Review: Thor: Ragnorok – “the best of the three”

It is fair to say that Thor’s last two cinematic solo outings have missed the mark slightly with Marvel fans. But this time, the God of Thunder is not so alone and Thor: Ragnorok has not missed the mark whatsoever. 

Granted, Thor as a Marvel hero could be accused of being slightly dull. A seemingly invincible God with a hammer, banging around the Seven Realms taking out beast after beast with minimal effort and next to no back up. However, this new addition to the Marvel franchise is as entertaining as it is battle-ridden. 

Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnorok sees the fall of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and the return of their estranged elder sister Hela (Cate Blanchett). 

Thor and Loki are cast out of the bifrost in this comedic Marvel gem, landing them on Sakaar, where Thor is imprisoned by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and thrown into the a fight with his ‘champion’, a show to entertain the masses. 

This champion turns out to be the missing hero Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), last seen fleeing in a quinjet, lost to the Avengers and his love interest Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). 

He’s not the only Marvel man to make and appearance, however, with cameos from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and some of Tony Stark’s left over wardrobe – items Bruce Banner sports in a comical way for his part in the movie, while he isn’t the CG green brute. There is also the customary caveat from Marvel titan Stan Lee, this time appearing as a “creepy old man” who *gasp* relieves Thor of his golden locks before his battle with Hulk, leaving him with a brutish short style that still manages to make ladies in the audience weak at the knees.  

The story is thick with action and humour as Thor attempts to save Asgard from the grasp of his sister, the Goddess of Death, and her army of skeleton soldiers – not to mention her oversized zombie canine friend – with the help of Hulk and a Valkeryie out for revenge against Hela. 

The trio are also joined by the Grandmaster’s fighters from Sakaar, one of which named Korg, a stone man who by far made me laugh the most out of all the characters in the third of the Thor instalments. There is triumph and loss as with all good hero movies.

Without Mjolnir – Thor’s mighty hammer that does most of the work for him, let’s be honest – by his side, we see outrageous amounts of character development on Thor’s part, and tremendous sacrifice from many Asgardians as they find a way to defeat Hela once and for all.

Ragnorok is full of twists and turns, comedy and battle, and is not a disappointment to fans. Writers Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Jack Kirby have crafted a cleverly witty script which almost puts Marvel films to date to shame. 

Waititi and Marvel studios has reinvented the Thor films with this new addition Ragnorok, and fans of the Norse-mythological character will thank them for a long time to come.