Thor: Ragnarok review

THOR: RAGNAROK:

THIS NEON-LIT COSMIC ADVENTURE SHOWS THOR AT HIS MIGHTIEST!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

MARVEL STUDIOS

(From left to right) Heimdall, Valkyrie, Hela, Thor, the Hulk, Loki, Grandmaster, and Odin in Thor: Ragnarok

            I’m convinced Marvel can take the campy space adventure tone that made Guardians of the Galaxy an unexpected hit and make it work with all their heroes. That’s where Thor: Ragnarok comes in, the third film starring Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, The Cabin in the Woods, Rush) as the mighty God of Thunder, Thor, seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first Thor movie to not feature Natalie Portman, Stellen Skarsgård, and Kat Dennings.

            In the director’s chair this time is Taika Waititi (Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) who manages to take a world originally brought to life massively by Kenneth Branagh in the first film and adds a sci-fi space adventure tone to it resulting in quite possibly the best Thor movie ever…and also the best Hulk movie we’ve had so far. Who would have thought a director of mostly independent films could outshine Kenneth Branagh and Alan Taylor with the world of the Gods?

            After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor (Hemsworth) has been imprisoned on the other side of the universe and his mighty hammer was destroyed by the ruthless Hela (Cate Blanchett-The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Aviator, Cinderella (2015)) out for vengeance on the realm of Asgard. Thor must race against time to get back to Asgard before Hela unleashes Ragnarok, the destruction of his home world and end of Asgardian civilization.

            Along the way he ends up in a gladiatorial battle and is pitted against his old Avenger friend, Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo-13 Going on 30, Zodiac, Spotlight) and encounters the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum-The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day), one of the Elders of the Universe who rules the planet Sakaar where Thor battles the Hulk, and forms yet another partnership with his adopted brother and nemesis, Loki (Tom Hiddleston-War Horse, Crimson Peak, Kong: Skull Island) in hopes to save his home from Hela’s wrath.

            The film also stars Tessa Thompson (Veronica Mars, Creed, Westworld) as Valkyrie, Karl Urban (The Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek, Dredd) as Skurge, Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Hitchcock, Transformers: The Last Knight) as Odin, Idris Elba (Prometheus, Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book (2016)) as Heimdall, Tadanobu Asano (Parasyte, Harmonium, Silence) as Hogun, Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone, The Book of Eli, The Divergent Series) as Volstagg, and Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled, Tangled: The Series) as Fandral, Rachel House (Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Moana) as Topaz, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy, The Imitation Game) as Doctor Strange.

            Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is a rare time where the third installment of a trilogy ends up being the best, much like last year’s Captain America: Civil War. It’s a refreshing change of pace and tone with the 80s-metal cover art design/sci-fi campy space tone mixed with Norse mythology and it surprisingly works really well, in fact I’m shocked there wasn’t a single Guardians of the Galaxy reference thrown in there because if there was any movie to perfectly connect them into the Infinity War, it would have been this film.

            The action is exhilarating and in your face even when you’re not watching on IMAX or 3D and the way it’s balanced with humor is what I consider near perfection. I’m talking as fun as the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and easily the best treatment of Thor I’ve seen in terms of film.

            Chris Hemsworth despite being Natalie Portman-less in this film still keeps the charm going as Thor, Tom Hiddleston still makes the bad girls scream in the theater as Loki, and this movie has quite possibly given me the best Jeff Goldblum performance I’ve ever seen. Cate Blanchett dominates as Hela and not only does she want to destroy Asgard but she steals every minute whenever she’s on-screen and it’s clear Blanchett was having the time of her life as the character, one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best villains and if Aku from Samurai Jack and Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers had a baby, this is what you'd get.

            I also appreciate how the movie doesn’t take itself that seriously, it feels very self-aware of how ridiculous and over-the-top it is, the jokes range from goofy to legitimately funny, and the production design is so colorful and neon it really gives Guardians of the Galaxy a run for their money, not every superhero movie needs to be like The Dark Knight, you don’t need to be edgy and dark, sometimes you can make something corny and fun and make it work just as much.

            This could quite possibly fit in my Top 10 Marvel Movies, maybe even Top 5, Thor: Ragnarok is a blast of high-octane space fun with no “I Am Groots” required. Forget Thor: The Dark World, Ragnarok is the true Thor sequel and it’d be very “shocking” if it ends up flopping financially.