‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Is A Waste Of Cate Blanchett

Thor: Rangarok is a delirious joyride of a Marvel movie. It’s fun, immeshed in Marvel comic lore, and Chris Hemsworth finally gets to be…well…funny in a Marvel movie.  However, there’s glaring problem with this otherwise perfect film: it’s a waste of Cate Blanchett.

Now let me be clear, I’m not saying that Cate Blanchett phones in her performance as the villainous goddess of death, Hela. (Oh, god, no. She vamps her way through Asgard like a psychotic supermodel. It’s amazing.) Nor am I suggesting that it was a bad idea to cast Blanchett as the villain in a Marvel movie. (IT WAS A VERY GOOD IDEA.) Cate Blanchett is a luminous thunderbolt of a performer who brightens every film she’s in. She’s never bad! No, she is perfect. And she gives Hela an important cocktail of mischief, longing, and spitfire that the part needs. Cate Blanchett can never and will never be trash. What I’m saying is that Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t use Blanchett to her utmost potential.

Consider for a moment how little she gets to do with the film’s leading men. She only gets to square off against Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Anthony Hopkins in like…two scenes. (Count them. We meet her on that cliff and then Thor and Loki don’t return to Asgard to face her until the very end of the film. I WATCHED IT LAST NIGHT. TELL ME I’M WRONG.)

Now, I’m not trying to shade the acting talent of Karl Urban. The Aussie actor has been great in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Star Trek reboots, and he’s hilarious as Skurge the Executioner, but he doesn’t have the Shakespearean pedigree of say, Hiddleston or Hopkins. That’s important because when you tell me that Cate Blanchett, star of stage and screen, is going to be in a Marvel flick with scenery-chomping actors like Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, I want to see some dramatic showdowns. I want to see her push those boys into throwing down their best. What I don’t want is to see Cate Blanchett caught in a “Meanwhile, back on the Asgardian ranch” b-plot.

Oh, yes, how can we forget? Cate Blanchett is left out of the bulk of Thor: Ragnarok. Most of the film takes place on the scavenger world of Sakaar. There, the Grand Master (a beautifully zany Jeff Goldblum) holds court as an easily distracted dictator. His one joy? The fight-to-the-death arena battles he stages between fighters who fall upon his world and his beloved champion, The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Thor and Loki find their fortunes upended on this world. They must confront their fraternal feud and form new alliances with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (a rock monster played by director Taika Waititi) to get off the world and back to Asgard. The Sakaar storyline brings the Marvel Universe into a vibrant playground where comedy reigns supreme. It’s lovely and fun and every time the narrative toggles back to Hela on Asgard, the story drags. Cate Blanchett should never be put in the “boring” b-plot of a story. That’s like putting your MVP on the bench.

All this could be forgiven, but Thor: Ragnarok takes everything Blanchett is giving the film and throws it away. Hela is a worthy adversary for Thor. She quickly destroys with his beloved hammer, Mjolnir, and can’t be defeated with the God of Thunder’s mightiest thunderbolt. The only way to rout her is to cause the destruction of Asgard. The last we see of Hela, she’s being smote down with a gigantic fiery spear. That’s it. She’s done. Cate Blanchett had just one MCU film to play the villain and she barely got to do anything at all.

So yes, I do think Thor: Ragnarok wasted the cosmic charms of Cate Blanchett. The two-time Academy Award winner was giving the Goddess of Death every bit of life she had, and the film relegated her to a forgettable b-plot about hunting Asgardians and resurrecting monster wolves. Cate Blanchett’s Hela should have been given more. She should have been given fire and fun and a chance to be in other MCU films. It’s the one glaring problem in an otherwise perfect Marvel movie.

Where to Stream Thor: Ragnarok