I amwriting this movie review on a Thorsday.
Oh … didn’t you know Dear Reader that Thursday was originally known as “Thorsday” in honor of the Norse God of Thunder himself?
Well, I suppose in a comic book universe, anything is possible. Even surviving Ragnarok, the end of all things, as The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) faces his greatest challenge yet—this time facing off against the ruthless Goddess of Death herself in “Thor: Ragnarok.”
And if you are keeping score, the last cinematic episode in which we saw the God of Thunder was at the conclusion of 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” when the blonde-haired muscle man jumped into the Rainbow Bridge and (we assumed) teleported back to Asgard in search of the all-powerful Infinity Stones which have been plaguing Earth’s mightiest heroes for the past decade.
If you thought this final Thor film would pick up immediately after the conclusion of his Avenger’s battles … ah no.
Actually, the story picks up two years later. In this Taika Waititi-directed pic (who lensed the great “Hunt For The Wilderpeople”), immediately begins with the backstory of Thor, not on Asgard, but instead is trapped on Musepelheim (one of the mystical nine realms) as the God of Thunder has to fight Suthur (voiced by the menacing Clancy Brown) and the fire giants in order to escape.
Eventually battling his way out of Musepelheim, Thor’s next stop is finally Asgard itself, where he confronts the Odin-masquerading Loki (Tom Hiddleston)–his villainous half-brother who has assumed the throne and banished the All-Father.
Grabbing the wayward God of Mischief and jumping back onto the Rainbow Bridge (actually a wormhole connecting each of the “nine realms” together), Thor journeys to the home of the sorcerer supreme, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to seek his counsel, and magical arts, in finding Odin.
Both Thor and Loki then embark on a fantastic journey as they confront the evil Hela (Cate Blanchett) who just happens to be Thor’s sister and the Mistress of Death. It seems that since Odin has been booted out of Asgard, all of the mystical barriers containing all of the really nasty evil in the universe have fallen with Hela emerging from the darkness and her sights on the throne of Asgard itself.
After Hela crushes Thor’s mystical hammer, Mjolnir, both Thor and Loki seek to escape Hela’s onslaught, only to be chucked out of the Rainbow Bridge wormhole and unceremoniously dropped onto the arse-end of the universe–Planet Sakaar–where eventually Thor is pitted against the long-lost (and fellow Avenger) Hulk and his scientist alter-ego Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who have also been drop-kicked onto this garbage pale of a planet. “Thor: Ragnarok” is very loosely adapted from the comic book “Planet Hulk” where Thor is initially pitted against the jade giant in the gladiatorial arena of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). It is there that Thor and the Hulk initially have at it.
Their battle is brief with the Hulk easily tearing up the hammerless Thor. We also find that the Hulk has been in his muscle-bound form for these same two years and when Banner finally emerges, boy is he a “fish out of water.”
Easily the most fun of any of the more than dozen Marvel Studios movies dating back to 2008’s “Iron Man”, “Thor: Ragnarok” introduces a nameless female bounty hunter called SR-142, who in reality is the raven-haired Brunhilde, also known as Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) who single handedly steals this movie and makes it her own. In her own brief back story, Valkyrie and her fellow Valkyries once faced off against Hela, at the behest of Odin, only to be defeated and left to rot on Sakaar. Now the last of her kind, Valkyrie is out for blood and joins Thor, the Hulk and Loki as the “Revengers” as this new team returns to Asgard for the final showdown against Hela.
I loved the sideline story of Bruce Banner being mentally “captured” by the Hulk. Instead of unleashing the beast in certain situations, here in “Thor: Ragnarok,” the tables have turned. Staying in his “Hulk” form all these years has created a new persona for the gladiator Hulk who now talks so much that you want to mussel him.
The Hulk is the rock star of Skaar as the Grandmaster has decorated the planet with Hulk merchandise, posters and even piñatas just to keep his #1 fighter in tip top mental state in which all comers to the center ring are wiped out.
The set designs of Asgard (filmed in Hemsworth’s hometown of Brisbane, Australia) are massive in size and scope, giving a thick depth to the golden realm in which the final showdown between Thor and Hela is riveting. If there is a rub against “Thor: Ragnarok” is that there are simply too many one-liner jokes that divert from the on-screen tension.
You’d be comfortable with the God of Thunder doing stand-up comedy after watching this 130 minute laugh-along. All in all, “Thor: Ragnarok” is a tremendous Marvel Studios outing–one of the very best with a terrific cast–and clearly moves along not only the movie mythos of the God of Thunder but the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And don’t forget to stay to the end of the credit for two, super-secret scenes that connect “Thor: Ragnarok” with next April’s widely-anticipated blockbuster “Avengers: Infinity War”!
