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Uh also, of course, it being Marvel's first um uh female-led film, uh also with a a male-female director combination of uh Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, director team. Um, yeah, it's it's doing some things. And I'll I'll touch on it on just a a little bit. Uh also in the news, interesting take, uh James Gunn, you know, leaping from uh the Marvel uh Samac Universe, um not by choice. Uh but now uh in the the world of DC is going to be directing "Suicide Squad 2." Well, I'm sorry, "The Suicide Squad." Is a different name.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, what's the difference?
Casey G. Smith: Uh the difference is going to be the the roster. There's there's there's definite changes to the characters. And the "Suicide Squad" is is supposed to be a a revolving door of criminals who are trying to do covert missions to get times off their sentences.
Reginald Titus Jr.: There you go.
Casey G. Smith: Uh and but they're expendable. So, uh originally it was thought that Will Smith would come back and play Deadshot again, Floyd Lawton. But due to uh potential uh scheduling conflicts, it looks like now uh Idris Elba is going to come in and play the role of of Deadshot.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Idris Elba. Just seeing him recently on a music, a rap music video.
Casey G. Smith: Oh yeah, man can do. He can do anything.
Reginald Titus Jr.: He can do it all.
Casey G. Smith: He can do it all. Uh so, yeah, those were a couple of small tidbits of news for the week. So as far as movies watched.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Movies watched.
Casey G. Smith: What have you what have you checked out, Reginald?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, um only had one movie that I watched this week. Um first off, I watched the Master. I don't know if I said this on the last episode. Maybe I cut it out if I did. But uh Masterclass, just recently watched uh Timbaland, the music producer, Timbaland.
Casey G. Smith: I was going to send you a link to see if you had saw that. I just seen it pop up on on Facebook.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Watched it all in one setting.
Casey G. Smith: Holy smokes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Man, that was awesome. He's a great teacher and he he yeah, it was it was entertaining.
Casey G. Smith: The the commercial, the the promo video for it. His energy is like up there. I'm like, man, I'm I want to check this out.
Reginald Titus Jr.: He reminds me of like one of my cousins, like his energy, the way that he he's just like, he's just animated. Like he's living his dream, straight up.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it's like he like he can tell he loves what he does.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That was on the Masterclass. So I listened to uh looked at the Timbaland uh Masterclass. That was great. Uh they're not paying us, so, you know, but if you want to, you know.
Casey G. Smith: Hey, hey.
Reginald Titus Jr.: There you go. Uh but a movie I went to Netflix and watched a documentary called "Behind the Curve." And it's a documentary by Daniel J. Clark, starring Mark Sargent, who is a leader of the Flat Earth Society. So, there's this conspiracy theories that the world is flat. We might have talked about it off air. Um this is.
Casey G. Smith: We have.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, we have. We may or may not. Uh and uh so there's like a growing group of people that believe that the world is flat. And so, like, to the point to where like popular people are starting to say like the world is flat. People like Kyrie Irving and some more people. With this debate and uh this guy just kind of explores uh this whole society that believes this. It's pretty interesting.
Casey G. Smith: Sounds interesting.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I'd give it a six out of ten, you know, could have been better. But hey, it is what it is.
Casey G. Smith: Uh so for myself, um this week I actually saw on uh on HBO, I watched uh "Ocean's Eight."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, the one with Sandra Bullock.
Casey G. Smith: The one with Sandra Bullock and um Kate Blanchett, speaking of of Thor Ragnarok, um performers.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Mhm.
Casey G. Smith: Uh Rihanna, Aquafina, and Hathaway.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Re-Re. Is that water?
Casey G. Smith: Uh but, you know, it was it was it was enjoyable. Uh I I enjoyed it and it's uh you know, kind of classic classic "Ocean's" style of of film. But uh Sandra Bullock, I I would almost always enjoy her her performances. And just I I like a good heist film just seeing the people come together and everybody has their unique skills. That's always just It's fun times. It is. It is. And so, yeah, it was it was just as enjoyable as any of the other "Ocean's" film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Did it have the famous transitions going from like scene to scene? I think it was like a wipe that goes across or.
Casey G. Smith: You know, I do. I I don't think so. I could be wrong. If you've seen it, I I didn't really recall seeing that. I again, I could be wrong. I wasn't looking looking for those transitions. But uh , enjoyed it. It was a fun ride. Uh secondly, I saw this weekend the forementioned Marvel's "Captain Marvel." I guess in this instance, most of the time when you talk about Marvel, you have to say it's "Marvel's Avengers," "Marvel's" whatever. But since, you know, Marvel is in the name, "Captain Marvel," I think that's why "Captain Marvel."
Reginald Titus Jr.: There you go.
Casey G. Smith: Um even though she's not called Captain Marvel because she's a Marvel character. Just a little bit of of of of 411. Uh that's not why she's called Captain Marvel. Um but this was Marvel's first um female-led superhero film. It was it was enjoyable. Uh I it was I enjoyed it more than I expected to based on on the trailers. The trailers had me somewhat excited, but going and seeing the movie with a with a group of my buddies and we all we all enjoyed it. Uh I'm going to go in and watch it again. So, I think it's I think it's an important film. Um and it's it's enjoyable and it fills in some uh some interesting plot devices within the MCU as a whole because it's set in the 90s. So, you'll see some appearances from some uh familiar faces from other MCU movies that you may not have uh known who were who were in this. And well, so, yeah, "Captain Marvel."
Reginald Titus Jr.: "Captain Marvel." I was going to be waiting. I was like, uh I'm I'm waiting to see what everybody else thinks.
Casey G. Smith: And again, some some people have mixed mixed feelings um uh about it. I dug it. It's it's again, it's not my favorite Marvel movie, but it's it's solid. It's a solid Marvel film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Trailers. You shared a trailer with me. "Brightburn."
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. What'd you think?
Reginald Titus Jr.: That film, I'm going to I showed it to my wife and she's like, yes, I'm there.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, yes, mission accomplished.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was like, if you think about it, I was like, an alien that comes from outer space, lands on Earth. They probably won't they might be hostile. You never know.
Casey G. Smith: Well, when you watch the trailer, Right, it's cut just like "Man of Steel."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Dude, they did a side-by-side like comparison. You see the swing set. It's like everything the ramp. The font. That's terrible. Like it's it's like a somebody said it's like he's trolling Zack Snyder.
Casey G. Smith: See, and I don't I honestly don't think so. I think I think it's it's I think it's I think it's genius because you you're taking that mythos. I think Zack Snyder will love this because that he could create something that somebody would want to say, okay, yeah, you've you've created a potential maybe a a potential um strong Superman mythos and and style that we would want to mimic it when we go to say, okay, what if we had a a dark take on the Superman mythos ourselves? But we want to use the kind of the most recent incarnation and and I I, man, I saw the first trailer and the second one dives in a little bit deeper. I love it. I am in. I'm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm so in. I'm sold. Can't wait to check it out. They were doing like the comparisons of like the old truck. Like he has an old truck. They his name has an old truck, swing set, the shot from the sky, the comic the comic going across. I'm like, what's going on here? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I like it though.
Casey G. Smith: But it I mean, it really would be terrifying. Yeah, if you had somebody who had those kinds of abilities and just were not right in the head. Yeah, it's yeah, even towards the end like them, it's like just like flying through the house. Man. Can't wait. I cannot wait.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I'm there. I'm watching that and "Us," the movie "Us" when it drops. Oh, by the way, that got um great response at South by Southwest.
Casey G. Smith: Yes. That's is that next week or is it next month?
Reginald Titus Jr.: It was it was two a couple days ago.
Casey G. Smith: No, I mean, as far as when the movie releases.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, the movie releases.
Casey G. Smith: It's pretty soon. Cuz they showed the trailer at at during "Captain Marvel" they showed another.
Reginald Titus Jr.: March 22nd, is it in my brain? That could be wrong.
Casey G. Smith: It is going to drop on March 22nd. Yes, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, that film I'm going to showing up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Take my money.
Casey G. Smith: Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, that's it for news, movie watch and trailers and let's get back to the show.

Thor Ragnarok: Synopsis, Personal Experience & Performance Analysis
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right, we're here at Filmmaker Commentary, we're talking about Marvel's "Thor Ragnarok," 2017. Let's jump into the synopsis.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that puts him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization. Thor Ragnarok.
Reginald Titus Jr.: How did how were you presented with this film? How did you watch it this time around? Let us know.
Casey G. Smith: All right, so I watched "Thor Ragnarok" in the theaters uh with my crew. I've always got a group of buddies I go to these these films with. Uh watched it and just loved it. Such a a fun, fun movie. Uh when it came out on Netflix, watched it again. And it's one of those films, we've had this conversation, you can just kind of go back to whether you want to watch a a clip or two. It's just it's just it's just it's a fun movie. This is it's one of those films when you when you walk away from seeing the theater, you say, this is why we go to the movies. Like to me, it it it encompasses all those things and uh it took Thor, who again, I'm I'm the first Thor movie, I'm not a huge fan of. A lot of people don't like the second one. I I really did like the second one. I liked "Thor Dark World." I liked what they did there. I thought it explored Asgard in a very fascinating way. But "Thor Ragnarok," love it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Takes it. Yeah. Absolutely.
Casey G. Smith: Absolutely love what what Taika was able to do with this film. Uh and and even you know, everybody was just kind of ready for Thor to be refreshed. This did it. And then how they carried some of that over into "Avengers Infinity War." And speaking of "Infinity War," which is when that film was on the rise, people wanted to be cautious of spoilers. So, I just want to let you know, here at Filmmaker Commentary, there will be spoilers. You have been forewarned.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes.
Casey G. Smith: Reginald, how were you introduced to "Thor Ragnarok?"
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, when this one dropped, I saw the trailer. And I'm easily sold or easily strayed by trailers. And when this one dropped, the trailer dropped, I was like, I'm there. Anything with the Hulk in it. It was kind of weird because like the colors were changed and it was like bright. I was like, uh, I don't know, but I'm going to watch it because the Hulk's in it.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So. So I went with my son and we were blown away. And he was still riding off the uh high of um the Spider-Man film earlier.
Casey G. Smith: Homecoming.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, so he was still like, uh Homecoming's the best. But I was like, let's go watch this film. So we went and watched it and we we really enjoyed it. And then once it dropped on Netflix, I just find myself going back to this film just rewatching certain segments of it. Yeah, really it just seemed like the the actors were just enjoying themselves, having a good time.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it really it really does. The chemistry is there all all all around. Tessa Thompson, her in the mix, she just she does a fantastic job job as Valkyrie.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: And and her her chemistry with with Chris Hemsworth. You know, obviously Chris Hemsworth, uh and Tom Hiddleston, the Thor and Loki, you know, sibling rivalry. Uh but Thor and Hulk, um you know, Chris Hemsworth along with Mark Ruffalo. Like their chemistry with each other. I mean, these are these are.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, like your friends that you come back to see.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, these are amazing actors at the end of the day, who who can deliver lines, who can, you know, at times do their own stunts, who can ad-lib, which Taika talks about in the commentary as well.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And it was it's cool to see them uh find their character. You know, sometimes in one film, you don't get another crack at it because sometimes there's an actor that'll be like, man, I wish I could go back and, you know, find that character's voice. But it seems like this time around, it's like, man, he's really knows the voice of Thor now.
Casey G. Smith: Well, I mean, they they they changed the voice of Thor to a degree. And that's the beauty of, you know, what the MCU has been able to do as far as having this this long story that's being told as so you got the context of the of the cinematic universe, but you also then have the backdrop and the lineage of the comic books to to pick and choose from what you want to take. Because "Thor Ragnarok" as a story is a combination of.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Like several stories in it.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, some stories from the from the 80s with introducing Surtur and the actual concept of Ragnarok. Uh then it's also taking some strong elements from Planet Hulk, which is one of the most popular incredible Hulk storylines. And it was perfect to put Hulk on Sakar and get that gladiatorial Hulk and a Hulk that now speaks, which gave Mark Ruffalo just another level to take the Hulk.
Reginald Titus Jr.: He had a blast doing it. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, man. This is my favorite incarnation of Hulk. I love him being able to talk and be just like a a kid, but still surprise you a little bit with some of the words he uses in his in his vocabulary. But it was just it was so fun, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hulk like fire.
Casey G. Smith: Thor like like like like small fire, smoldering fire. Hulk like real fire, raging fire.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's going back and forth with him, you know.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, man. Like when when they're when they really get into the argument and and they're throwing stuff at each other and and throwing like, are you crazy? Hulk like, yes. And then when Thor when Thor tells him that, no one on Earth likes you. And then and you see Hulk stop. Like the the motion capture, he stops and he kind of lowers the the. And he and he turns and he's like, and he kind of just does this little jerk with his, you know, it just like just like pouting like a little kid. And then when they sit down next to each other, Thor feels bad. He's like, I I, you know, I didn't mean that. And then Hulk's like, nope. Nope. Like unconsolable.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I remember that. I remember in the theater like people were dying on that part. They were dying.
Casey G. Smith: It was lovely. It it it it was a beautiful like their relationship, you know, which you know is complicated from the very first Avengers from the first time they beaten up the Chitauri aliens. And the Hulk just delivers the the cheap shot. Yeah. What a fun film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Usually I purchase these films, but dear God, it's still expensive. I usually hit up a movie trading company like, you know, I'm a collector of Blu-rays. So I'm usually buying the Blu-ray or whatever. He's like, $19.99. I'm like, what? He said, yeah, Marvel, they don't they don't come down on their prices, even the used ones. I'm like, dear God, they're making money.
Casey G. Smith: They know and I I have to admit, with this one, you know, I I borrowed it from my buddy who who gets most of these. But this one from a special features standpoint, this is packed with a nice amount of of of features. I I went through and I I watched, I went through and watched them all. Uh cuz they weren't super, super long and uh they just touch on enough of of of of each, you know, different characters and and different things they were trying to do. But yeah, this is a this is a a solid Blu-ray release.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Favorite scene. Do you have any favorite scenes?
Casey G. Smith: I have several favorite scenes. We can go back and forth.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Do I have a favorite scene? I'll let I'll let you go. I'm I'm thinking. I didn't, you know, I didn't write down a favorite scene.
Casey G. Smith: That's very honest of you. I appreciate it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right.
Casey G. Smith: So, I've got several. So, um, one of the first ones I put down was Thor's hammer being destroyed by Hela when they first meet her. I mean, they show it in the in the trailer. Interestingly enough, in the trailers, when they show her destroyed, it's in a it's and she's in a different place, like in a back alley somewhere. Uh cuz they had to they had to reshoot some scenes cuz even with Odin, originally Odin was supposed to be like kind of lost wandering the streets, but they actually went back and did reshoots. So when we see him on those fertile plains and that's where Hela then manifests, it's totally different from where they're at in the trailers. In the trailers, they're on they're in like New York and there's it's in the backdrop of a brick wall when she destroys Mjolnir. Uh but that's just so powerful to see, you know, Thor's hammer shattered and his relationship there. And it's it's really foreboding for like the rest of the film. So I think that's super powerful. Uh I also just put uh, you know, Thor just meeting the Grandmaster, you know, him going, you know, in that chair strapped down and they're taking him through this, you know, automated, you know, you know, welcome to Sakar, you know. Uh, you're about to meet the Grandmaster. He is the first lost and the first found. Um, and at the same time, you hear, you know, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you know, uh, uh, whoa, what if you're imagination? You know, that's playing. It's like, what is going on?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Like, I've seen this scene before. You know what? I agree with you. That's one of my favorite scenes as well. Even though I didn't write it down, that's one of my favorite scenes.
Casey G. Smith: And just watching the the the panic build on Thor's face as he gets closer and he's like, yeah, and all of a sudden he's just, boom, he's just there in the spot. Uh they do some nice camera uh some cuts, some nice cuts uh in this film. And just just Jeff Goldblum. Yeah. I mean, he's he's full-on Goldblum.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I agree. That whole sequence. I that's what I go to. That leading up to his fight to Hulk. That whole sequence, that's a a film right there.
Casey G. Smith: It's lovely, man. And just letting the the actors deliver the lines and and, you know, Thor trying to muster up some of the some some of his power and just like, and Goldblum's like, no sparkles? No, sparkle fingers. You know, it's just he's just, uh, um, there's that. And there's, okay, and speaking of of Goldblum, there's in the same in the same sequence, once Valkyrie goes and she's going to get her money from uh from the Grandmaster. And after he gives it to her, she does this real simple thing where she kind of she touches his cheek and he's he's in mid he's in mid-line. And he he stops and reacts to it with just such like, you know, like.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: I, that that's what my that that might be my favorite scene in the movie. Just that that reaction from him is so endearing. That's Goldblum's reaction when she touches his cheek and he stops and he gets this little smile. I'm like, I don't know, I love that, man. I absolutely love that reaction. Uh obviously leading up to again, like you said, the Hulk and Thor fight in the Coliseum. Cause people always want to know, hey, who's who's the best? And they're just going at it, you know, in the, um, yeah, the friend from work line and all that, which we'll get into how that came about.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'll jump in. Um the scene uh with the Valkyrie doing the flashback. I don't know why. They take that next. See, I didn't understand why I liked it so much. And then after, you know, the director, Taika, Taika. Got it. Um after he explained how they did that shot, I was like, okay, that's why I like the the shot so much.
Casey G. Smith: All the lights going off within a super short period of time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, so it's her, she's everybody's like falling back in super slow motion. So they shot that in high speed. And you see the whole story um of what like her tragic, you know, end to their um troop, their army. Valkyrie and just like it's so beautifully shot. You know, I was like, man, how do they do that? And um it's one of my favorite scenes.
Casey G. Smith: It's it's like a paint it looks like a painting come to life. Yeah. The way they pulled it off, it's it is it's breathtaking. It's absolutely breathtaking. That that was literally going to be my my next one. And then last one I put is the uh, oh, that's going to be one more after this. I just thought of. But the the get help. When they're in the elevator and then let's do get help.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that one that went well. That played well in the theater. People died. I don't want to play get help.
Casey G. Smith: And to see them to see them those two actually work together. The fact that they the fact that it also gives instant insight to history that they have worked together before. That they weren't always at each other's throats. They have a they have a complicated sibling history, which I'm I'm sure most siblings can can relate without death threats, of course, but that is just it's complicated. But they've worked together. They've gotten up to shenanigans. And the fact that they can reconnect at that level and make it work.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And when uh Thor gets together with um uh David Banner and Valkyrie. And they're talking, hey, he always tried to try to kill me when I was little. And like he's telling them all the stories. They're kind of they're giving him the disapproving looks over their shoulder.
Casey G. Smith: And when Thor tells that story, he's saying it real quick like a kid, like a child in a very childlike kind of way. And then this and then this, and then this. I'm like, he's ramping up and kind of just taking him back.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Right. He just smirks when he does his brother's smirks.
Casey G. Smith: I love the the the delivery of that. Uh, I like those were good times. Yeah. When I tried to kill you. Man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: One of my other favorite scenes is with with Bruce Banner when he's on the ship with Valkyrie and they're they're they're in Asgard. He's like, everything's going to be okay. He's like, I'm going to show you who I really am. She's like, what are you talking about? And you you have the the extended shot of Heimdall and the people. And you have the wolf in the in the background, you know, charging, charging towards the Asgardians. And then you see Banner coming to frame falling just and then just dead. Looks dead. Hits the ground. Close up, just his face distorted. Not moving. And the wolf even comes up to him and like sniffs him. I think he did die. I think he did die. But the Hulk does not die easy. And literally like he's still hulked out and just came back to life. Cause that wolf checked him out like, ain't nothing going on here. Just keep moving. All of a sudden.
Casey G. Smith: He looked dead. Got him by the tail. Oh, that bounce though. Oh, man. When I first saw that, I was like, that gun. Bruce. Woo. Yeah. That's beautiful.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh. Fun movie.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. See.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Fun, fun movie.
Casey G. Smith: Just makes you smile just even just talking about it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh any more favorite scenes?
Casey G. Smith: I think that's enough.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I think so. I like the whole movie. The movie was good. Yes.

Trivia, Quotes, Themes, & The Look of the Film
Reginald Titus Jr.: Trivia. I only put down one thing for trivia and uh of course, our friend Zoë Bell did the stunts for Kate Blanchett. So, how about that?
Casey G. Smith: How about that? Uh I had a couple of uh trivia. Uh through this commentary, Taika is I mean, he's he's he's got such a sense of humor and a quick wit. Man, he's so fast. Um, but he mentioned a couple of things where he mentioned that with the motion capture, he did the motion capture for Surtur. And also for uh Korg. Uh who he plays, he also does a voice over for Korg as well. But Clancy Brown, one of my favorite voice actors. And and he's actor as well. Clancy Brown uh was the voice of Surtur. Clancy Brown uh, you know, he was in the uh season one of the of the Punisher on Netflix, uh also the uh his fantastic voice of Lex Luthor on the old Justice League series. Just, I mean, amazing, amazing talent.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Legendary.
Casey G. Smith: Uh yeah. Amazing talent. Clancy Brown. And just also from uh Highlander fame as well. The first Highlander, he was the main bad guy, which I I went back and watched that. I was like, wow, look at young Clancy Brown. He was Diesel back then. Um the shake weight that's used.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's always a good cutaway when they cut away to that team like, really?
Casey G. Smith: The shake weight that uh Karl Urban's character uses is actually uh Taika's. Uh I forgot how he said he, oh, he got it from the set of "Green Lantern." He said a little DC Marvel crossover there for you. Um and then also, when you see the play, when when Thor returns to Asgard and he sees the play, you have Matt Damon, of course, playing as Loki, which I I recognized in the theater. I called. I was like, that that's Matt Damon. Yeah. And.
Reginald Titus Jr.: They're just having a blast. Too much fun.
Casey G. Smith: But it's Luke Hemsworth, one of Thor's brothers, one of the Hemsworth brothers playing him as Thor.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I resemble him a little bit.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, I I didn't I didn't I didn't know that initially. And then uh one interesting fact that you noted was that uh come back to Jeff Goldblum as the as the Grandmaster. So in the comic books, the Grandmaster is is blue-skinned. And Marvel has been very good about making characters kind of the colors that they are in the comic books. But in this instance, they chose not to make him blue because they didn't want to potentially confuse fans that think that he was reprising his role from the old 80s movies with uh with him and Geena Davis and um one of the Wayans brothers. Uh uh and Jim Carrey, matter of fact. Jim Carrey, Jeff Goldblum, and um Damon Wayans in uh "Earth Girls Are Are Easy."
Reginald Titus Jr.: That didn't watch that one.
Casey G. Smith: I I watched that, I think in college. Um.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Was it any good?
Casey G. Smith: It was it was an 80s movie. It was it was okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well, there's some 80s movies I actually like.
Casey G. Smith: Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's not Dragon. Check it out.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. There's a lot of good 80s movies. This one is is it's so-so. It's a so-so movie. Uh let's put it there. Yeah, it's a so-so. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to I didn't mean to diminish the 80s. I love the 80s. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, okay. For the record. I love the 80s.
Casey G. Smith: Um it was it was so-so, but he was he was he was blue. Um so at least in part of that part of that. So they took that into account. So I thought that was fascinating. So that's why it's put some blue highlights like on his face here and there and his fingernails and toenails were blue. So they kind of just hinted towards it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It worked. But I I would have never known, you know, like me, you know, not knowing too much of the background of the comics. But just seeing him was like, it worked.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Yeah, it did. It did.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Did it make anybody angry though? Cause I know sometimes people that are married to the.
Casey G. Smith: Source material.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, man, they can they can be a little upset. Do they care?
Casey G. Smith: I'm sure there I'm sure there were some, but he was so charming. He was so good. And I think here's how you offset that. The amount of love that is showed in this movie in homage to Jack Kirby. Uh for those who are not familiar with Jack Kirby, you know, Stan Lee was the writer of a lot of Marvel comics. Jack Kirby was the artist, right? On any book, you got to have both. Sometimes the same person, sometimes one or the other. But Jack Kirby, Jack the King Kirby influenced the the Marvel style and was known for drawing characters in such powerful ways and but also bold and bright colors. There are literally scenes in this film where the backdrop, uh there's a backdrop in Sakar that's literally out of a literally out of a uh Jack Kirby panel. That they just took and replicated. But all the colors and designs of the guards around him. All Kirby, baby.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well done.
Casey G. Smith: So, you can offset that and say, okay, you give this much love to Kirby. We can we can we can we'll let that slide.
Reginald Titus Jr.: We'll let that slide.
Casey G. Smith: We can we can give on Goldblum not being so blue.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Don't want to make this community upset.
Casey G. Smith: Rage.
Reginald Titus Jr.: About to. About to type today on the internet.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right. Um is that uh it for trivia?
Casey G. Smith: That's all I got, brother.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, quotes. I got a couple of those.
Casey G. Smith: Shoot.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Valkyrie goes to Thor after, you know, she makes her deal with Jeff Goldblum's character, the Grandmaster, and then Thor's like, you'll pay for this? No, I'm getting paid for this. And then walks away.
Casey G. Smith: I have um one, it's super simple. It's right after she uh after Hela destroys Thor's hammer and he says, that's not possible. And she says, you have no idea what is possible. Like it's such a simple but strong line indicating just how powerful she is and she's not even back on Asgard yet. But also foreshadowing to him not even knowing his full potential and that he did need Mjolnir to to reach it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And you you talked about this earlier, but hey, sparkles. If you want to get to Asgard or ass place. He's like, Asgard. He's like correct. Disrespecting my home like that. Right.
Casey G. Smith: Um when Thor awakens from his uh being knocked out by the Hulk and and and the Hulk is is is coming out of the he said, oh, it's a Hulk in a hot tub. That line just slays me, man. That line just says, it's a Hulk in a hot tub.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um when uh Loki, when they go back to Earth and they they see Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange opened up the portal to let uh Loki in and he hits the ground. He's, I was falling for 30 minutes. He nails it. I was like, that's like cut. You did it.
Casey G. Smith: Yes. And then of course, when uh in the arena with the Hulk, as they get ready to battle, I know him. He's a friend from work. Oh, man. When they put that in the trailer, I was like, yes. He's so excited like a child when he looks back at the camera.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Exciting.
Casey G. Smith: Absolutely. And this in this this strange place to come across again, what you would figure to be one of your most powerful allies just come busting in. Interesting enough, actually a little trivia about that line, um Taika shared in the commentary that Hemsworth got that from a a kind of a a organization that's similar to Make-A-Wish. Uh but it was a kid that he was hanging out with and and who actually told him that, yeah, you should you should say in that during that scene, you should say, he's a friend from work. And Hemsworth used it and it was it was gold. So, kudos to that kid.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, indeed. And one of the last quotes I have is um what's the ship that there? Is it the Commander, Commander, or what's the the little U-shaped uh ship that they're flying around on?
Casey G. Smith: Oh, you got me on that one. I can't.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's the orange looking one. Uh but anyhow, Thor is flying it, but he handed it over to David Banner so he can go help Valkyrie. Bruce Banner. What did I say? David Banner?
Casey G. Smith: Bruce Banner. Which is fine. If you go into the old uh 70s TV show, he was called David Banner. They switched it up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Interesting. Bruce Banner. In this film. Uh so he lets, you know, Bruce Banner uh take over the flight over the spaceship so he can go help Valkyrie. And then he uh Bruce Banner says, I don't know how to fly this. And then Thor's like, well, you're a scientist. You use one of your PhDs. And then he goes.
Casey G. Smith: He did he say like he doesn't have a degree for that or something like that?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I don't have a degree for that.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, man. And there I mean, there there are there are far more quotes like within this film. There's just so there's so much. The the the dialogue and the amount of ad-libbing that Taika just let these actors do. They I'm all for it. They enjoyed it. Yeah. They they knew their characters and they were just able to go with it. The whole the whole thing with Doctor Strange when they when they when him and Doctor Strange are in the Sanctum Sanctorum. I I I dig that scene, man. That that whole scene just that whole interaction and and the the the cuts and then Taika talks a lot about the practicality behind that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Themes. Um off top, I would like to say um fam dealing with family and try to bring family back together and get your lineage the story right. Um that's one that pops in my head off top.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, this, you know, being part of uh Marvel's Phase 3, Marvel's Phase 3, there is a there is a a running reoccurring theme of what I call uh sins of the father. Yeah. Uh we we we see it in Ragnarok. We would would see it later on in "Black Panther." Uh I think even Civil War, even though Captain America is not a father, he is a he's a uh a a patriarch patriarchal patriarchal figure. Um, you know, there are secrets with, you know, with with the Winter Soldier and and all of that. But like it's like these these dark secrets that that get uncovered in in in this particular phase of the of the of the MCU. I obviously with Thor and and and Odin and Hela. Um, also I think again, with with this is a kind of the essence of Ragnarok is is starting over once things have come to an end. Uh because within the lore of Ragnarok, what what what has happened because Ragnarok has come Ragnarok has come multiple times in the comic books where Asgard ultimately does get destroyed and then it it it gets it gets reborn, uh reborn again. And and Thor goes through kind of, you know, being being reborn, being remade and and being torn down and but also figuring out how to move forward and become a king to his people. No longer the prince or the God of or just the God of Thunder. Now he is the king of of Asgard and figuring out where that needs to be.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Spoiler alert for "Infinity War," fast forward 20 30 seconds. Is it like a few minutes later when this, you know, everybody all the Asgardians they get on the spaceship. Is this like a few minutes later when what's his name shows up?
Casey G. Smith: I think so. Because you have yeah, because you cuz I think specifically because you only talk about what Korg says about having carried around Meik all day after the battle. So, yeah, it's like immediate because then I guess the credits do start and then and then we see them there and then Thanos's ship appear. I assume that's well, you know what, maybe not because there there is something to be said for when the when the attack is happening that Valkyrie is not there. The Russo brothers said Valkyrie wasn't there. That that she had either escaped with some people or maybe they were on a mission. So I don't know how much time specifically had passed. It could be weeks, it could be months, could be days.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. But enough for her not to be there.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. And again, she might have escaped. I forget what the Russo brothers said, but she either got away or wasn't there when when the the attack happened. Wow. And I say there's a theme of powerful women um within this within this film because Valkyrie is significant. You know, even when she's sparring with Hulk, um.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, she's going to trip the Hulk over real quick.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, like it's no big deal. Hey, big guy, boom, boom, boom. I'm like, that's that's no big thing happen, you know? She's very powerful, which is awesome. And obviously Hella, Hela is unstoppable unless unless you literally destroy.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Goddess of death.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, unless you literally destroy Asgard. And she's only and she only is growing more and more powerful. Thor hits her with his best shot. Realizing his maximum potential. Yeah. Um physically, he realized that no, he has to mentally shift uh in order to to win and out out with her by sacrificing, you know, using the eternal flame. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, what'd you think about? Did you have anything on on the look of the film?
Casey G. Smith: Style. Oh, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, thanks for bringing that stuff up, man.
Casey G. Smith: No worries, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, the look of the film, it felt a little bit more practical, even though they're still using a lot of visual effects. I mean, there's no way around it. Yeah. They're still using a lot of effects. But his approach did film did feel a little bit more indie in his approach to certain sequences. And uh it was colorful. , colorful. The use of uh the costume design and choices in color. That's what really stood out in this film for me.
Casey G. Smith: And there's there's uh there's a retro 80s feel to it with the when you get to Sakar, the sound of the synthesizers. And even in the trailers, when when the way the Ragnarok logo has has a has an eight-bit video game feel to it. An NES video game feel to it when you when you when you see it. It's true. Uh but, yeah, the look of this film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's probably why I like that little sequence so much, you know, when he goes to that Sakar and just hangs out there for a while. I'm like, this is where I belong, people.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. And it's just yeah, um, and and Taika talks about maybe maybe it happens there. I think it may happen a little bit later on. But he talks about a scene he says it's like his favorite scene in the film and it's just of it's it might be when Thor is maybe asking Tessa asking Valkyrie to help.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, that's on their way when they're in the hallway. The hallway's green and they're going to her place and she shows that she's got Loki tied up.
Casey G. Smith: That's right.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And they're just looking at the camera.
Casey G. Smith: Yes. And she's just yeah, and it's just it's straightforward but they're just delivering and even when there's dialogue, it's it's it's fascinating. It's interesting. It's it's in it's engaging. Uh Tessa Thompson's accent that she uses in the film, you know, she's an American actress, but uh she's using this as an Asgardian kind of English, you know, a little twinge of of of of an English accent that she throws in and she's just she's just owns it. Um, again, Taika mentioned specifically, you know, that during the the the scenes because the the Doctor Strange scenes were the first things that they shot like almost like seven or eight months before the main principal photography on Ragnarok. Um, they shot those things and it's just a lot a lot of just practical stuff going on. A lot of the effects when when they're teleporting, it's just the the cuts and the cuts the camera reacting, which and it works. Uh, one one particular look and thing that he mentioned, and when I mentioned the Hulk and the hot tub line, literally when the Hulk is in the hot tub, the lighting that's on him, uh, Taika mentioned that he he looks like General Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Uh the way the shadow was on him, I'm like.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, he was right. We know about that. Instant throwback. Yeah, just two episodes prior. That was that was a nice. I I again, I would not have known what he was talking about, you know, a month ago. Right. I didn't didn't have the reference. Hadn't seen the film.
Casey G. Smith: We're adding to our our you know, our brain archive. That's right. That's right. I got that reference. That happened in the first episode. I understood that reference. I got that reference. Lying monkeys. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I got that reference.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. But that's all I had for for the the the look of the film.

Filmmaking Tips & Final Thoughts
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. You filmmakers out there, we have some tips for you. There were a little bit here to uh take away from the commentary. The film of the commentary uh was joyous. He introduced himself. Uh it seems he like he was having a good time. Felt like he was at home. He had his kids like shows up and talks. He I think he was in the studio and his kid was just there. Yeah, there his daughter his two-year-old daughter was was there, which that was that was that was that was that was pretty cute.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Yeah, his daughter, his two-year-old daughter was was there, which that was that was that was that was that was pretty cute.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That was cute, you know, she's like commentating the part when the when the Hulk and Thor fighting. She's like, oh no. Good stuff. Captain was pretty good for a two-year-old.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Hulk smash. She's got pretty good vocabulary for a two-year-old.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Those girls are ahead of you know. The boys. Forget about it.
Casey G. Smith: Head of the boys.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was like, wow, she's got pretty good vocabulary.
Casey G. Smith: She's a girl, bro.
Reginald Titus Jr.: We'll catch up later. So, if you're, you know, filmmaker, producer, here's a couple, you know, tips to help you out on your filmmaking journey. Um one is, you know, you can in this film, Taika, he used in camera tricks. You know, even though it's a big budget film, he didn't rely heavily all the time on using visual effects to be able to tell something of the story. So, um like the shot you were just talking about of uh Tessa looking directly at the camera. It really is just them looking at the camera being locked down and just cutting between the two. And them just doing their dialogue. Doesn't get any more simpler than that. Um, that and then also when um Thor was in Doctor Strange's layer and to sell the effect of him transporting to another room in this mansion. His hair is blowing, so, you know, you can do that with a shot of air. And then him using his body to react or knock a shelf down or knock a book down.
Casey G. Smith: Acting.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Or acting, people. Let your actors act. Or moving like the the beer in the glass while he's moving or just dropping out and stuff. So, well done.
Casey G. Smith: And then adding in this adding in the sound, you know, adding in the the the Foley after the fact to give that that that extra oomph and then, bam, now you're visually telling the story, but just cutting. So, yeah, that that was that was my first one. I also had, you know, uh when you mentioned, you know, Zoë Bell, um handling the stunts for uh Kate Blanchett as Hela that uh, you know, it pays to have a good good stunt double. You know, through having having a good stunt double. You know, making sure your actors are are prepared as best as you can. Um, but having good stunt doubles and just planning for it, you know, and having his his second unit director who handled a lot of the stunts, um because again, with a lot of these a lot of these Marvel films, a lot of these directors, this is the first time they've worked with, you know, budgets this big. Marvel Marvel is is is is is famed for taking directors who have done more indie related things, whether it's, you know, Jon Favreau with the first Iron Man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well done, by the way.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, whether it's the Russo brothers coming on to for Captain America Civil War. Uh, whether whether it's Taika, uh, coming on to do Thor Ragnarok. It's it's just consistent. They or or Coogler with Black Panther. Um, you know, they they they bring them on and and say, look, we'll support you. You just, you know, tell a good story and and be a good a good leader. And the system is set up and the system it works. So, yeah, have have some good stunt people and just good people around you. There's a shot where um Loki, Valkyrie, they're coming to meet the Grandmaster after the Hulk has escaped. And the shot shows them where they're walking towards the camera. And then the camera goes up, birds eye view, comes back around them from the angle of the floor. And then the floor has a reflection showing the Grandmaster. I've never seen a shot like that before. They Taika said that this guy put that together called the greatest shot in cinematic history.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Yeah. I watched I watched both of them. Yeah. I watched both of them. I was like, this is effective just having a little a little uh letter of the character's first name represent that that character and where they're going to be. It's like drawing up a a game plan, you know, for a play in in in in sports. But yeah, it was simple but but very effective.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I almost will agree with that. I've never seen that. Um, but that was a storyboard artist that came up with that shot. So, hey guys, storyboard and you never know what you'll come up with. And it's gorgeous. I can't wait to duplicate it in the future.
Casey G. Smith: That's true. That's true. Uh I also mentioned uh for filmmakers, don't be afraid to reinvent a character uh and to allow them to ad-lib. And that's really what they did with Thor's character in this, you know, Hemsworth was, you know, probably get a little a little bit bored. Uh and in previous versions of Thor, they tried to they kind of had a little bit of a Shakespearean uh aspect to it. But then this just stripped it down. It said, let's have fun. And let's let's understand that Thor's has been has been on Earth for a number of years. Mhm. Picked up, you know, sarcasm from maybe hanging out with Tony Stark and let that influence how he would talk and communicate. And even his dialogue coach had him dial back his the accent that he was using in previous films as Thor. Uh I thought that was great. And then, of course, Taika just allowing these actors to to ad-lib. Once they found their voice of their character, just being able to ad-lib and riff and and let that go and let that be. So, don't be afraid to reinvent a character, especially if you have them in an ongoing series. Uh and uh, you know, let the ad-lib flow, um, you know, as as time and budget permits.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Agreed. Um the shot that I said that's one of my favorites uh was a Valkyrie. It's basically like the bullet time of the Matrix, you know, back in the day, they had hundreds of cameras uh looping around Keanu Reeves. And so, um Taika's friends developed a new way to shoot without having so many of those cameras around, but basically having a a whole bunch of lights that flash, hundreds of lights flashing at different variations over a few seconds. And using high-speed cameras to catch the slow motion effect. And doing this all at the same time. It just uh, brilliant shot. I've never seen that. And uh.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. There we go. There we go. Uh I also mentioned just, you know, using local talent. Taika mentions, you know, the majority of this film was shot in Australia. Um, they had a couple of other locations, but mainly in Australia. And uh Taika had local Aborigine talent help out with uh a lot of the different designs, especially in Sakar during the the Hulk parades that were happening with all the paper mâché heads of the Hulk, all that kind of stuff. It was local talent that created that. And that even uh transitioned and turned into some actual uh local talent being uh being hired and finding and finding some solid jobs from it. So, yeah, smart. Use that local talent.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Smart. Use that local talent.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Use animatics to storyboard an action sequence. So, if you look in the special features of this film, uh there's two eight-bit sequences that look like an old video game. And in it's a a sequence of the bridge the whole bridge battle. And and you it's it's extremely um elementary the way that it looks. Simple, yeah, super it's simple. But, you know, they're using these little almost like a little cheap video game to illustrate how the battle plays out. Using a little bit of voice over while they're moving their pieces around. I was like, man, this this works. This this is cool.
Casey G. Smith: It was very effective. I I watched I watched both of them. Yeah, I watched both of them. I was like, it's effective just having a little a little uh letter of the character's first name represent that that character and where you're going to be. It's like drawing up a a game plan, you know, for a play in in in in sports. But yeah, it was simple but but very effective.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And you can shoot probably like you use a numb instead of, you know, you may not have the budget to do a video game version of that, but you know, maybe have some characters, maybe some some figurines and place them out, you know, on a board or something like that and and choreograph your your fight sequence in that way, maybe.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Uh also, um a tip I had was that um that sometimes you can do if you have the budget, you could do lighting in post-production. And Taika mentions that there are quite a few scenes where there's additional lighting being added in in post-production to to make different things work and and pop accordingly.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And if you have a film where you have more than one strong character, keep one of your strongest character, find a way to keep them busy. That was exactly my last one. Yeah, okay. That was my last one, too. Keep them busy because, you know, we had the Hulk in here who could pretty much beat up everybody. But uh they had to keep him busy with the wolf. So, and then, you know, Thor and uh Hela, Helena, Hela, Hela. Uh, where they can get busy kind of fighting and doing their thing. You know, then he comes back later once the big, what's the guy? The the hell guy with the flame. Surtur. Surtur. When he he's resurrected and and he's strong. Um then then, you know, um Hulk comes back. So, you know, find a way to keep some of your stronger characters busy so that your heroes of the story can be heroic.
Casey G. Smith: Speaking of that that scene, I just I loved how when the Hulk came back on the scene, you have Thor and Valkyrie in the foreground talking. They're kind of like, you know, all right, you know, he's going to do his thing. And then you see Hulk in the background. You see him looking up and then just coming for and then boom, just jumping. And you're like, oh, no. And he's there just laying in shots on his head. Yeah. You got a good look there. You got a good look there. And Thor's like, for once in your life, Hulk, don't smash. They're and then Valkyrie's like, come on, you know, they're trying to, you know, get him. He's like, but big big bad guy, you know, like monster. Yeah, he's ready to he's ready to go. But I just, man, just love it, man. Loved it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Also, lay eggs early so they can hatch later. Um talking about at the very beginning of the film, we see how uh Thor gets that skull and how the eternal flame works. And then later on, it pays off once, you know, you use the eternal flame to bring the skull and how uh Helena, Hela was able to resurrect her armies and the eternal flame.
Casey G. Smith: Right, and you can see that Taika specifically points out that when when uh Thor defeats Surtur the first time, his essence and everything sucks into the skull. You know, it doesn't just dissipate and disappear. It it goes into the skull. So, yeah, that eternal flame just sparks it and brings it all back.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's all I have for today.
Casey G. Smith: Hey, you know, I think that, you know, this this film has an energy to it. Yeah. And it even I think translates even I think with what we did today, like it's like you just you you feel like he's excited. You feel like this frenetic. You're like, yeah, you know, you feel good. Yeah, this is a fantastic film. Um, if you haven't seen anything else by Taika Waititi, he has a a film called what we do in the Shadows or what we do in the Dark. I I I'm terrible. Let me let me get this right. Is he doing any more Marvel stuff?
Reginald Titus Jr.: What we do in the Shadows.
Casey G. Smith: That is that's in question because there are a lot of people who are wondering if he was going to uh um do James do do Guardians of the Galaxy 3. But he was like, no, that's like he said that that's like going to uh the house of your of your of your your friend who has, you know, a wife and kids and and coming home and saying like, I'm your new dad, you know, it's too weird. It's too weird. I think that was his quote. He was like, nah. Wow. But he has a movie he did called uh What We Do in the Shadows that is it was it was on Amazon Prime, but it's it's a it's a vampire movie, but like with a comedy. It's a mocumentary style. Um, with three vampires living together and it's It's good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah.
Casey G. Smith: It's pretty it's pretty nuts. It's crazy, quirky humor uh what you would expect from Taika. But um, but yeah, if you're looking if you're looking for something else by him, that's that's one of his.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. All right, I would definitely recommend this film. It feels like, you know, they were it's always about money, for sure. But it didn't feel like a money grab.
Casey G. Smith: Ain't nothing wrong with uh making it fun and getting paid while you do it. There you go. This was much much much needed great direction for Thor. It makes me, so here's an interesting thing. So, you know, Hemsworth, his his contract is is coming up with Marvel as as is uh Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. So there's a lot of speculation that they're not going to continue after "Avengers Endgame." Right. But when you watch some of the behind the scenes on this, you know, this reinvigoration of the character, Hemsworth says that, you know, I'd I'd play this, you know, be this character for as long as they want me to, for as long as, you know, continue to keep it, make it fun and make it fresh. So, I don't know. It's been fascinating to see for those who have been in the MCU, which one have been able to have hits outside of, you know, the character that they play. Hemsworth is has tried a couple of films, but like there's nothing been that's been a super breakout for him. Uh, he was fantastic in the movie "Rush." He really was. Oh, man, he was so good in that. Um, he, you know, he's he's in the upcoming uh Men in Black, uh International, uh alongside Tessa Thompson, that chemistry rekindled. Uh, he's doing something else that's supposed to be, uh, I can't remember what it is. But we'll see, you know, we'll see if this is his last run and and what what is.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Play Thor until it's no more. Do it as long as you can. That's what I'd say. Yeah. I'm not too many characters where you can just, you know, make a living doing that. Same character for that long. You don't get that opportunity that often.
Casey G. Smith: Agreed. Um, next time we are going to be watching Captain America, The Winter Soldier, with commentary by Joe and Anthony Russo.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And why are we doing a bunch of Marvel movies this go around? We're doing it for like a few weeks, right?
Casey G. Smith: Right, it's just, uh, you know, we're we're marching on Marvel this month. So for the month of March, we decided to to make, uh, make it about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and of course, in April, we will get the, well, potentially the culmination of this big, amazingly successful experimentation of the MCU. Uh close to 20-some films that have a ongoing, interconnected story. We've been investing since the first Iron Man in back in what, 2007. Uh, so yeah, cinematic history has been happening over this decade. And uh, Avengers Endgame is probably going to prove to be the again, the the culmination of of all this. So, uh, yeah, so we're giving um, giving some credence to some of these films that uh, yeah, have some um, amazing directors who again, almost all of them had their start Indie and uh, who just continue to tell great stories and and pull off some amazing feats uh along the way.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I just thought about it. James Gunn does good commentary.
Casey G. Smith: Did he do one for We'll see if he has one for any of the Guardians films. We'll look into that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: We'll look into that. But next week, we are going to get into again.
Casey G. Smith: Captain America, The Winter Soldier.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And you can catch us where?
Casey G. Smith: You can find us online, specifically at facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. We are also on iTunes where you can like and subscribe. You can also uh find us at Filmmaker Commentary on Instagram. Uh if you're looking to follow Reginald Titus Jr., you can follow him on Twitter at Reggie Titus and on Instagram at Reginald Titus Jr., that's J R. Uh if you want to follow me, you can find me at both Instagram and Twitter simply at Casey G Smith 32.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And don't forget to go to Instagram at Filmmaker Commentary and uh hit that like button.
Casey G. Smith: Please do.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Until next time, peace.
Casey G. Smith: Peace.