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| Official Thor Ragnarok Poster |
For years, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been craving for a Thor film that managed to merge those huge, epic and spectacle-worthy moments with the always necessary fun elements, while also embracing its deeply rooted origins, by going all out with the cosmic stuff. Back in 2011, we were introduced to the God of Thunder and his Asgardian associates. There was a great deal of world building to be done here so, naturally, a good portion of the film was spent on Earth. Inexplicably, however, was the way the sequel was handled; in the midst of focusing too much on (sometimes annoying) human characters and wasting precious screen time on Earth yet again, 2013’s Thor: The Dark World didn’t really do much in service of its title character. Flash forward to 2017 and Ragnarok is upon us.
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| Still of Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth, working side by side |
Fortunately, the film hit the jackpot! Directed by Taika Waititi, Ragnarok is infused with his comedic taste, but never once loses sight of what truly matters. But, what is it that matters, this time around? For starters, whatever it was that was not working in the previous Thor outings needed to be changed and the film manages to accomplish just that, by the means of reinventing Thor as a protagonist, whilst remaining true to his previous incarnations. After the events of 2015’s Age of Ultron, Thor has been on a non-stop intergalactic quest for the Infinity Stones; and without much luck, it seems. Eventually, his path leads him on a journey of self-discovery with a couple of gladiator matches along the way (Hulk may have helped with the latter).
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| Still of Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie walking on the Bifrost |
Thor Ragnarok is distinctively well shot, with gorgeous cinematography and an interesting set-design. The action scenes are some of the best this year had to offer, as far as superhero films go; the choreography and the special effects really complemented each other here, creating genuinely entertaining cinematic sequences. When it comes to the soundtrack, who would have guessed that Led Zeppelin would fit the lightning-struck sequences like a glove? Bold move, Marvel, bold move indeed.
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| Hulk is ready to smash puny Thor! |
Chris Hemsworth owns this new iteration of the Mighty Thor (new haircut, anyone?), nailing the humor bits and proving he has the acting chops needed to pull off the more serious sections. Mark Ruffalo presents us with the best version of the Green Goliath yet, with Banner way out of his comfort zone and Hulk stronger than ever. On a more villainous note, Cate Blanchett plays Hela in an intriguing and captivating way. Not only is she menacing and resourceful as she is also powerful and influential; Hela ended up being one of the most fleshed out antagonists of the Marvel saga thanks to her motivations that are as personal as one could get.
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| Still of Cate Blanchett and Karl Urban unleashing chaos on Asgard |
The rest of the cast puts up solid work, delivering on the overarching scheme of things. Tom Hiddleston makes quite the comeback as the mischievous Loki, Anthony Hopkins launches the narrative forward as Odin, Jeff Goldblum makes his debut as the eccentric Grandmaster, ruler of the planet Sakaar, Tessa Thompson is great as the majestic Valkyrie and Idris Elba as Heimdall plays a small but crucial role. I could not end this section of the review without mentioning Korg, a rock-based being played by Waititi, the man who took over the directorial reigns for this motion picture. He is awesome and manages to steal every scene he is in.
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| Korg is about to start a revolution. Wanna come? |
After leaving the theatre, one thing was clear: the Thor franchise had suffered a complete systemic renovation, from top to bottom. The film works independently, it works as a trilogy finale and it obviously works within the larger MCU. Thor Ragnarok is filled with easter eggs; some of them are easy to spot and others are more oriented for the hardcore fanbase (there are a couple of cameos that will make the delight of fans).
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| Still of Chris Hemsworth getting ready to rumble as the son of Odin |
On a final note, just wanted to say that Ragnarok - a word from Norse mythology that refers to both the end of the old world and the rebirth of a better, new one- is a term that functions as a metaphor that encompasses the entire Thor journey as an Avenger, so far.
With that being said, I rate this movie with an A-. What about you? Have you seen Thor Ragnarok? What did you think? Make sure you jump into the comments’ section down below and share your thoughts.
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