Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is locked up in a cage by Sartur (Clancy Brow) a demon who claims to have initiated Ragnarok, a prophesy where Sartur will destroy Asgard. Thor thinks he’s already stopped the prophesy, but flies to Asgard to talk to his father, Odin. (Anthony Hopkins) Instead of Odin, Thor finds Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who seems to have replaced Odin on Asgard. With a little help from Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) Thor finds Odin, only to find that he’s dying, and Hela (Cate Banchett) who is Goddess of Death and also Odin’s first born, and also Thor and Loki’s sister, plans to take over the family legacy.When Odin passes away, Hela will have infinite power. Odin passes away shortly thereafter, and the race is on to get to Asgard. But Thor and Loki get sidetracked to planet Sakaar, which is ruled by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) who wants to pit Thor against his champion in a gladiatorial battle. It turns out Thor already knows the champion of Sakaar, it’s the Hulk, but will beating the Hulk be as easy as Thor thinks and can Thor get back to Asgard before Hela takes it over?
Thor Ragnarok did something that I didn’t think was possible, it made me like a Thor movie. The previous two Thor movies took themselves so damn seriously, this was a refreshing tongue in cheek take on the Thor story that this trilogy needed in the worst way. The story is simple, which is crucial to a superhero movie, don’t overcomplicate things. The backstory with Hela is equally as good, and those two elements alone make this movie worth watching. There are drawbacks however, the whole Hulk fight scene is unnecessary, in fact Hulk is unnecessary, as is Dr. Strange. Writers have yet to find a way to integrate Hulk into any avengers movie much less make a decent Hulk movie, in this one the Hulk is little more than comedy relief. The ending is predictable, and when Hollywood runs out of plot, it pours on the fight scenes and special effects. Thor Ragnarok is no exception, but Ragnarok is a welcome relief from a character and trilogy that was rapidly losing relevance, in the Marvel universe.
The performances are very good. Chris Hemsworth is a funny guy, anyone who’s seen him in the Ghostbusters remake, admittedly not that many saw this, but those who did knows he has great comic timing. Tom Hiddleston is also great as Loki, as he plays up the sibling rivalry again, this time for laughs. But the best performance in this film undoubtedly belongs to Cate Blanchett, yes she is evil, but she underplays the evil so well that it’s subtle, and she has a reason for being angry, and that makes her performance all the more intriguing. There are also good performances by Idris Elba Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson and of course Anthony Hopkins. These performances make a well-written movie even better.
The direction is good, the scenes burst with color, yes there’s a lot of CGI, but the film I is not overwhelmed by it. The pacing is good, the movie moves along at a brisk pace for a movie that’s over 2 hours long, and the director gets a lot of good performances from a very talented cast.
Thor Ragnarok Rock on!
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