Thor Ragnarok is finally here and here’s my review for The MCU’s latest installment.
Director: Taika Waititi(What we do in the shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople)
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett and more.
Watching Thor Ragnarok was a hilarious and thrilling experience which will make you laugh your butts off and keep you the edge with some hard hitting action scenes. The story follows Thor’s quest to stop Hela, The Goddess of death from taking over Asgard. Due to unfortunate circumstances Thor end’s up on a planet called Sakaar where he is captured and forced to fight in a Gladiator match against his fellow Avenger Hulk.
Thor Ragnarok has redeemed the character of Thor by turning him into a freaking badass. Just like everyone(or atleast me) thought that Captain America was just an okay hero and then came Captain America: The Winter soldier which made him a badass. So basically Thor Ragnarok is The Winter Soldier of Thor.
Taika Waititi is a great director and I feel like he was the perfect choice. Waititi has done a tremendous job with Thor Ragnarok with gorgeous visuals, great characters and a plethora of jokes. Taika Waititi wasn’t very well known as he has made some small budget movies like the recent 2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople which was very well received by critics and audiences alike with a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Thor used to be one of my least favorite Avenger but this film made him one of my favorites. Chris Hemsworth is back as the God of Thunder and turns out he’s very funny this time around. Chris Hemsworth gives a thundering performance as he does justice to the funny and the badass parts with the greatest of ease. Mark Ruffalo is also back as the lovable green giant and this time Hulk speaks more than ever and Ruffalo does a great job at playing the dumb monster. He was exactly how I imagine both Hulk and Bruce Banner would be out of the comics. Tessa Thompson was a welcome edition to the cast as the drunken fallen from grace warrior of Asgard, Valkyrie. Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster was very entertaining. Tom Hiddleston is always great no matter what he’s in. Idris Elba’s Heimdall was as always underused like in every other Thor movie but Idris Elba gives a great performance as expected.
And now its time to talk about the baddies. Cate Blanchett was simply splendid. The Goddess of death was menacing and an intimidating foe. Marvel always had a villain problem but I think they’re fixing the problem since the recent villains have all been great. Zemo from Civil war, Ego from Guardians of the galaxy Vol. 2, Vulture from Homecoming have all been well realized and intimidating antagonists and had meaningful motivations. Cate Blanchett is another addition to the good villains list of the MCU. Cate Blanchett’s Hela is not alone as her partner in crime, Skurge(The Executioner) played by Karl Urban had a good character arc. That leaves us with Firelord Surtur who I think was not very interesting and wasn’t in the movie that much.
The action in Thor Ragnarok is Exciting and f Epic proportions. Almost all action scenes are very well directed and thrilling to watch except for the close quarter hand to hand fights that have never been that good in any marvel film. But those are sparse so its not a big issue. The film is filled with Glorious battle scenes be it just a fight between two characters. Thor has never been so badass. Even after losing his hammer his fight scenes are actually even more entertaining.
Thor Ragnarok is a hilarious movie and though its all funny I did think they over did it just a bit. It just felt like everything was played for a joke and I do believe in some places they could’ve kept things a bit serious. There’s nothing wrong with comedy but for some scenes the jokes should have been kept at the side.
All said and done, Thor Ragnarok hit me like a lightning bolt of amazement with incredible visuals, a superb soundtrack, great action, compelling characters and a whole lot of comedy. Its one of the best MCU movie’s and is definitely the best Thor movie. I highly recommend this film to everybody.
Verdict: 4/5 stars