Thor: Ragnarök Review

    

    

        Thor has always had the most interesting films. In a way that Marvel Studios could never nail the right tone or style that best represents the hero. We had two different directors give their own aesthetics to show who the God of Thunder is. I remember when the studio showed the films for this phase, Thor: Ragnarök’s teaser title card had a darkness to it that something big was going to come down. Of course, Ragnarök is the Norse version of Armageddon. What I’m getting at is that with a new director helming a Thor film, it was a low bar for him to leap over and do something different. And man did he do it. 

1. Thor’s Odd Odyssey 

        Aside from the subsequent Avengers films coming up in the phase and to an extent Civil War’s last second introduction of Spider-Man, Thor: Ragnarök’s teaser is quite possibly the best trailer in the MCU. We see him in chains, and the real oh shit moment is seeing the main villain break his hammer Mjolnir. Additionally, having the Hulk pop up and fighting Odinson in a gladiatorial skirmish. To me, it’s indicative of what a teaser should be, it has to have a hook. And yeah, I took the bait big time. 

        With that, after the events of Age of Ultron we follow Thor as he searches for the Infinity Stones. He encounters a fire demon as he tells Odinson that he will destroy Asgard to fulfill the prophecy of Ragnarök. Thor returns to Asgard to find his father, only to discover that Loki has banished him to Earth. With the help of Doctor Strange, the brothers find their father and ultimately meet their sister Hela. 

        So yeah, this movie has two stories going on where it involves both Thor and what’s happening in Asgard. Having it played out where Thor is in another world while also trying to save his home from destruction has it where there are stakes. What makes it work is that he sees another Asgardian named Valkyrie. She abandoned her home to help the world’s leader find new contenders. 

        Most of the moments when Thor is on the planet Sakarr is another fish out of water storyline. This time where Thor is the only normal person whereas everything in the world is so zany and weird. All of it comes down to Jeff Goldblum’s character The Grandmaster. This person is probably the most eccentric and flamboyant character that Marvel has put on screen. He’s basically a dictator but is just goofy with how he acts. 

        But before I talk about Hela, I must talk about the Hulk. I was excited when he was returning and surprised that he was able to talk in his hulk-form. Showing us that Banner has been the jade giant for quite some time and being able to talk in a child-esque way. The moments between him and Thor are great since it has a buddy dynamic. Especially when it involves Thor switching his mind to who he prefers when he’s talking to either Hulk or Banner. 

        On the flipside, Hela is the hottest and most intimidating villain that I’ve seen. Just her appearance alone and seeing her crushing grip on Mjolnir makes her one of the best in the MCU. Just her appearing in Asgard and to quickly disposing most of Thor’s friends and the Asgardian army perfectly punctuates just how much of a threat she is. More so of the revelation that Asgard has skeletons in it’s closet. 

        When Hela destroys the ceiling mural to show the original was a shock. Having Odin and Hela being side by side as she wields Mjolnir was something I never expected to happen. More than anything, it shows what Hela wants. And going about it in the most diabolical way you can imagine. In one way, the whole film is like a slow walk towards Asgard’s destruction. 

        To elaborate more on that, when it involves like a prophecy world ending event is usually a bad idea in a comic book film. The ones that have that but then the day is saved, and the big fear is then sent to the backburner. How Ragnarök handles the apocalypse is that the actions that Thor does doesn’t immediately get noticed unless you’re an eagle-eyed fan that has an attention to detail. Like he unintentionally sets it up but realizes that the actual Asgard isn’t indicative of what he thinks is his people’s home. 

                I think if there’s one thing that can be taken away is the idea of “Might” and “Right. We’ve heard the saying that might makes right, simply stating that brute force is applied into anything. With this film, it’s presented that the rulers of Sakarr and Asgard that they rule everything with an iron fist, or Hulk. So much so that Thor tries to reason with Hulk but tries to go above Banner’s brute strength but loses. It’s a thing where Thor learns that he doesn’t have to be the strongest but has to be a true leader to help. 

        The final fight scene is indicative of this dueling ideas. After Hela takes out Thor’s eye and pinning him down, Odinson has the realization that his power doesn’t come from his hammer but him. And what we get is Thor just unleashing his power, but Hela gets right back up. It’s a subversion and supplements the idea because Thor knows that he must beat his sister by letting Asgard be destroyed. 

2. Taika Waititi 

        Of the phases that we’ve seen so far in the MCU, this one feels like the most director centric of the bunch. While yes, they had to adhere to the overall MCU storyline while basically adapting that story into their unique vision. Waititi is an interesting choice since his style of filmmaking is mostly comedy. An exact opposite of how the other Thor movies tried to do a Shakespearean and Game of Thrones feel, but none of it quite hitting like this one. 

        What sets Taika apart from the other directors is that his vision is so bonkers crazy that I can imagine that the heads of Marvel were concerned but ultimately let him do what he wanted in this sequel. For one thing, the film is comedic, probably the most comedic film in the entire Infinity Saga. With how the film starts with Thor being threatened by Surtur has its first comedic moment when Thor slightly spins around as he’s chained up. 

        Beyond the comedic moments which the movie does so well, I must commend with how it looks especially. Now, everything in the MCU specifically focusing on space is exactly the right amount of alien it should be. All of Sakar is colorful and matches the vibe of the Grandmaster who is so flamboyant as an evil ruler. I think the best moment to capture it is when the Grandmaster talks to Loki and Thor. The music is techno-but of course not sounding like no one could’ve orchestrated it on Earth.  

        It’s no wonder that this movie is the highest grossing among Thor’s films. And I think with the film’s success that Disney basically gave him a carte blanche to do his other film that he went on to direct Jojo Rabbit for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Seeing that one, I think it might be his best and he obviously deserved to win an Oscar. Other opportunities came about by helming a vampire show on FX and a pirate show on HBO max. Not to say or assume that those were under development prior to Thor’s third film, but it’s success probably jumpstarted the productions for all of them. 

3. Overall

        Thor Ragnarök is one of the best films in the MCU in general. And part of the successful streak that Marvel had in the 3rd phase of their films.