Spoiler Free!
Written by Louie Fecou
After enjoying the suburban Earth bound adventure that Spider-Man Homecoming was, Thor: Ragnarock sends us spinning into a retro cosmic epic that will leave fans breathless.
The return of Hela, Goddess of Death, sets us off into what is really an incredible fantasy sc-fi journey that sees plenty of cameos from established Marvel properties, the introduction of a great supporting cast and plenty of Easter eggs for the die hard Marvel fans.
The film pretty much breaks the action into two separate stories; Thor trapped in the Contest of Champions, ruled over by Grandmaster Jeff Goldblum, fighting The Hulk in what has to be the super hero battle to end them all and the invasion of Asgard by Hela. Both stories have been spoiled by the trailer, but there are still plenty of surprises to be found. I really don’t want to give anything away here, as I feel with movies of this kind, you are best going in cold. The less you know the better.
Tonally the film hits the ground running with a humor that fans of Guardians of the Galaxy and director Taika Waititi will instantly recognize. This is a funny film, and there are so many laughs that it would not be outrageous to call it a comedy. The opening sequence and a theatre performance in Asgard are definitely highlights! This will probably irk a few people out there that are looking for a darker experience, however, when the stakes are high and there needs to be drama, the script and direction delivered very efficiently.
Onscreen, the effects and CGI is predominantly good. There are moments of green screen that bothered me slightly, but the aliens, the space ships and the action sequences are outstanding. The look and feel of the film is also spot on, much like in the trailers there was a great psychedelic mix of colours and snyth fuelled techno electro soundscape, giving it a fantastic retro 70s/80s sci-fi feel. Sakar’s set design is just brilliant and Asgard looks as fantastical as ever.
All the leads give great performances, and the scenes with Thor and Hulk are so good. The supporting characters are just as brilliant as well, with Korg stealing some of the scenes from the leads! Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is just as bonkers as you hoped for and is a brilliant addition to the MCU. Perhaps as I am just out of the screening, I am finding it hard to fault the film, often I like to sleep on it and see how if my perception has changed by the morning, but to be honest, I’m a Marvel Studios fan, and this production ticked all the right boxes.
There are 2 post credit scenes – one setting up a certain Avengers outing, and the other not very consequential but rather funny – if you have the time you might as well give them a watch!
This is another well crafted addition to the Marvel Universe, but I also feel this may be the last solo Thor film we see. As we move towards The Infinity Gauntlet, I predict things may take a turn for the worse for our heroes.
Maybe that’s why we’re getting all the laughs in just now, before it all gets Zack Snyder on us – just a thought. So go see Thor and laugh at all the right bits just in case it’s the last chance you get to do it!
