Thor: Ragnarok is the third installation in the series of Thor movies starring Chris Hemsworth. Thor, the God of Thunder and prince of Asgard, has been scouring the cosmos for the Infinity Stones for two years and has come up empty handed. Upon returning home, he finds things are not as he left them and dangerous forces are at work; Ragnarok, the death of Asgard, is upon them. Hela, the Goddess of Death, played by Cate Blanchett, has returned to Asgard with her eyes on the throne and a bloodlust to be quenched.
When he is needed most, Thor finds himself imprisoned on the far side of the galaxy with his beloved hammer destroyed. Enslaved, and forced to participate in gladiatorial combat against none other than his formerly missing ally, The Hulk, Thor must forge new alliances and escape this strange new world in order to save his home from complete destruction.
Thor: Ragnarok was released on November 3 in most theaters in the U.S. The movie received an 8.2 on IMDb and a remarkable 93% positive rating on the notoriously harsh review site Rotten Tomatoes. In a typical Marvel fashion, Thor: Ragnarok abandons its more dramatic undertones in favor of free flowing comedy and beautiful action sequences. “I wouldn’t have picked Chris Hemsworth as Marvel’s breakout comedy star when he was first cast as Thor, God of Thunder, but he turned out to be one of the best things about this never-ending mega-franchise,” said Matt Zoller Seitz, a movie critic from the Roger Ebert website.
This movie was an unexpected fan pleaser; delivering not only the incredible action scenes we would expect from a superhero film, but also some of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s smartest comedy since “Deadpool.” Marvel also delivered on a promise it has been attempting to fulfill since 2011: a genuinely good Thor movie.
In addition to finally delivering a Thor audiences want to listen too instead of just look at, we find ourselves once again enthralled with Loki, God of Mischief himself. Loki is the type of character you love to hate, and he makes a return appearance in the most flamboyant of fashions for this film. Thor: Ragnarok introduces a troupe of memorable and hilarious new characters while simultaneously shedding old characters in an entirely new light. The character development within this film was palpable and genuinely made you feel for characters you knew nothing about previous to the film– yet another shortcoming of the previous installations that was amended in this movie.
In summary, Thor: Ragnarok was an improvement in every way to its predecessors. The film was exciting, hilarious, and raised the stakes higher than ever before. This movie was one of the first steps in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s third phase and a set up for Avengers Infinity War. Thor: Ragnarok is smash hit film that is pleasing fans and gaining popularity by the day– a true box office success and a win for Marvel.
