Marvel try to strike it rich with their third instalment in their Thor franchise which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Did they succeed? Yeah i guess, well sort of.
The biggest advantage Ragnarok brings to this previously boring as chuff Thor franchise is new director, Taika Waititi, a New Zealand based director best known for his comedies Eagle Vs Shark, The Hunt for The Wilder People and brilliant What We Do In The Shadows. He brings his signature dead pan humour to the franchise and this really gives the film its entertainment boost. There are moments in Thor Ragnarok that had me laughing out loud and there's some nice little touches such as using Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory for a scene which has Thor travelling through what seems like a wormhole.
It's touches like this that adds a certain sense of nostalgia to the film even though it's not supposed to be a throwback to those films. There's a definite element of the familiar in the film but not in the sense that we've seen it all before but more a feeling of "ah, i get that joke". The script takes us from the dark overtones of Dark World and plops us right into a rainbow, candy coloured world of gods and aliens.
One stand out moment is the battle between Thor and Hulk, who's appearance is explained well and makes a reference to earlier MCU film, Age Of Ultron. The fight reminded me of the 1989 Empire Pictures movie, ARENA, a film about a human who battle monsters in one on one fights on an intergalactic space station. This scene is well handled and the CGI is well crafted. This is probably the best version of Hulk we've seen so far in the MCU and Mark Ruffalo's MOCAP performance is brilliant.
This time around we get a more interesting version of Thor. Before he was more a serious demi-god, yes there was banter between Thor and the other Avengers but he was a much more serious character. This time around we get a much more realised character, more specifically, Thor is an idiot, not a complete moron but he's more intune with characters we know from the 80s, the most obvious being Jack Burton in John Carpenter's brilliantly bonkers Big Trouble In Little China. Burton had a ton of charisma and muscle but with a bit of idiocy, which made him endearing. This is what Chris Hemsworth brings to the role for a 3rd solo outing and it works magnificently. Hemsworth has absolutely spot on comic timing and Thor Ragnarok allows him to bring that to the MCU. Thor comes across more like Starlord this time around and it makes the film alot more enjoyable.
Added to the cast this time around we get new characters who bring this series to like. The legendary Jeff Goldblum plays the grandmaster, leader of the trash planet that Thor and Loki find themselves on. He runs the place with an iron fist but in a more Goldblummy way. Always a joy to see Goldbum doing his thing.
Karl Urban as the cockney accented Skurg the Executioner brings a bit more humour to the film as a bit of an idiot but also a decent enough warrior who finds himself in the employ of Cate Blanchet's big bad Hela, the god of death. Speaking of Cate Blanchet, she's having fun as Hela, a mix between Rita Repulsa and Maleficent who wants to rule more than the 9 kingdoms and sets about doing this by taking over and enslaving Asgard. She also looks pretty damn hot with black hair.
But the big standout is Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, a former warrior who fought Hela back in the day who know works as a sort of bounty hunter/collector of fighters for Goldblum. She's a total bad ass and if Marvel do ever make an all female team up movie, she definitely needs to be part of it.
So, Thor Ragnarok, third time is definitely a charm. A hell of a lot of fun, good action, good comedy, good performances, great special FX and a nice 80s feel to it. Only thing missing was the perfect use of Flash by Queen towards the end, that would have literally made this the best film in the MCU. Definitely one of the better Marvel movie and definitely THE best Thor film. Gets a solid 4/5 from this guy....
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