Re-Visiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor: Ragnarok

"Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)

 There was a changing of the guard with the third "Thor" movie. The first two had spent time alternating between Asgard and Midgard (Earth). "Thor: Ragnarok" fully embraced that Thor is a god. He spends time with gods. He is not like the other Avengers. "Thor: Ragnarok" wrapped up the MCU slate of 2017.

Principal photography on "Thor: Ragnarok" began in July 2016 and wrapped in October 2016. The film starred Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Karl Urban as Skurge, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Anthony Hopkins as Odin. The film was written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost. It was directed by Taika Waititi. "Thor: Ragnarok" was released on November 3, 2017.

Worthy, huh?

When it came to the three main Avengers, it always felt like Thor was coming in last. It's not that Thor was bad per se, it just seemed like he didn't have his own identity. The first two Thor films felt like they weren't sure what they wanted to do. They wanted to spend time in Asgard and dive into Thor's godhood but it seemed like Marvel was tentative about how audiences would take all that. His solo films prior to "Ragnarok" wanted to distance that Thor that was kind of funny and obtuse like he was in "The Avengers." After the success of movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Ant-Man," it seems like everyone decided to lean heavily into all that though with this third film. It was definitely the right choice to make. 

The movie leans into comedy straightaway with Thor's confrontation chained up with Surtur. The spinning and talking is really good and it's followed by a fantastic action sequence. The transitions between comedy and seriousness and action in this movie are pretty seamless. Once we go to Asgard for the first time the shenanigans continue when Thor easily sees through Loki's Odin disguise and we get to see Matt Damon performing for the crowds of Asgard in a play that is very kind to the God of Mischief.

As always, a lot of the magic in this movie comes from the casting and it remains impeccable. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett chews the scenery with glorious abandon as the Goddess of Death, Hela, Odin's firstborn. This is Blanchett letting loose and she kills it. From the moment she shatters Mjolnir to her nonchalantly killing the Warriors Three and anyone else who happens to get in her way to her final confrontation with Surtur on the Rainbow Bridge, Hela continues this upward trajectory of Marvel villains. 

On the opposite end of the villainy spectrum, we have Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster. He is full Goldblum and it's great. Twitchy, melting people, avoiding calling his slaves slaves. It's all wonderful and a lot of fun. I'm happy to live in a world where Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett are hamming it up in Marvel movies.

Queen.

Tessa Thompson makes her MCU debut in "Thor: Ragnarok" and it is glorious. She's here, she's queer, she's half drunk. Her last Valkyrie standing is scouring the planet of Sakaar for champions to be forced to fight in the Grandmaster's tournament. In the comics, Valkyrie is a lot like a female Thor. A proud warrior who shepherds people who fall in battle to Hel, which is the realm that Hela rules in the 616 comics universe. Tweaking Hela's MCU origins, also tweaks Valkyrie's origin and it works really well. Hela slaughtering all the other Valkyries is traumatic enough to justify why she is a drunken mess for the first half of the movie. Because apparently if there isn't a "good enough" or "traumatic enough" reason for a character to act differently, people freak out. See "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Also, the flashbacks to the Valkyries fighting Hela are gorgeous. They look like painted murals and they are stunning.

Taika Waititi is not just a fantastic director but his vocal performance as Korg is a delight. That's really all I have to say, but Korg needs to be mentioned. 

"Thor: Ragnarok" gives Marvel fans the closest they will most likely ever get to a live action "Planet Hulk" movie. In the comics, Tony Stark decides to send Hulk to a peaceful planet where he can live out the rest of his days and not threaten "normies" but of course, Hulk freaks out and throws his spaceship off course and ends up on the gladiatorial world of Sakaar. "Thor: Ragnarok" tweaks that teensy bit. Remember the Quinjet that Hulk was piloting at the end of "Avengers: Age of Ultron?" Well, turns out that went through a wormhole to Sakaar and Hulk has become a star for beating and killing people. They sort of gloss over that last bit. This leads to Hulk and Thor fighting, Hulk being naked (I'm sure lots of people were into that) and Hulk finally reverting back to Banner and Banner reckoning with the fact he's been stuck in Hulk form for three years. One of my favorite things in "Thor: Ragnarok" is Thor trying to use "the sun's going down" thing to calm Hulk down. It of course doesn't work because it was a ridiculous, dumb concept and I appreciate Waititi highlighting that.

"Thor: Ragnarok" really highlights that Thor is a powerhouse without Mjolnir. It's not Mjolnir that makes Thor the God of Thunder. He is a god with or without his magic hammer. It's nice to see the movie really reinforce that, even amidst the comedy. 

I think a major takeaway from this movie is that Ragnarok does happen. At the end of the movie, Asgard is destroyed and it's a big deal. This will reverberate through the MCU for a long time.

"Thor: Ragnarok" is one of my favorite MCU movies, but it's not perfect. Perhaps because of the Goldblumness of it all, The Grandmaster never really feels like a threat to anyone. I am a huge fan of Karl Urban and am already campaigning for him to be the MCU Wolverine, but Skurge's redemption arc felt super rushed and kind of forced. I didn't really believe it. It's a nice moment and it makes you feel good but it doesn't feel earned.

"Thor: Ragnarok: has two post credits scenes. The first shows a larger ship taking over Thor and the Asgardians ark. A ship that belongs to Thanos. The second is a fun scene of the Grandmaster being confronted by his not so adoring public on Sakaar.

Next up, we spend some time in Wakanda with "Black Panther" and the late, great Chadwick Boseman.

Do you all love "Thor: Ragnarok?" Do you hate it? If you hate it, do you want to explain why you're wrong? Let me know in the comments.