Warning: SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok ahead
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Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige prides himself on the company's process of choosing the perfect directors for their projects. In an interview with Fandango, Feige explained that, "We want filmmakers that can help us focus on and elevate the character journey so it doesn't get lost amongst the spectacle." And when Marvel hired director Taika Waititi to helm Thor: Ragnarok, they chose an especially eclectic auteur whose colorful ouevre would undoubtedly bring a wholly unique vision to the Marvel adaptations.
Ragnarok has Waititi's fingerprints all over it, so if you're at all familiar with his filmography, you'll notice that in-jokes, running gags, and trademarks that have shown up in everything from Eagle vs. Shark to Hunt for the Wilderpeople are present in spades. In fact, Waititi himself mentioned this in an interview when he said, "It's more that I didn't realize that after doing this for a few months, what we're doing essentially is exactly the same as all my other films."
Personal Cameos
Taika Waititi is a filmmaker so deeply embedded in his movies that his presence behind the camera is just as strong as his presence in front of it. So far, in all of his movies, Waititi has appeared in either cameo-form or as a full-fledged character. For example, in Hunt for the Wilderpeople he shows up for a brief scene as a funeral-conducting minister whose tact during a time of misery is faulty at best. In Ragnarok, he shows up as the (perishable) rock creature Korg, one of the Grandmaster's veteran champions whose wit and dry humor is similar to that of Waititi's other bit part creations (his "rock, paper, scissor" joke is especially endearing).
(Fun Fact: this isn't the end of Korg, as he'll be getting his own mini spinoff.)
Casual Death
Despite the fact that Taika Waititi is first and foremost a comedic filmmaker, his portrayal of the human experience is by no means lacking realism. And since reality generally involves a bit of pain and suffering, death is ever present in all of his films. In Ragnarok, well-established characters from the series meet their fates at an almost casual pace (not as an insult to the character, but to convey the realistic fact that sometimes, no matter how likable someone might be, people die - often without ceremony). In the director's previous films, death comes and goes so casually that it could almost be played for laughs (albeit awkward, discomfiting laughs).
Past Movie References
In Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi is happy to call back to some of his previous films. Despite the fact that none of them partook in the same mystical qualities Ragnarok does (aside from What We Do in the Shadows, as well as its upcoming sequel and TV spinoff, which at least exist in a world where the supernatural is very much legitimate), he manages to squeeze some references from his other movies into the latest MCU venture. One easy-t0-miss reference is a patch of graffiti that reads "Skux Life," a direct reference to a recurring line from Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Though the scene only exists in the trailer (in the film, the urban landscape shown in the trailer is substituted with a field on the Norwegian coast), it's a brief nod to the film's pubescent hero Ricky Baker (played by Julian Dennison).
Waititi also makes sure to bring back some actors from his previous films. Sam Neill (from Wilderpeople) makes a brief cameo as the actor playing Odin, while Rachel House (also from Wilderpeople), plays the Grandmasters' right hand, Topaz. There is also an obvious and unavoidable reference to The Incredible Hulk, which itself gets a nod in Boy (though that admittedly only half-counts).
Screwed-Up Haircuts
Thunder and lightning might be Thor's go-to trademarks, but he's also very much known for his majestic hair. In all four of the MCU films in which he's appeared so far, his long, blond locks have been consistent hallmarks, but tragedy strikes in Thor: Ragnarok.
Before he's forced into the Grandmaster's arena to do battle with Marvel's friendly green giant, a Sakaaran barber gives Thor a combat-friendly high-and-tight cut with the help of some aggressively mechanized sheers. While the cut is technically a success (his hair is shorter), the lack of finesse leaves much to be desired.
As it turns out, finicky haircuts are becoming a staple within Waititi's storytelling. In Boy, the titular character played by James Rolleston undergoes a similar haircut”and in fact even displays similar mismatched patterns on the sides of his head.
Gallows Humor
If Taika Waititi has mastered anything in the way he makes films, it's perfecting the jarring contrast between humor and the macabre. In Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Rima Te Wiata's Bella (a.k.a. Auntie) takes Ricky hunting, where he witnesses in a sort of blank horror her wrestling and ultimately killing a wild boar. It's a bloody mess that ends with Ricky fainting, but it's successfully played for laughs. In What We Do in the Shadows, Viago (played by Waititi himself) bites the throat of a victim, only to panic over how how much blood is spraying over his furniture. It's disturbing to watch, but somehow doesn't sacrifice any humor, which is a testament to his unique balancing act of gore and comedy.
In Ragnarok, these kinds of scenes show up as early as the first act, where the innards of a decapitated dragon cover two Asgardian women (as well as Karl Urban's Skurge) from head to toe. Later, the Grandmaster melts his cousin Carlo in real time by simply touching him with his "melt stick."
Deadpan Humor
While there are bits of humor sprinkled throughout the first two Thor films, neither could be specifically billed as comedies. Thor: Ragnarok, on the other hand, is equal parts action/adventure and comedy - if not leaning more towards the latter. This is the case on account of Waititi, whose trademark deadpan humor isn't just sprinkled throughout the movie, but infuses almost every scene.
This approach, which is especially noticeable in exchanges between Thor and Hulk, was perfected early on in Waititi's career. In all of his previous films, deadpan humor - as well as a signature dry banter that only Waititi could write - may as well be the focal point in Thor's third cinematic outing. Possibly the best example of both of these facets is in the vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, which documents three vampire roommates who deal with typical shared-space frustrations, such as whose turn it is to wash blood off all the crockery.
Mockumentaries
Waititi twice played around within the realm of faux documentaries before doing so again with Thor: Ragnarok. First, it was with his short What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires, and the second time was in the feature-length adaptation of the short, which dropped the subtitle and kept the original name. With Ragnarok, Waititi revisited this medium with Team Thor, parts 1 and 2.
Set up as a kind of fictional prelude to Ragnarok, Team Thor posits the idea that Thor was residing on Earth with a mortal roommate while the rest of the Avengers were off fighting. It isn't considered canon, but it still serves as a comical foray into Thor's downtime. It also gave audiences a taste of Waititi's signature humor in the context of the MCU.
Deceased Maternal Figures
Now, this is by no means an "in-joke," but a running thread in all of Waititi's films is mothers (or mother figures) either dying before the story begins, or shortly thereafter. In Ragnarok, of course, this has already been set up as Thor's mother Frigga (Rene Russo) was killed in Thor: The Dark World, but even though it's just a coincidence it certainly fits with Waititi's formula.
In Eagle vs. Shark, both Lily and Jarrod's mothers are dead (due to a heart attack and getting kicked in the head by a cow, respectively); in Boy, Boy's mother dies while giving birth to his brother Rocky; in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Auntie dies unexpectedly (and Ricky's real mother abandons him).
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Did you catch any Waititi-isms that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
