Taika Waititi Films Ranked
4. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Taika Waititi’s Oscars winner proved tough for some to swallow. Much like Mel Brooks’ The Producers, it was accused of trivialising the Holocaust and making calculated acts of evil committed by the Nazis look farcical. For all that, it works so well as a film about the mundanity of evil.
Young Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) joins the Hitler Youth and dreams of being the perfect Aryan soldier defending the Fatherland until his life is turned upside down when he discovers Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), a Jewish teenager who is being hidden from the Gestapo in his attic by his mother (Scarlett Johansson). How will his worldview and sense of self change, and what will his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Waititi) think?
The cleverest gag in Jojo Rabbit probably comes in the opening credits, which are set to a German version of The Beatles’ “I want to hold your hand”, acknowledging parallels between rock ‘n’ roll fervour and right-wing fanaticism. Self-described “Polynesian Jew” Waititi playing imaginary Hitler first as a cool older brother, then a jealous bully, and finally a sad, pathetic a-hole as Jojo’s perspective shifts and the war is lost, is a well thought-out idea, and the deft tonal shifts from Pythonesque absurdity (what happens if Nazis keep entering the room and all have to “Heil Hitler”?) to moments of very real-world heartbreak demonstrates an extreme lightness of touch.
3. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Taika Waititi’s biggest and most mainstream film to date saw him revitalise Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder Thor following a lacklustre second franchise instalment (Thor: The Dark World) and deliver something irreverent, unexpected and gloriously Jack Kirby-inspired in its vibrant visuals. The frankly absurd cast including Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban and Waititi-regular Rachel House all look to be having the times of their lives and the fun is truly infectious.
After long-lost Asgardian Goddess of Death, sister Hela (Blanchett), returns to conquer Asgard, Thor (Hemsworth) is cast out to a slave planet and forced to compete as a gladiator against fellow Avenger Hulk (Ruffalo) before regrouping with some unexpected allies to retake his home and save its people by any means necessary.
Ragnarok contains the best line in a Marvel movie – Hopkins as Odin’s perspective-shifting rebuke to his self-doubting son, “What are you, the God of Hammers?” – as well as two of the MCU’s best supporting characters (Tessa Thompson’s alcoholic warrior Valkyrie and Waititi’s gentle rock man Korg) and some of the franchise’s best gags in and amongst an ambitious story about intergalactic colonialism.
Recommended for you: Every MCU Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked
Jo Jo Rabbit blew me away……more please