Thor: Ragnarok is the third entry in the standalone Marvel Thor films that follows the titular character once more as he attempts to deal with the apocalypse of his home and people. This brings us along on a cosmic adventure across wonderful worlds and a dive into the Planet Hulk story line. Things start off with an intimate family story as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) look for their father. This brings them to Earth to meet Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and wow he's really got that character nailed down in this.
Anyways, certain events happen and the Goddess of Death Hela (Cate Blanchett) decides the throne belongs to her. This throws the two brothers off into some random part of space and eventually into a battle arena. It's an interesting story and one that's fully of absolute excitement. It's actually just plainly hilarious hitting every note with some strangely too funny segments.
This somewhat subtracts from the darker tones an apocalypse would bring, but it worked for it. The whole thing was really aiming for that 80's style design that Guardians had going for it and it's great. The music matches this look with some crazy techno type tunes playing subtle throughout.
I love the look of Thor: Ragnarok as there's just such a vibrant palette of colors at play here. The grand city is gorgeous with bright streams of color and smoke when the folks cheer Hulk. The action was well done and it's great to see Thor really hit his stride with this entry. The whole gladiator area was fantastic, the narrative progressed well and there was a lot of fantastic material integrated into the film.
The acting was also great with Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) being too charming and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) being a solid addition that fits in well with the core group. The film really does stun from the visuals that provide a large scope for the worlds to the themes it explores as the brothers face their greatest challenge. All the key aspects of the relationships that have been forged thus far really come together here.
Thor: Ragnarok is a blast and just purely hilarious. The comedy does at times distract from the serious material at play, it's strangely funnier than the other Marvel films. I might have liked to see a darker tone at some points, but it was just a joy ride.
The Planet Hulk stuff was great, the new characters were awesome and Thor really hit full stride in this third standalone. The music was excellent moving well with the colorful visuals and the whole vibe it had going mixed together well. It's definitely a big change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sets some interesting events into motion as it works towards Infinity War.
Thor: Ragnarok Review at Theater with 3D Viewing
Screening Provided by Walt Disney Studios