Directed by Taika Waititi
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddelston, Mark Ruffalo, and Cate Blanchett
Of all the franchises that build up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I think the Thor films have been the ones that have been the most scrutinized. The original Thor seems to be underrated by the general public, and I am in that minor paternity of fans that actually enjoys Thor: The Dark World despite its shortcomings. That being said, I think everyone can agree that Thor: Ragnarok is the best Thor film yet, and one of the best chapters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As much as I personally loved the film I do have some minor issues with it but more on that later.
The film opens some time after Thor (Hemsworth) left on his quest for Infinity Stone-related truth at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Multiple premonitions of Ragnarok, the end of Asgard, bring the God of Thunder back home where Loki (Hiddelston) has been ruling in disguise as Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) since the last film. Once Thor reveals his brother's charade, they both learn Loki's actions have paved the way for Hela the Goddess of Death (Blanchett) to make her return.
Set on taking Asgard for her own, she tosses Thor and Loki off to the dumpster planet of Sakarr, where Thor is taken prisoner to fight in the Grandmaster's (Jeff Goldblum) arena battles. In order to get free of Sakarr, return to Asgard, and stop Hela, Thor must defeat The Grandmaster's Champion. And oh boy, that champion turns out to be The Incredible Hulk (Ruffalo)!
So if Ragnarok sounds like a Thor film infused with the Planet Hulk comic storyline, you wouldn't be wrong. But it works. It definitely works. When originally announced for a film with the word "Ragnarok" in the title, Taikia Waititi seemed like an odd choice, but he definitely proved the skeptics wrong. The film definitely still has the director's unique brand of comical filmmaking, but there room is left for serious and dramatic moments. It shares some DNA with previous Thor films but still has its very unique identity. Many have compared it to the Guardians of The Galaxy films but I don't think that's really fair, as Thor goes to grander, arguably grimmer places, and the humor of Chris Pratt is not that of Chris Hemsworth.
The film is hilarious, and the action and set pieces are awe-inspiring. The score for the film is unreal, and more importantly it serves the overall arc of the Thor character perfectly, and brings him to the logical, third-act conclusion of his trilogy…until he has to fight Thanos next summer. So what are my issues? Well first the film is surprisingly packed with story. So much so that some breathing room would have been appreciated for some of these moments to sink in, and let the characters respond and react. After a second viewing I don't think this is a big a problem as I originally thought it was but still. It's hard no to really talk about these parts of the film without getting into spoilers.
As I said this is a hilarious film, and probably Marvel's first full-blown comedy. While I was laughing at pretty much every joke in the film, a small voice in the back of my head at times would whisper "Did we really need a joke there? Couldn't we have just let that play out as a serious moment?" I feel like a hypocrite saying this because I still laughed at these jokes, but I do still wonder could we have gone a smudge more serious? Not that the film doesn't have moments of darkness, mind you.
So the cast. Chris Hemsworth is again the best as Thor, and gets to flex his comedy chops a lot more to delight of everyone. Mark Ruffalo takes the Hulk to great new places. Only his third film as the character, and the first outside of The Avengers line, it was nice to see his performance develop in such a way that this might be the best Hulk we've had on screen yet. Tom Hiddelston is again great as Loki. Fans who have loved Thor & Loki's relationship in the past two films might be disappointed it's not a major part of the script, but it's still there and really how much more development is needed?
Tessa Thompson plays a fun and dynamic Valkyrie and is a welcome new-additon to the cast. Cate Blanchett continues the streak of great MCU villains with Hela. She's deliciously evil and clearly having a ton of fun in the role. Every time we cut back to Sakarr I was like "Let's get back to Asgard I wanna see what she's up to!!" Karl Urban plays a very fun Skurge The Executioner. Jeff Goldblum…is Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster. Enough said. It's nice to see Benedict Cumberbatch again as Doctor Strange. Finally, Director Taika Waititi steals his own film in the role of Korg. What a wonderful character.
Thor: Ragnarok is definitely the best of the three Thor films, and arguably the best MCU film out of three we received this year (The other two being Homecoming and Guardians Vol. 2). It's such a departure from the previous two Thor films, so much so it almost completely destroys some conventions of what comes before, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ragnarok is an epic, hilarious, and exhilarating film that's worthy of wielding the mightiest of hammers….
I suppose I should also let you know my thoughts on Justice League…oh look Coco and The Last Jedi!!
CHRIS FLAHERTY WILL RETURN...
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