In the last blog movie review I wrote that featured “Wonder Woman” and “Spiderman: Homecoming”, I went on a rant about the preview I saw of the new “Thor: Ragnarok” movie that featured another “good vs. good” battle, this one between Thor and the Hulk. This, coming off the heels of Batman vs. Superman and Captain America vs. Ironman battle manias in 2016, seemed like an odd trend that was starting to form among the writers of the super hero genre. Well, after watching Thor, I’ll be the first to admit that I jumped the gun on this one. Sure, they did fight, temporarily, but it was mostly tongue-in-cheek and actually pretty entertaining.
And the same thing could be said about the entire movie.
By far the most humorous of the Marvel super hero movies to
date, all of the main characters in the movie apparently decided to take a
chill pill in this third movie of the Thor trilogy. At least compared to the
intensity they portrayed in prior Marvel films. Particularly Loki, the brother
of Thor, who makes his first return to the big screen since getting his butt
kicked in the first Avengers movie back in 2012 and his ho-hum guest appearance
in the second film of the Thor trilogy (Thor:
The Dark World) in 2013. In those, he was about as ruthless as you can get.
No hesitation to kill or destroy anything. Seemingly having no conscience. Completely
untrustworthy and unpredictable. In the Avengers, ruling earth was his only objective, and
nothing was going to stop him. In Thor:
Ragnarok, however, Loki has lightened up significantly. In fact, when we
first see him, he is on Nasgard pretending to be his father Odin (Loki can
change his appearance, if you remember) watching a theatrical rendition of
Thor, Loki and Odin butting heads in a very funny parody (be sure to check out
the guest actors playing the roles of the three Norsemen in the play).
Hilarious. As in the past, Tom Huddleston does a great job portraying motivationally-questionable Loki. He’s actually my favorite character in the Thor films.
Chris Hemsworth, as Thor, had the unique dual role of super
hero and comic relief specialist. He was not only involved in the many actions
scenes and bad guy confrontations, but he would crack a joke when things got
too intense. Very considerate! And speaking of bad guys, that’s where we come
to what I consider the weakest part of the movie. Cate Blanchett, one of the
best actresses around, portrays Hela, the never mentioned before more powerful
and older sister of Thor and Loki who has quite a bone to pick with her younger
brothers. Hela awakens an army of
zombie-like creatures who have been lying dormant in the depths of Nasgard and
prepares them for the “Ragnarok” invasion, which is meant to destroy Nasgard
and everyone in it. Helping her is Skurge, played by Karl Urban (aka, Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek movies), who is only doing so to stay alive. Thor and Loki
obviously cannot allow their world to be destroyed, or at least Thor, as we’re never quite sure with
Loki. Joining them in the battle is the
Hulk, who Thor unintentionally reunites with while imprisoned on some planet on
the other side of the galaxy (run by an entertaining Jeff Goldblum). How did Hulk get there? You’ll have to watch the
movie to find out. To escape imprisonment, Thor must defeat the champion of this
prison planet. You guessed it…that would be the Hulk. Hence the confrontation between
the two of them. Needless to say, Thor escapes, taking the Hulk with him, and
they both head to Nasgard (along with Valkeriye, another Nasgardian) to stop the dreaded Hela.
Getting back to Cate Blanchett as Hela and why I thought she
was the weakest part of the movie. Simply put, I just didn’t think she was that effective, as she over dramatized the part. Probably because she’s just too
good of an actor to play such a shallow role. I don’t know. But she kind of did
the same thing in some of her other villainous roles, like in 2015’s Cinderella
and especially in the 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
That aside, this was a very entertaining movie, and certainly
one of the better Marvel super hero movies. It kept you on your toes, kept you
guessing, and most unexpectedly, kept you laughing. Who would have thought! Look for all to reappear, probably for the last time, in 2018-19's two part
