Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

To put it bluntly, the “Thor” movies were never that popular. 2011s “Thor” is very good, though it’s usually overlooked by fans, and “Thor: The Dark World” is one of the most generic and forgettable entries in the entire MCU. So for “Thor: Ragnarok”, the third and potentially final instalment in the “Thor” series, Marvel hired New Zealand director Taika Waititi to helm this madcap, hilarious and action-packed adventure!

Taika Waititi did an incredible job directing “Thor: Ragnarok”, he injects so much colour, energy and exuberance into every frame in the film. I know I’m not the first person to make this comparison, but this does feel like a $200 million remake of the 1980 cult classic “Flash Gordon.” From the imaginative costumes to the sets and effects, “Thor: Ragnarok” oozes fun, charm and crazy cosmic stuff! Also, Waititi plays Korg, which is something marvellous worth mentioning!

The cast here are fantastic. Chris Hemsworth gives his best performance as Thor yet (if you ignore the fact that he is almost a completely different character here); he’s very humorous and engaging. I love the way that Thor’s arc concludes (in his solo series that is), his journey from arrogant prince to selfless king may be the most satisfying trilogy arc in the MCU; it fits in perfectly with the events of the first film.

Tom Hiddleston is once again excellent, Idris Elba is great as Heimdall, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/ Hulk is an inspired inclusion and new-comer Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, is a welcome addition to the MCU.

The antagonist of “Thor: Ragnarok” is an interesting one to discuss. Hela, portrayed by the magnificent Cate Blanchett, isn’t a particularly well written or developed villain, but Blanchett plays her so well that the character is much better than she should be; if any other actress played her, the Goddess of Death would be a disposable MCU baddie.

The final cast member I have to mention is Jeff Goldblum in the role of Jeff Goldblum, sorry, as The Grandmaster! I don’t care if Goldblum basically just plays himself, his performance here is so weird and infectiously bananas that I can’t help but love it. The scene where the Grandmaster melts his cousin is hysterical, it’s a textbook example of how this movie is both utterly bizarre and a riot to watch!

“Thor: Ragnarok” has hands-down the most adrenaline-pumping action set-pieces in the trilogy, from Thor’s annihilation of Surtur and his minions, to the epic Thor vs Hulk fight and the phenomenal third act climax, every sequence is so spectacular! It’s worth mentioning that the use of Led Zeppelin’s the “Immigrant Song” is nothing short of awesome, every time it came blasting into the film, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face!

However, “Thor: Ragnarok” is not flawless, I do have a couple of issues with it.

The emotional moments don’t always hit as hard as they should. Aside from a death scene at the beginning that reminded me of “Kung Fu Panda”, “Thor: Ragnarok” lacks any strong emotional gut-punches which, for a story that deals with the Viking apocalypse and the death of the Asgardian civilisation, is a problem. It’s hard to engage in a tender character moment when every character is quipping and cracking jokes constantly.

I don’t know if this is a criticism or not, but “Thor: Ragnarok” is absolutely nothing like the previous two films; this is easily the least stylistically consistent trilogy in the MCU! In my head, “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World” stand together but “Ragnarok” is its own thing, it just happens to have some characters from the previous films in it. This movie ditches Mjölnir, Jane, Selvig, Darcy, the pointless intern Ian, the Warriors Three, Sif and most of Thor’s hair! Whilst I don’t mind most of these losses, it would be ridiculously jarring to watch the “Thor” movies in isolation.

My biggest issue with “Thor: Ragnarok” is not actually a problem with the movie itself, but with “Avengers: Infinity War.” Almost everything that matters in this film is completely undone by “Infinity War”; here we’re told that Thor isn’t the “god of hammers” and that he doesn’t need a weapon to get the job done. However, most of Thor’s story in “Infinity War” revolves around him building a new weapon because he can’t defeat Thanos without one. The hero’s goal during the finale of “Ragnarok” is to save the Asgardian people no matter the cost because “Asgard is not a place, it's a people.” But SPOILER ALERT for the first scene of “Avengers: Infinity War”, about half of the Asgardians are immediately killed by Thanos and the Black Order, so none of “Ragnarok” really matters anyway!

In conclusion, I really like “Thor: Ragnarok” despite some minor gripes, it’s an insane and comedic rejuvenation of the Thor character, with some of the funniest and most thrilling MCU moments and a much appreciated lighter tone!

So that’s it, I have now reviewed every single MCU movie on the Into Film website leading up to “Avengers: Endgame.” It’s been a wild ride, revisiting the ok, the good and the amazing instalments. There have been a few less-than great films along the way, but overall, this franchise is an astonishing body of work. It’s my favourite movie series, housing some of my favourite films, it will be difficult to see the MCU as we know it come to an end, but one thing’s for sure, the journey to the finishing line has been a privilege to experience!