Thor: Ragnarok

As we are entering the end of the year movie season, Marvel Studios has got to get, at least, one film released since summer wasn't enough time to barrage us with their summer flicks. And what a better one to release than that of "Thor: Ragnarok". What is amazing is that considering this is the third installment of this franchise, it is probably the best one.

 

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok-- the destruction of his home world and the end of Asgardian civilization--at the hands of an all powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela (Cate Blanchett). But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest hosted by a tyrannical Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger--The Incredible Hulk (Mark Rufallo).

 

Others to round out the cast are Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, Taika Waititi as Korg, Rachel House as Topaz, Clancy Brown as Surtur, Taranobu Asano as Hogun and Ray Stevenson as Volstagg.

 

This was directed by accomplished Taika Waititi ("Eagle vs Shark" '07, "Boy" '10, "What We Do in the Shadows" '14, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" '16) plus shorts and TV. What's interesting is the fact that this filmmaker is a very eclectic director hence his resume which is admirable. And this installment of the Thor franchise is probably the best directed. The characters came alive right off the page of the script much more than the other two installments. It was equally cleverly written by Eric Pearson (shorts and TV), Craig Kyle (videos and TV) and Christopher L. Yost ("Thor: The Dark World" '13, "Max Steel" '16) plus TV and video games, based on the comics by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby. Considering that Yost is the only one here that has any feature film experience, I am amazed that this script was as taught and cohesive as it was. This one definitely contained more humor than its predecessors which truly helped it. In fact, the humor in this was very much similar to that of "Guardians of the Galaxy". I am extremely curious of what these guys will do next considering how well written this was. And, of course, the visual effects predominantly created by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic), Double Negative, Digital Domain and Framestore were absolutely seamless.

 

Other than the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise, this has to be a second favorite franchise based on a comic book mostly for the humor which gives it more of a human element to it. And you can see this in a plethora of ways: IMAX, 3D or 4DX. This is the quintessential escape film. Hit the multiplex and enjoy this gem!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                               Rated: PG-13                                130mins.