Now, I’m a huge fan of Marvel films and follow many of the Avenger spin-offs, such as Iron Man and Captain America, but I never really followed the Thor movies. It’s not because I don’t like Thor, because I do (and Chris Hemsworth has nothing to do with it…well, not much…OK, about 75% of the reason why) but I think it more’s about the fact that I don’t find Thor…that interesting. Or maybe because I’m jaded due to Thor being loosely based on the Norse myth Thor.
I’ll give a Synopsis of the Film; What I Did Like About the Film; What I Didn’t Like About the Film and then a Conclusion.
Synopsis
Thor: Ragnarok follows 2 years after Avengers: Age of Ultron in which Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been unsuccessful in searching for the Infinity Stones and has been captured by Surturn (voiced by Clancy Brown), a fire demon who commences Ragnarok (in Norse Mythology, Ragnarök is an event that involves a great battle; the deaths of many Gods and many natural disaster). Thor quickly defeats Surtur and returns to Asgard.
Upon his return to Asgard, Thor notices something is different – especially a play his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) commenced of how Loki sacrificed himself for Asgard (the play Thor was played by Chris’ brother Luke Hemsworth and the play Loki was played by none other than Matt Damon). Thor soon discovers Loki himself (Tom Hiddleston) had disguised himself as Odin and sent their father elsewhere. With the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), they locate Odin in Norway. Odin reveals that he is dying and fears that his first born – their sister – Hela will be released.
Hela (Cate Blanchett) once fought alongside Odin in his conquest of the Nine Realms but as they continued fighting, Odin grew more and more worried about her ambitious nature and eventually sealed her away. Odin rewrote history so she would be forgotten about. Odin dies, the magic he had used to seal her broke and she appears in Asgard after a ranged absence. She immediately claims her heir to the throne as the right of the first born, to which Thor and Loki disagree to. The three of them fight – in which Hela destroys Mjolnir – and forces the duo to flee via Bifrost Bridge. Hela chases after them and forces them to die in space. Hela takes over Asgard by killing rebels with the Warrior Three, resurrecting her previous warriors and Fenris (Hela’s giant wolf pet thing) and appoints Skurge (Karl Urban) as her executor. Thankfully, Heimdall (Idris Elba) takes the sword that controlled the bridge that Hela needed to expand Asgard.
Thor finds himself on a planet called Sakarr – filled with wormholes and barbarians. Without Mjolnir, Thor is easily captured by cannibals who are killed by a mysterious woman (later revealed as Valkyrie and played by Tessa Thompson), recaptured and taken to The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). There, Thor is reunited with Loki and forced to participate in the Contest of Champions (not before having his hair cut by Stan Lee) against The Grandmaster’s current champion – the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
After Thor and Hulk’s fight (which was a draw), Thor requests Hulk’s help, to which he disagrees. Thor finds the Quinjet, which he tricks Hulk by turning him back into Bruce Banner. With the (eventual) help with Valkyrie; Banner; Loki (despite his betrayal when stealing one of The Grandmaster’s ships); Korg (a gladiator Thor met at the Contest of Champions) and other rebellion gladiators. They fly back to Asgard, reunite with the surviving Asgardians that Heimdall saved and fight Hela. Thor loses his eye to Hela, but in Thor’s self-defeat, he receives a vision from Odin and discovers that only Ragnarok can stop Hela. Surtur’s Crown is placed in the Eternal Flame, bring him back and destroying Asgard, seemingly with Hela too. Thor becomes the new king of Asgard…well, I don’t want to the spoil the post-credit scene (or is it scenes?).
What I Did Like About the Film
With a Marvel classic, you expect a few things: great action; great humour; great names. This film was no exception – the action was good (I would still say that the fighting and stunts were better in Civil War and I don’t think it will ever be topped with that Captain America and Bucky vs Iron Man fighting scene).
Chris Hemsworth definitely played Thor differently – Thor is known to be authoritative, a bit of a comedic point at times and strong; both in will and physicality. He’s a straight up character who is feared for being a God. But, Thor in this movie had a much better sense of humour and seemed more understanding and accepting of his failures – as the director Taika Waititi said that he wanted Thor to be stripped back to a refugee and Hemsworth took a Big Trouble in Little China‘s Jack Burton’s take on the comedy side on things.
All gags hit the mark, but there was a particular scene that tickled my funny bone (let’s not forget the Matt Damon and Chris Hemsworth brother fake Thor and Loki scene) – when introducing Doctor Strange, there were a LOT of Sherlock Holmes references (in case you don’t know, Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock Homles in a BBC series that is very good).
Also, the inclusion of Cate Blanchett was somewhat unexpected but not unpleasant – she was a great addition to the film (and the Marvel Universe). She played Hela amazingly – many times, we’re used to seeing Blanchett playing a beautiful character (Galadriel, Gran Mamare, Elizabeth I) that it’s a surprise when she plays a horrible character, especially Hela (who is the Goddess of Death) who she can still play well and be likable.
From the first showing of the trailer, it very much seemed to take a step back and kind of rewind itself back into the 80s with it’s neon lights, quick-paced fight scenes and awesome soundtrack.
What I Didn’t Like About the Film
One of the strengths of the film is it’s humour, but it’s also a downfall – most of the humour was predictable. Yes, I did laugh when it happened – I mean who wouldn’t laugh when Thor threw a ball at the window and it bounces back to hit him – but it is slightly worrying. I fear that Marvel’s humour may become predictable (which it did for me when I watched this in the cinema), therefore losing that ‘Marvel’ magic. Hopefully, it will not go down the DC movie route *cough* Justice League *cough*.
Another problem I had was the CGI with Hela – the CGI was totally fine everywhere else in the film, but during the fight of Hela, Thor and Loki on Asgard, the CGI on Hela was heavy and very noticeable. I know Cate is a bit of an older lady, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have some fight training/fighting choreography.
Conclusion
Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is a great film and an absolute must see, even if (like me) you’re not Thor’s biggest fan. But missing this film out will not bring you too much confusion when Avengers: Infinity War comes out. Like a Marvel film, it delivers great comedy and great action and improves each time.
Rating: 9/10
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts!
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