Thor Ragnarok Full Review

Like many Marvel fans, I recently went to a screening of their latest MCU movie, Thor: Ragnarok. And like the majority of people, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ 96% positive rating, I very much enjoyed the experience. A lot of reviewers, both official and unofficial, have thrown the word “fun” around when describing the film, and I feel that this is a pretty accurate way to describe it. The film is a fun, comedic superhero romp, with many a quip, action sequence and flashy special effect. However, the film is far from perfect and I have a couple of points to make about aspects of the film that I felt could have been improved upon. This will be a non-spoiler review so that those who haven’t seen it won’t have the film ruined for them. Unless they take offence from some of my criticisms in which case you’ve been warned.

Thor Ragnarok follows the titular character as he attempts to stop Hela The Goddess of Death from taking over Asgard. Before he can face her however he must first escape the planet of Sakaar, where he has been banished by Hela upon the destruction of his hammer Mjolnir. To defeat Hela, he enlists the help of his step brother Loki, a former Valkyrie of Asgard, and The Incredible Hulk, who has been stranded on Sakaar and become a celebrity among the gladiatorial crowd. The story itself is fairly simple but thrives on the interesting directing style of Taika Waititi. The movie shines through its humour. Ragnarok is first and foremost a comedy and this definitely works to the films credit on a number of occasions. However, there were often moments in the film that were meant to be pivotal and most importantly emotional that were compromised because of a joke that was thrown in. These jokes were funny, but it did make it seem as though the film didn’t know when to stop being funny and focus on the serious aspects of the story.

The beginning of the film felt a little choppy. A film changed setting and tone a number of times in the first 20 minutes or so and a lot happened in those few minutes. This is understandable because the film needs to introduce the villain and get the protagonist into a predicament quickly so as to get the main story going. However, I felt that a bit more set up could have been done before Hela was introduced so as to make the moment of her arrival feel weightier. Also on Hela. Cate Blanchett gives a great performance as the villain. There’s no denying that she was a force to be reckoned with in the film as shown in the way she quickly eradicates most of Asgard’s defences, as well as Mjolnir, RIP. However, beyond that she is the typical MCU villain and doesn’t stand out as much against the likes of Loki, Ultron and even Vulture in the recent Spider-Man Homecoming. Although let’s be honest, Marvel movies are not known for outstanding villains.

The acting in general though was incredibly good. You can tell that everyone involved put their all into their performances. Some standouts include Taika Waititi as Korg, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk and of course Jeff Goldblum as The Grand Master, all of which stole every scene that they were in. Of course, massive credit has to be given to Chris Hemsworth for his continuing portrayal of Thor. To me Thor has always been my least favourite of the MCU heroes. I’ve just never been able to relate to him as a character and his movies never excited me in the way that other entries into the franchise have. However, I felt that inserting a bit more humour into his character definitely helped to make him far more interesting and engaging and helped with my enjoyment of the movie. And can we also take a moment to appreciate what a beautiful man Chris Hemsworth is.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. As I said, it’s far from a perfect movie, but it’s definitely a fun one. The movie is a wild ride from start to finish and visually stunning which draws you even further into the wacky adventure that the characters go on. And as far as Thor films go, it is the best that Marvel has to offer. Despite some of the out of place humour and pacing issues at the start, the movie is definitely worth watching and I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of the MCU and movies in general.