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Into the MCU: "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)


Wednesday comes upon us, and the call to travel to another world comes with it- a colour world of heroes and villains... the Marvel Cinematic Universe...

Odin is dead, releasing his daughter Hela from her long confinement.  She begins her conquest of Asgard, and sweeps across the planet swiftly and viciously.

 It is up to Thor to stop her, but he's stranded on a gladiator planet across the cosmos without his hammer.  His only hope of defeating Hela lies within an ancient prophecy about the end of Asgard...

Of the Thor movies to date, "Thor: Ragnarok" is by one of the strongest ones story-wise.  It's grounded more in the characters, and moves along at a quicker pace than the others.  I loved the shift in tone from the strong operatic one in "Dark World", to the slightly more modern and vibrant one of "Ragnarok".  A really marvelous blend of action, drama, and humour that elevated this movie about the standard fare.

This movie also gives Thor himself a lot more development than previous movies, and really expands on the relationship between Thor and Loki- building nicely on what came in "Dark World".  I was just a little disappointed that Bruce Banner/Hulk didn't get as much development as they deserved- though they were wonderfully written as supporting characters.  Valkyrie was a great addition, and gave the movie a bit of a chance to touch on equality and diversity without being heavy handed about it.  The villain- the Grandmaster, is a bit silly... but you love him anyways for it.

"Thor: Ragnarok" really gave Chris Hemsworth a chance to exercise his comedy acting skills- and he did it wonderfully in my opinion.  His humour came across very naturally, making it all the funnier.  His scenes with Tom Hiddleston as Loki especially were memorable because both were such great performers.  I loved Cate Blanchett as Hela.  I haven't been disappointed by her in any of her performances yet.  She brought a great blend of contempt for people and wit to the role.  You almost want to root for her at times, in fact.  The Grandmaster- played by Jeff Goldblum is hilarious.  You can't help but enjoy and love the slightly scattered comments made by him.  Special note to Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.  She brought an amazing blend of bad assery, charm, wit, and grounding to the character.  I will certainly be looking forward to more from her, and hope the MCU uses her more.

This movie is a colourful, vibrant, exciting, funny departure from the more serious, operatic instalments that came before... and I loved it.  It was just a really fun experience for me- one I have no problem repeating again.  Watch it- you won't be disappointed.  One of the most solid "Good" from me.
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