Marvel Electrifies Audiences with “Thor: Ragnarok”

So far, Phase Three of Marvel’s movie plan has been stunning. Amazing films like Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Doctor Strange show that Marvel has finally found the perfect formula for making superhero movies.

However, the previous Thor entries in the Marvel universe have been regarded as some of the most confusing and uninteresting movies in the franchise.

So is it possible for Marvel to change the Thor movies from the least interesting to the most?

The answer is absolutely yes.

Thor: Ragnarok– which some critics have dubbed Marvel’s “funniest movie”–merges the mythos of the Asgard with the humor from Guardians of the Galaxy or Spider-man Homecoming. And it works perfectly. Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth)  is no longer the humorless shell of a character that he was back in The Avengers. Instead, he actually makes hilarious jokes left and right throughout the movie (which is supposedly due to him being around Tony Stark in between films) and this change gives this new entry in the Thor series exactly what it needed.

The film takes place roughly two years after the events in Avengers: Age of Ultron with Thor on a mission to find the truth about the prophetic end of Asgard, a prophecy known as Ragnarok. Hela, the Goddess of Death (played by Cate Blanchett) arises with the hopes of taking Asgard for herself, and destroys Thor’s prized hammer (which is called Mjolnir) in the process. The film explores how Thor can survive without his iconic hammer, as he teams up with the previously missing Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo), a mysterious warrior called Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson), and Thor’s shifty half-brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston).

The dynamic between the new “team” flows surprisingly well, which I believe is due to the more humorous tone of the film, with each character having their own important role in the outcome. Thor and Hulk/Bruce Banner’s scenes stand out the most to me since their usual unintentional humor works well with Thor’s newly sarcastic persona.

The villains and side characters are yet another thing that make this movie shine, as is the norm with Marvel movies nowadays. Hela is no stoic leader who hides away to wait for the hero; instead, she leads her conquest all by herself. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is a fairly abnormal villain, with his oddly sadistic championship that he holds on his planet, but all in all, any moment with him is sure to bring some laughs.

The director of the film, Taika Waititi, also plays an instant classic character, Korg. I really don’t want to give away anything about this character, as seeing him for the first time in the film will be so much more rewarding than just reading about him.

The film only has two major issues, the pacing and tone. The movie moves extremely quickly, going from one interesting point directly into another, which is both good and bad. This prevents unnecessary filler being added to the story, but it also can leave the viewer confused or left with unanswered questions. There is also a lot to be covered in one movie, and you can’t exactly talk about how Thor’s having an existential crisis about losing Mjolnir for two whole hours.

Another negative is that although the new funny tone of Thor: Ragnarok is refreshing, it somewhat undermines the “world-ending apocalypse” aspects that Ragnarok supposedly represents. Personally, I’d prefer the darker and more story line from Captain America: Civil War for something like such an important part in Thor’s history.

Thor Ragnarok is an excellent wrap-up to the Thor trilogy, and adds the final important touches to the Marvel cinematic universe in preparation for Avengers: Infinity War. The light touch might’ve not been wholly appropriate for this specific plot line, but may be the only real way to adapt Thor before Infinity War.

Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is yet another great Marvel movie, with a few thematic flaws. I’d give Thor Ragnarok a solid 8 out of 10 tries at “get help”.