Thor: Ragnarok: Review

Thor: Ragnarok took your least favourite Avenger and Marvel property and turned it into one of the best and funniest stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


The opening act was the worst part of this movie. It felt too forced. You can tell that the big Marvel bosses were very involved in the beginning of this film as it's purpose was to just universe build. Quick, throw in an Avenger, try to wrap up the last two Thor films as fast as possible, forget the Loki is a bad guy, let's go to Earth, HEY AUDIENCE DON'T FORGET YOU'RE WATCHING A MARVEL MOVIE THAT IS PART OF A BIGGER MARVEL UNIVERSE. It bored me. But when the second act got going and Hela showed up the filmed started to move. Then, when Hulk finally entered the film truly found its pace and from there on out I really liked it.

Hulk and Dr Bruce Banner were the best part of this film. Banner has always been one of my favourite Avengers but he's never really had much to do in the MCU. It was nice seeing both Hulk and Bruce have a story of their own and grow as characters. I particularly enjoyed his banter with Thor.

This film included a lot of the things I crave from my superheroes flicks. It had great action, it was funny and lighthearted, a perfect escape, characters you can connect with, beautiful domestic moments, and, of course, a bromance to end all bromances. Roll over Steve and Tony, Bruce and Thor are the new it couple of the MCU. It was really nice to see heroes supporting and being nice to each, rather than starting civil wars over a disagreement. I loved that this bromance went both ways, with Burce and Hulk, and that we got to see the different dynamics of Thor dealing with the big and little guy.

Taika Waititi has said that he wanted to make sure that Thor was the most interesting character in the movie and he succeeded. You can really see Chris Hemsworth's humour shine through the character now, which gives Thor that extra charm. This comes from a person who had never really cared about Thor before this film. He wasn't exactly my least favourite Avenger, just the one I always forgot about...

(Myself and the totally real Thor fighting)

Ragnarok has a lovely humour that I truly appreciated. It's a mix of silly, self-deprecating and very self-aware.  Some of the jokes were even verging on a parody, especially toward Age of Ultron. My favourite scene in the film had all of these traits. I cried with laughter when Hulk and Thor were in the middle of the fighting and Thor kept saying "the suns getting real low," Clearly, this lullaby only works if you're a hot redhead.

The scene stealers in Ragnarok are without a doubt Loki and Korg.
Loki has always been a big and important character to the MCU but I liked how in this film he was less important to the overall plot and was only really acting on self-preservation, with a little bit of redemption. He wasn't evil and he wasn't good, he's just doing what he can to stay alive. I can only hope that this sticks and he doesn't suddenly become a big bad villain again in Infinity War.
By now, I assume that everyone one has heard of Korg because he's truly fantastic and I don't want to ever stop talking about him. He's such a gentle soul which is so refreshing to see compared to the heaps and heaps of aggression and testosterone that Marvel has had previously. I hope that Korg has a happy life after the events of Ragnarok and continues to tell his rock, paper, scissors jokes.

This is one best Marvel movies for a while that really looks back on the past and learns. It kept me excited for future Marvel movies in an age where superhero fatigue is all too common. It starts to set up for the next big chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while keeping me interested in the world of Thor. Thor: Ragnarok did what I thought was impossible, it made me fall in love with a Thor film and outshined recent MCU movies.