Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 superhero film, the third in the Thor series and part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
THE STORY: Set a few years after the events of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself imprisoned by a fire demon who tells of Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) departure from Asgard and the coming of the Ragnarok, a prophesied destruction of his homeland. Escaping with the demon’s crown, he finds his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) impersonating their father. After a squabble, and with the help of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), they eventually find Odin in Norway, who passes away just before telling them that his death will release from captivity Hela (Cate Blanchett), his first born, the Goddess of Death. And so she appears, destroying Thor’s hammer with ease, and heading to Asgard to reign in some genuine terror. Now it’s up to Thor to try and stop her before his home is destroyed and all is lost to the power of the Ragnarok.
Director: Taika Waititi
Writers: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett
THE RUNDOWN: Director Taika Waititi‘s humorous take to the Thor franchise is a welcome addition, making this third in the series the best yet. Filled with plenty of Marvel fisticuffs, the better part of the film is the great dialogue and sharp performances from the likes of Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum, who plays Grandmaster, an Elder of the Universe. While it doesn’t quite capture the comedic tone of Guardians of the Galaxy, and nor should it, the mix is still really effective, giving the brooding God of Thunder plenty of punch but with some well-earned chuckles. Terrific CGI and a sensational score from former Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh make this a superhero movie great fun to watch.
Taking the series in a more humorous direction proves the best thing possible for the once failing franchise, making this well worth a look. Plenty of good times.
Sticking to the Marvel formula of big action set-pieces, the film is a little bloated with fights and spectacle, which seems all the more unnecessary given the great writing.
THAT MOMENT: (MAJOR SPOILERS) In the summer of 1970, British rock group Led Zeppelin were invited to Iceland as guests of a cultural mission, appearing in Reykjavik at a university concert hall, where they were met by enthusiastic fans. Six days later, they were at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Somerset, England where they debuted a new song about their experience in the land of ice and snow. It featured a thundering hair-raising opening riff from lead guitarist Jimmy Page along with singer Robert Plant‘s iconic howling at the start, becoming one of the band’s signature tunes. It was called Immigrant Song, and for decades has established itself as a rock mainstay in music history. And yet, for all that time, despite it’s Norse background and Hammer of the God’s mentality, no one ever linked it to a popular Marvel comic book character because, well, why would you? Leave it to Waititi to change all that.
In the opening moments of Thor: Ragnarok, while the God of Thunder begins his takedown of the fire demon, Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song kicks in, adding punch – if you will – to Thor’s combat with the legions of monsters trying to stop him. It’s a terrific shot of adrenaline that sets an even more upbeat tone to the film, but what we don’t know is that while this slice of rock legend feels great right here, it’s only a precursor to the real magic to come.
Skipping ahead a bit, after Odin’s touching demise and the arrival of his daughter Hela, Goddess of Death, Thor (whose all-powerful hammer is now destroyed) and Loki have stumbled through a wormhole and landed on the planet Sakaar, with Thor forced into gladiator fighting by another former Asgardian, Scrapper 142 (Tessa Thompson), the last of the Valkyries who has become a slave trader and employee of Grandmaster. Don’t worry, she’s not all that happy about it. And how she keeps Thor at bay, I’ll leave you to discover.
Thor’s first fight is against a legendary opponent, one he is told remains undefeated, a slayer of all who face him, a beast of unimaginable strength, a creature born for battle, a monster of – [bg_collapse view=”link-inline” color=”#cc2525″ expand_text=”show spoiler” collapse_text=”close spoiler” ]it’s the Hulk. It had to be the Hulk.[/bg_collapse] This is of course becomes the centerpiece of the film, and it’s a stirring bit of beat ’em up with two equals fighting each other in an arena packed with crowds looking for bloodshed. It’s funny. It’s action-heavy. It’s even a little touching. Either way, they come out even and forge a way to escape the planet, swinging Scrapper 142 to their side … and leaving Loki behind in a bit of he-deserved-it payback.
Anyway, they race to Asgard, where the survivors of Hela’s reign of terror has them hiding out in the mountains under the protection of Heimdall (Idris Elba), a powerful Asgardian sentry, as Hela resurrects her former army and the giant wolf. In a last ditch effort to take back what is there’s, Heimdall leads the people back to the city, though it looks to be a wasted effort until suddenly, in swoop Thor, 142, and of course, [bg_collapse view=”link-inline” color=”#d41515″ expand_text=”show spoiler” collapse_text=”close spoiler” ]the Hulk[/bg_collapse]. And not far behind them, comes Loki and a crew of rescued slaves, he having a change of heart. He’s the bad guy you just know wants to be good.
Naturally, Thor heads straight for Hela as the others contend with the mutant zombie army of the dead and massive wolf, though Hela appears to be more powerful. A lot in fact. In a harrowing strike, she takes out one of Thor’s eyes (leaving him looking like his father), and pins him to a high precipice, mocking his supposed powers. She howls that she is the Goddess of Death, and ridicules him, claiming she doesn’t even remember what he’s the god of. That’s just mean. Nearly beaten, he flashes in his mind to his father’s side in a vast green meadow and admits, without his hammer, he is nothing. She’s much too strong. We feel ya, Thor.
Odin smiles and gently asks a bit sardonically, “Are you Thor, the god of hammers?” as a roiling sky of dark clouds swirls behind him. Ah! Right. No, he is not. Back with his sister’s death grip, and without saying a work, he becomes what he always has been. With a strike of lightning unseen anywhere in the universe, he fires upon Hela, and with the mighty chords of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song bursting over the soundtrack, he leaps into the fray of battle in super slow motion, fueled by rivulets of cackling electricity. Thor, the God of Thunder is ready to play.
WHY IT MATTERS: The defeated hero who spurs back to life is hardly anything fresh, it being the central conceit of countless underdog movies, from sports dramas to now this, the superhero genre. It’s a movie trope crucial to the narrative of any of these movies and without it, well, it would be like driving a car with only three wheels. Sure, we’d most likely get where we’re going but boy would it be unpleasant.
With Thor: Ragnarok this revival is especially invigorating because it not only gets our hero back on track, it straight up re-defines him. Odin tells him that the hammer was never his source of strength. It was meant to focus him and help control his strength, but it became so symbolic of the character, no one really imagined him without it. Thor without his hammer would be like, well, honestly, Thor … without his hammer.
What’s so incredibly effective in this moment is this very discovery, which is not just meant for Thor but also us, the audience, who are suddenly thinking, “Well, damn. How’d we not think of that?” It’s remarkably satisfying to see Thor rise up and transform, like a kick-ass electric-infused butterfly emerging from chrysalis take to the sky and then reign thunder on all below. It’s spine-tingling.
By bringing back the Immigrant Song, we not only get re-energized by the tune’s infectious rhythm and hard-driving beat, we are reminded of the start and immediately recognize the growth in the character, where at the beginning, it was entirely a win by the hammer, a massive beatdown where Thor smashes everything with it, and now, stripped of it, morphs they guy into the real hero it’s taken three films to get to. This is great storytelling and at last, with this power literally saving his own people from extinction, makes the fighting essential, something most of these movie fail to do, Marvel films constantly containing epic battles with little consequence.
Thor: Ragnarok did the right thing in evolving its approach, helping to give the superhero film, and especially the Marvel series a boost. Well-written and smartly aware of itself, this is a genuinely fun and highly charismatic effort that might have a few significant flaws, but overcomes them with great enthusiasm, including a third act battle on a bridge where Thor, the God of Thunder rises from the ashes a terrific bit of movie magic. It’s a great cinematic moment.