Knock Your Socks Off
It is hard to say anything about the movie that hasn’t already been said, but I’m still going to! Thor Ragnarok was close to the best that Marvel has put out (undoubtedly Avengers is still my favorite). Ragnarok captured everything that is wonderful about what Marvel has done for comic book movies. The humor was excellent. Every joke that came across the screen was side splitting; throughout the movie I was smiling ear to ear.
Thor Spoilers Ahead
Chris Hemsworth was at the top of his game. I feel like he really became comfortable in the role and let it show. I’m not saying that he was not good as Thor before, he definitely was, but this time it just felt perfect. It may have something to do with director, Taika Waititi. He brings a fresh take on the superhero and keeps it light while telling a pretty dark story. The light heartedness almost covers up the whole “Well Asgard is gone now” thing that happens at the end. I spent most of my time giggling or “ooo-ing” and “aaahh-ing” at the special effects and fight scenes, but that didn’t take away from the story. Waititi managed to bring a heartfelt and strong story to life on the screen.
Courtesy of Marvel
Goddess of Death
Hela is probably the baddest villain in the Marvel Universe. She arrives fairly early in the movie, after Odin passes away, and immediately destroys Mjolnir. Backing up a second, Odin is dead. They killed him without blinking an eye, it was pretty shocking. That is one thing I will say about this movie. It seems as though everything was of no consequence. Of course Thor and Loki were upset that Odin died, but because Hela came into the picture so abruptly it didn’t seem to give them time to mourn. Odin’s death does help Thor out later on in the movie, but we’ll touch on that in a bit. Mjolnir being destroyed was probably the most consequential thing in the whole movie.
Back to Hela: she is freaking awesome. Every time Cate Blanchett was on screen her presence filled it to the brim. Her character was complex and hell bent on destroying Asgard and everyone in it. We find out that she used to fight side by side with her father, Odin, and actually used to wield Mjolnir herself. She and Odin conquered the 9 realms and when Hela wanted more Odin panicked and banished her. Once Odin died, Hela was free to do whatever and her revenge is focused on Asgard. She gave me shivers and I really dug her character. Plus, everyone’s thinking it so I’m going to say it, Cate Blanchett looks Hela hot!
Courtesy of Marvel
Bye Bye MewMew
Aw, Mjolnir is gone and Thor needs to learn how to become the God of Thunder without a crutch. He doubts his powers and in turn that makes him weak. Loki and Thor start to battle Hela and Loki panics. Feeling as though they’re losing he calls upon the new Rainbow Bridge guard, Karl Urban, to open the portal and Hela follows. The battle pushes the brothers out and leads Hela exactly to where she wants to be, Asgard! Thor is transported to a random planet that just so happens to be exactly where Loki is too!
On this planet, Sakaar, Thor is picked up by Scrapper 142 as a prized fighter for the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum, he’s amazing and words cannot do his performance justice). She turns out to be a Valkyrie, an ancient fighter from Asgard that actually battled Hela too. I really liked her character. She was strong and made sure to let Thor know that she was the boss. She always had the upper hand and was one step ahead of everyone else. I loved her relationship with The Hulk, who is the Grandmaster’s Main Man. She trains him in combat and they have some fun banter throughout the movie. I also like their relationship when he’s Banner too, the big reveal to her that he was The Hulk was hilarious.
Courtesy of Marvel
Some Bumps
The movie slowed down a lot on Sakaar. I know that they did this to help story-build and character build, but they could have sped it up and cut out some of the scenes with Thor and Hulk. With that being said, a lot of The Hulk’s story felt rushed. He sort of touches on how he gets to the planet, but they don’t really explain anything further. Obviously it’s been a long time since he’s been there, but how long? Did he travel a while before crashing? Was it immediately after the events of Age of Ultron? I don’t know if we’ll find out! The battle scene was great, and this was where we first see Thor become the God of Thunder on his own. I like the other characters they introduced here, especially Korg, and can’t wait for them to play a bigger role in the future.
Loki was so dynamic too, he betrays everyone but then turns around to be almost a savior! Tom Hiddleston also really nailed his character and the chemistry between him and Chris Hemsworth was just completely perfect. There was a lot of fun jokes between them and I love seeing that dynamic. I especially loved the “Get Help” scene and I loved that line during the fight with Hela where Loki says something along the lines of “I’m definitely not doing ‘Get Help’!”
Courtesy of Marvel
The Battle and The End
That is how you do a fight scene!! From the beginning of their return to Asgard up until they flew away on the ship it was edge of your seat action. I definitely will say that is one thing Marvel completely nails is their fight scenes. It was flawless, with the perfect amount of action and humor. Everyone pulls their own weight and each character gets a chance to shine. Even the smaller characters like Korg and Karl Urban’s character kick major ass. Thor finds his true power and learns how to wield the lightning like a boss. That was so cool to see.
I am curious if Hela is actually dead, they never showed Surtur actually killing her, they just showed the sword going towards her. I would love her to return and become an even bigger problem alongside Thanos in the future. With Asgard destroyed it is now up to Thor to lead them to safety. The mid-credit scene leaves a lot of questions, but some sites have said the ship belongs to Thanos. That’s going to be a scary encounter if that’s true!
All in all, I really loved this movie. I thought it was witty and beautiful, with the perfect amount of action and story. There was only a small section where it slowed down, but once that lull was over everything picked right back up. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Thor, Loki, and even the Grandmaster. The music was awesome and added exactly what was needed to the story. The special effects were top notch and the cinematography was gorgeous. I hope Marvel lets Taika Waititi direct other movies for them, or at least gives him a say in future projects!
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