Director: Taika Waititi
Running time: 130 minutes
Of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, the Thor series has been the weakest in my opinion, despite its fantasy setting that differentiates it from the others. Much of this might have been due to the relatively lacklustre action set-pieces and a love interest that fell flat. But with the love interest gone and superior action scenes, the new Thor movie is a great addition, that works just as well as a standalone.
On this occasion, Hela (Cate Blanchett), the powerful, one time leader of the Armies of Asgard is released from a prison she has been sealed inside. After losing in battle with her and getting his Hammer smashed to pieces, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to the outer reaches of Space, where he lands on a planet called Sakaar, and taken prisoner by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Leaving Hela to cruelly overthrow Asgard.
While the story is pretty much by the numbers, the villain is an improvement for a Marvel movie, Hela has a clear motivation and a menacing onscreen presence. The performance by Blanchett is subtle but deadly, it isn't the most complex of villains, but it gives the movie an urgency that the others in the series desperately lacked.
As you'd expect, it's visually stunning, the fantastical locations are well realised, the production in general is top class. The costume designs are a real delight, from memory, the last time a movie showed such a great level of detail and imagination was the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
**
The action scenes are decent without ever being exceptional, I often felt like I was watching an elaborate video game being played out, but they do their job well enough. The background soundtrack carries a lot of the heavy lifting as the special effects extravaganza explodes onscreen, sometimes it works and gives the action an extra layer of momentum, other times it's intrusive. It seems to be a new trend in modern blockbusters that I hope is the exception rather than the rule.
**
The movie is also full of laughs, far more than I expected, it works best when the comedy bounces between character interactions. This is particularly the case when Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) makes his appearance, the chemistry between him and Hemsworth gels together really well.
However, the comedy can be a bit too forced sometimes, and the overall tone is a bit jarring because of the sinister violence that hangs over everything. None of it is particularly explicit, but it was far more forceful than any other MCU movie I have seen to date.
**
Thor Ragnarok was an absolute delight that took me a little bit by surprise, it's a long way from being perfect but it's certainly one of the stronger entries in the MCU series. I'd recommend this for just about anyone, even those few people who are not fond of comic book movies. But for those taking your kids, be a little mindful of the violence that surprised even me.
Verdict 4/5
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