Thor: Ragnarok - A RMNT Review

So many superhero films, but oh so worth the time! The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with the 17th installment to the franchise, Thor: Ragnarok! Out of all of the Avengers, I feel that Thor’s one of the more under-appreciated ones, aside from Hawkeye of course. Back in 2011, Thor made his big screen debut, which of course received critical and commercial success, then two years later, he returns in his own sequel, Thor: The Dark World. Unfortunately, despite being a box-office hit, it received mixed reviews and is considered the weakest film in the franchise. But that Thor is back after a two-year absence, will this third film redeem the character and become a successful addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise? Time to return to the mythical world of Asgard and see what unfolds!

Thor: Ragrarok takes place two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which Thor was last seen, in fact, the movie hilariously opens up with Thor himself explaining what happened in his journey that led to his current predicament. Right from the start, the tone is well established that the film has a more humorous, laid back and with a more 1980’s fantasy adventure vibe as well. You see, the first Thor film was grand and epic in scale, with a more Shakespearian drama in Asgard, but still delivered many fun moments to balance out the over-the-top dramatic tone. Then in Thor: The Dark World, the tone is all over the place, as it tries to be too serious, but also delivered too many humorous moments at once, causing inconsistency issues and thus delivering weak execution in the main story. But it seems that Marvel Studios has decided that the third Thor film should have a more fun comedic tone while still having emotional character moments and bringing exciting action scenes. Thanks to the unexpectedly brilliant direction of New Zealand director Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragrarok’s plot surprisingly works really well.

The premise of the film is simply this: Thor returns to Asgard to confront Loki about the whereabouts of their father and king, Odin, in which when they do find him, he reveals a dark secret that he has a daughter named Hela, the Goddess of Death, and that once he dies, she’ll be unleashed to take back her rightful position as ruler of Asgard. From then on, Thor has to figure out how to get out of alien world and to figure out a way to stop Hela from ruling Asgard before a cataclysmic event known as Ragnarok arrives! I only have one thing to describe Thor: Ragnarok: it is the best of the Thor trilogy! Not only is the film a great callback to fantasy adventure films in the 80’s, but also brilliantly balances the tone much better than in the first two Thor films as they struggled with establishing their own identities.

The film also delivers nicely-timed humor, whether its in the form of character interactions, exchange of quippy banter, the occasional slapstick and lots of fun moments delivered by the cast themselves. The narrative and pacing, despite the film having a running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, surprisingly doesn’t feel that long due to how well it flows, as it essentially shows what’s happening in both Asgard and Sakaar, the alien planet where most of the film takes place. But while most of the humor is refreshing to enjoy, some of it do fail to hit the mark as they tend to either be awkward and sometimes feel unnecessary in certain scenes.

While Thor returns after his last appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron, most of the cast from the previous Thor films also make their return in the third film, along with several new ones making the Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as Thor once again, and thanks to the clever writing and direction, and the actor’s charming performance, Thor suddenly became a much more interesting character than he was in his previous appearances, not that he was bland or poorly portrayed or anything. I do believe that due to Thor having spent time on Earth, he’s shown as a laid-back and down-to-earth guy from how he reacts to his surroundings and how he meets and interacts with characters, speaking of which….

Tom Hiddleston returns as the God of Mischief, Loki, who once again continues to own the role and proving why he’s one of the memorable villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise as well as delivering many funny moments, particularly in scenes with Thor. Their chemistry between their roles continues to show that they’re really brothers with complications, but deep down, Thor misses his brother and wishes that they come to peace conclusions. Idris Elba also returns as Heimdall, the all-seeing guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, but with a more bigger role than in the previous two Thor films as he dedicates to protecting the citizens of Asgard from Hela’s forces. Legendary actor Anthony Hopkins returns as Odin one last time, despite having a short amount of screen time, delivers a much bittersweet performance as he delivers an emotional farewell to his sons while also guiding Thor in his role as future king of Asgard for the final battle. Also joining the cast of the film, Mark Ruffalo, who reprises his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk after Age of Ultron, where we find out that Hulk has spent two years being a champion warrior of a gladiatorial arena at Sakaar. Hulk may seem juvenile and annoying, but that’s the thing about him, that’s how he is in the comics and this is also the first time in live-action that Hulk says more dialogue other than his signature “Hulk, smash!” and Bruce Banner’s interactions with Thor and other characters are a real treat, thanks the performance and direction for the character.

Now let’s talk about the newcomers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, who’s also proven to be a great addition to the cast, as she delivers a performance as a highly-skilled warrior who also enjoys drinking with sass, attitude and cockiness, but we soon learn of her backstory that led her to being the person she currently is. Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, the self-proclaimed ruler of Sakaar and Master of Games, is another welcome addition to the franchise as he steals the show with his randomly funny moments, over-the-top presence and lines of dialogue as the character enjoys insulting and manipulating those he considers lesser to him. Whenever he appears on screen, you can be sure that he’ll chew every minute his scenes as much as possible, so let’s hope we see this eccentric fellow in future films!

Then there’s the film's main villain, Hela, played by Cate Blanchett, who you can clearly see she’s fully embraced into the role and is loving every minute of it! Not only is she shown to be a very powerful threat, but she truly is a force to be reckoned with as she shows full dedication to becoming ruler of Asgard and that nothing can stop her, not even the full might of Asgard’s armies! Her costume alone truly screams “Goddess of Death”! Her motivation? Um, the answer is simple: conquer Asgard and kill those that stand in her way. We do get a bit of backstory about her, which makes the established lore of Asgard that much more interesting, but that’s the thing about Hela, she brings death, as her title clearly states! I know I don’t tend to spoil the plot in my reviews, but I will say this, the way she gets defeated is both clever and very unexpected!

The visuals in Thor: Ragranok are really, no pun intended, out of this world! The production designing of the sets, such as Asgard and Sakaar, do make a eye-catching impression, particularly with Sakaar being the standout set of the film, which consists of the creative mix of color, shapes, lines and patterns to give it a more unique off-world look. The costuming is also a visual highlight, particularly how they represent the personalities and aesthetics of the characters, such as Thor with the color brown and red, Loki with his signature color green, Hela with a mix of black and dark green and The Grandmaster with mix of yellow, red and blue to represent his more random and quirky personality. The cinematography also helps gives the film that grand and epic look too. The action scenes are a mix of entertaining, exciting, and incredible to watch, particularly, the opening fight scene as it brilliantly sells who Thor is as a character and really establishes the film’s style and “personality”.

It seems that Marvel Studios has proven that doing a threequel can be done right if handled by the right person and that it can tell a great story. Thor: Ragnarok delivers a visually grand and entertaining story, with great performances by an impressive cast, well-directed humor, exciting action sequences, becoming the best of the Thor trilogy, and I truly look for what’s more to come for the character and how he will grow further!

Story: 4 / 5

Characters: 4.5 / 5

Production quality: 4.5 / 5

Final Rating: 4.5 / 5