Throughout watching action movies in the twenty-first century, the Marvel series has been undoubtedly the most anticipated pinnacle for action scenes in the movie industry. The Marvel series provides superhero background and action to the earlier-famous comic book series’. The movies hold lots of attention from the millions of dollars used on budgets and advertising. Deep diving into some of the most captivating moments in this series of superhero movies, Thor: Ragnarok comes to mind when reviewing fight scenes. In the screen capture above, the Incredible Hulk is wearing gladiator armour, matching Thor in the air as they come to a climax of action in front of a coliseum of spectators. This extreme scene not only displays a hollywood styled version of masculinity, but also provides an over the top view on how intense fight scenes have become to garner attention.
The screen grab that I have chosen from the movie contains the Incredible Hulk and “the God of Thunder” Thor going head to head in battle against thousands of spectators in a coliseum in another universe on the planet Sakaar. As the lights flash to a bright level, the two superheroes leap in the air with their fists clenched, ready to collide and find who the victor truly is. The extreme nature of the scene describes how important this scene is, as in the moment this is a battle to the death, so to speak. Both characters are put in the coliseum to battle for the entertainment of others; like roman time, while wearing outlandish armour. The editing style throughout these scenes of battle are fast paced and flashy, as they go back and forth exchanging blows during the fight. During this analysis of the action, the cuts feel seamless as the watcher of the movie breezes through the comedic undertones of lines Thor has viewing the Hulk for the first time, in the hopes that the green beast would remember him. As action bursts out of nowhere and a battle erupts, the jump cuts between camera angles happen almost in unison to make the action come off as more serious and meaningful. At times as they are in close combat, Thor being the smaller of the two is moving around more as the Hulk is trying to catch him. The director adds in slow camera slides to follow Thor as he dances around Hulk, dodging his attacks. Most cuts that emphasize the Incredible Hulk are low angled shots viewing him from a higher arc; portraying his strength in his muscles, and dominance in theory and stature. As the Grandmaster of the planet Sakaar watches from above in his own suite for his entertainment, the battle bounces from him cheering on the Hulk, to being worried when Thor is winning. The camera jumps to his suite where he views the battle is very noticeable due to the change of colours in the background, going from a grey undertone of the coliseum to a red velvet room.
The colours depicted in the battle scene are more tone deaf, whereas the two superheroes battling have more saturation to them to emphasize their importance throughout the visually noisy background. The scenes are filled with big flashing stadium lights to show the listener that the battle to the death is not only important, but also the sole focal point of attention that everyone is interested in. Even though the battle between the two was for the entertainment of the crowd and the grandmaster, it is also a show of political dynamic in the scene, as they are forced to survive each other. “The fight between Thor and Hulk not only serves as a visual spectacle but also as a symbolic representation of individual versus systemic conflict, reinforcing the film’s critique of power structures and the entertainment industry’s manipulation of heroes as pawns in a larger, often politically charged game.” (Hollander 2021). Even though Hollywood brings a large portion of glorified masculinity in fight scenes, the political angle of the lore is just as prominent when assessed.
Fight scenes like these in big box office movies may be a lot of fun to watch for Marvel movie fans, but the addition of comedic value during life or death scenes has created its own artform in action movies. “Marvel crafts a brand identity of ‘reflexive wit,’ further integrating comedy into action sequences, and foregrounding provocative, yet superficial, sociopolitical commentary” (Hatch 2014). The wit that comes from the writing in these movies can be also attributed to the smart camera pauses on the characters saying the lines; as the focus shifts from serious to joking, and then back to serious with very quick jump cuts of action.
The Marvel cinematic vision that has been instilled on the viewership base of action movie fans has been colourful, fast paced and dopamine rushing. Many fans can catch themselves not looking into the deeper picture of asking great questions; why are there so many jump cuts and what may be holding their attention at the very moment. Understanding these things create a more full picture of what a director is really trying to portray, and why it is so important to understand the culture of creating a cinematic battle scene.
Sources
Hollander, David. Political and Social Commentary in Superhero Films: Marvel’s Thor and Its Sociocultural Impact. University Press, 2021. https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/42774/chapter/360847930.
Hatch, Kevin. “With Great Power Comes No Responsibility: Reflexive Ideology through Spectacle-Violence in the Superhero Films of Marvel Studios.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 42, no. 3, 2014, pp. 167-179. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/41687q01r
Adesire Ajayi-Smith
Hi Dermot,
I enjoyed your analysis of Thor: Ragnarök and the Colosseum fight scene. I agree with your general points and assessments of the scene and think you did a good job articulating it overall. The image you chose was strong, well-described, and illustrative of your overall stances.
Your focus on the size differences between our two main characters and how that influenced the motion of the fight scene was solid. It was also a good call to discuss how colour and production design contributed to where we, as audiences, focused our attention in an otherwise busy and visually intense scene.
I appreciate your ideas on how the camera work and editing contributed to the comedic tone in this and similar comic book movies. This is something I had never considered but, now, seems blatantly obvious.
I would have loved to see a more in-depth analysis of this scene as it relates to concepts of conventional masculinity. I believe there are some interesting throughlines when considering their choice of a Colosseum and the costuming being reminiscent of gladiator armour. Your mention of “stadium lights” also reminded me of big sports stadiums. I question the implication of all this imagery; what Marvel was trying to communicate and what it says about the performance of masculinity in Hollywood and American culture. You touched on this partially, using strong sources to elevate and broaden your point, but further exploration would have made it a lot stronger.
Overall, it was a great essay with novel and engaging ideas.