‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Review

The Thor movies have been one of the weaker spots in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While they were never bad movies, they were simply average movies in a franchise filled with great movies. They simply lacked the energy and fun that can be seen in other Marvel movies. However, the third installment, Thor: Ragnarok, completely changes the tone and delivers a funny, colorful spectacle that doesn’t stop from beginning to end.

Plot

After Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to Asgard, Hela (Cate Blanchett), the goddess of death, returns and takes over. She sends Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to a far away planet where Thor is thrown into gladiatorial combat. 

On this planet, Thor runs into the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who has been living on this planet for a while now. With help from the Hulk, Loki, and a few new characters, Thor must return to Asgard and defeat Hela to prevent Ragnarok, which means the end of Asgard.

Performances

The performances in Thor: Ragnarok are fantastic. Hemsworth has really solidified his role as Thor. He is able to portray a god-like figure, who still has a lot of human characteristics. Hemsworth also proves in this movie that he has impeccable comedic timing. 

Thor is definitely more comical than he is in other Marvel movies and Hemsworth handles it really well. Hiddleston also owns the role of Loki. He is definitely the best villain in the cinematic universe right now because even though he has done horrible things to innocent civilians and his own family, he is still likable for some reason.

I also really enjoyed how the movie handled the Hulk in this movie. Mark Ruffalo does a great job performing as the Hulk and Bruce Banner. In this movie, the Hulk actually talks and it is really amusing. He is basically a giant, angry toddler. He and Thor have very entertaining interactions. Idris Elba isn’t in this movie as much as he was in the other Thor films, but he’s always good whenever he appears.

Thor: Ragnarok introduces a lot of great characters as well. One of the many highlights of the film is Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster of the city where Thor ends up. He is so over the top and his delivery makes almost every line seem funny, even if it is something maniacal. 

He is basically playing an exaggerated version of himself. Tessa Thompson is also great as Valkyrie. She is a very fierce character, but she is also laidback throughout most of the movie.

Another highlight is Taika Waititi as a character made out of rocks named Korg. He has a soft, New Zealand accent and he delivers a lot of humorous lines with a deadpan tone that make them really funny.

The villain in this movie is also pretty good. Blanchett is a menacing character who has an immense amount of power. She does a great job at portraying an intimidating character. However, I do wish that she was in the movie a little bit more than she was.

Directing

Taika Waititi does a great job at directing this movie. The action scenes are really well done. They are highly energetic and feature a lot of great camera work. The environment he creates is really colorful and features a lot of beautiful shots. The pacing of this movie is so fast that there is never a moment where you get bored. I also liked how he handled the comedy in this movie. 

There are jokes frequently throughout the film and they feel natural. However, there are certain times when I wish that the jokes would be put to the side to focus on the more serious events of the movie. It sometimes feels that there might be too many jokes

Music

The music in this movie helps to add to the tone set in the film. It can be very goofy at times but it does fit the more intense sequences. One of the things that made me excited for this movie was the first trailer which featured the use of the song “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. Luckily, the song is featured twice in the movie and it fits perfectly each time.

Final Thoughts

Thor: Ragnarok is an insanely good time at the movies. Not only is it a great Marvel movie, but it’s also a great action movie. It stands out from the rest of the MCU films to deliver a unique experience. Hopefully, future MCU films are just as entertaining as this one.

4.5/5