Review: Thor: Ragnarok
What a wild ride! Not only is this the best Thor movie, not only is this one of the best MCU movies, it’s one of the best superhero movies ever!
This is the year that the Olympian (Wonder Woman) takes on the Asgardian (Thor) at the box office. So far, Wonder Woman is the biggest money-making superhero movie of the year. But the Asgardian is fast on her heels. With an opening weekend that beat expectations and high critical approval and fan based approval this has the potential to be the biggest money maker of the year. More about that later, for now let’s get to the plot.
This film is so out there! It begins with Thor already in chains as he’s imprisoned by Surtur (Clancy Brown.) The film then brings us breath taking set piece after breath taking set piece, each one topping the one before it. The action is nonstop, the humor is nonstop and yet subtle. The 17th MCU film and each one is better than the one before it. There are some great cameos from Marvel characters and actors I wasn’t expecting to see. I cannot wait to see this film again and again.
I don’t want to give away too much, suffice to say that the trailer teases a gladiatorial battle between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and it’s a great battle of the behemoths. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is up to his mischievous ways again and Anthony Hopkins is back, briefly, as Odin. His part in this film isn’t as big as the others and that’s probably the biggest let down as his character isn’t given much to do, except deliver the sagely advice. If there’s another one, hopefully he’ll be given at least one more chance to shine. Cate Blanchett is a commanding presence as the chief villain and offspring of Odin, Hela goddess of the dead. The Banter between Ruffalo and Hemsworth is priceless and brings our avenging hero’s to Sakaar which fans of the comic book will recognize as the one where the Hulk was exiled to by Reed Richards after it was deemed that the Hulk was too dangerous to remain on earth (but wait til he comes back!) . Jeff Goldblum is at the top of his game as the leader of this world of war games. Tessa Thompson gives a decent performance as the audience has to guess if her Valkyrie is a hero or villain or sometimes both. Karl Urban is good, though underused as Skurge.
A winner to be sure and gets my highest recommendation. As far as opening weekends go The Asgardian (122 million and some change) is ahead of the Olympian (103 million and some change) So it could wind up being the biggest superhero film of the year… but wait, the Olympian is coming back in less than two weeks… and this time she’s bringing some friends! ****1/2
Thor: Ragnarok
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Director: Taika Waititi
Writer: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost
Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe
Run Time: 130 minutes
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About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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