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Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.
Marvel did an amazing job of introducing each of the Avengers individually before their first big screen collaboration in 2012’s “The Avengers.” Starting with 2008’s “Iron Man,” followed by “The Incredible Hulk,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” by the time we got to “The Avengers, for the most part, we were familiar with the majority of each team member. Granted, while Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow made a brief appearance in “Iron Man 2” and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in “Thor,” “The Avengers” properly introduced them both to the world. And what a great addition they made to our already assembled superheroes. While the entire group works great together as The Avengers, watching them grow and mature in their own individual adventures can be just as rewarding. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is still my favorite Captain movie while I actually enjoyed “Iron Man 3” the best out of Tony Stark’s trilogy. And after watching “Thor: Ragnarok,” it is by far, the best of his solo journeys, and one of the very best Marvel films to date.
After escaping the clutches of a fire demon, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to Asgard only to have his happy homecoming cut short by the appearance of Hela (Cate Blanchett), the goddess of death who claims to be both his and Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) sister. She informs them that she was Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) firstborn and therefore, the rightful heir to the throne before Odin had her banished many years ago but when Thor refuses to give up his crown, along with Loki they try to stop her and quickly comprehend that her powers are far greater than theirs and she casts them out into space to die. After Odin’s recent passing, they realize he was the only being powerful enough to keep Hela from returning to Asgard. The two brothers wind up on Sakaar, a garbage planet surrounded by wormholes, and which is run by the bombastic and flamboyant Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Thor is captured by Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), a mercenary who lives on the planet, with a mysterious past, and she presents him to the Grandmaster as a gladiator to fight in his upcoming Contest of Champions. When Thor is pitted against his old friend Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), as the Hulk, he is initially overjoyed but quickly discerns that it is a battle to the death. After pummelling each other into the ground, accompanied by raucous cheers from the crowd, the Grandmaster decides to let them both live to fight again another day.
The Hulk eventually assumes the form of Bruce Banner and he and Thor plan their escape so Thor can return to Asgard to save his home from the clutches of Hela. When it is revealed that Valkyrie was actually one of the fabled female Asgardian fighters who were annihilated trying to protect Asgard from Hela many years ago, Thor succeeds in persuading her to join his cause. Now both of them, along with Loki and the Hulk, must band together and return to Asgard to save their people and confront Hela one last time, before it’s too late.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is, without a doubt, pure unadulterated entertainment. I haven’t had this much fun at a movie in a very long time and I wish all big-budget films were as campy and ridiculously enjoyable as this one. The movie was obviously very heavily influenced by Mike Hodges’ 1980 campy “Flash Gordon” and is played solely for laughs. Chris Hemsworth seems to be having way more fun than should be allowed and his continuous banter with Bruce Banner is priceless. Cate Blanchet as the gothic goddess of death is obviously having the time of her life as she chews up and spits out the scenery around her until nothing is left. Director Taika Waititi, who helmed last year’s hilarious yet poignant “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” here combines practical special effects and spectacular CGI to such perfection, at times, it’s almost impossible to separate the two. “Thor: Ragnarok” has set the bar for Marvel films and I just feel sorry for “Black Panther,” which hits theaters next February because, until its release, it will undoubtedly live under Thor’s shadow. And believe me, like Thor himself, that is one hell of a big shadow.
In theaters Friday, November 3rd
Not to be contrary, but the comedy was the only thing that really helped to maintain my suspension of disbelief… As much as I like Cate Blanchett, the presentation of her character felt so overly dramatic that I was repeatedly lurched into the ridiculousness of the purported plot…especially the costuming and her gesture of changing her hair into horns. But maybe that’s because I’m a sucker for Chris Hemsworth’s 6’3″ god-of-thunderness and – off the record here, but the sexy boyish nerdiness of Mark Ruffalo long ago earned him a place on my “freebie list”… But Cate’s eye makeup was… Read more »