By Cynthia Ayala

“Imprisoned, the almighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.” —IMDB

I’m going, being honest here; I was not particularly fond of the two previous Thor movies. Personally, I felt as though they took themselves far too seriously which, as an avid comic book reader, missed the point for me. There should always be a certain level of comedy, joviality, to balance out the seriousness in comic book based films. Thor took that to heart here, and as someone who was not a fan of Thor as a character, this film made me love him. Hemsworth portrayal of the God of Thunder was so invigorating in the film, and it’s nice to see him let his funny bone out. It’s not like he’s not a funny guy, there have been numerous films that he was hilarious in, just not as Thor. To see both the writer and the director capitalize on his amazing ability to be funny was, by far, the best decision they could have made in making this film. Hemsworth was such a joy to watch on the screen, and no, not for his good looks. He’s an amazing actor, and for once it looked like he was having the time of his life playing Thor. The seriousness with which Hemsworth delivered some of his lines made for even better performance because it made it look effortless and looked like he was having fun filming this movie.

Then there were the dynamics of the film. The chemistry was amazing, and I have to applaud Marvel and the casting because they work so hard to make sure that the film has chemistry and that the actors fit and understand their characters. Everyone here does, and that only adds to the overall enjoyment of the film. I’ve heard that Tessa Thompson got some criticism for being cast as a Valkyrie and I understand some of that because it does come from Norse mythology, a predominantly white culture. However, what people also have to understand is that Valkyrie is warrior women to becoming one is not selective. If they’ve proven themselves in battle, they are, in death, offered a chance to serve in the ranks. So really anyone can be a Valkyrie, especially with the expansion of culture and people. That’s my two cents on the matter because personally, I found her performance amazing. She understood the pain of the character and the history and relationship this character had with Asgard. Moreover, she was funny which was important in the film because in a way it highlighted the pain the character was going through and how she overcomes it all.

However, the best what I liked about the film was Cate Blanchett. Blanchett was an incredible villain in the film, and her dynamic with Hemsworth was well constructed. However, the important part of her character brought out this new idea of what it means to be a superhero. Being a hero is not just about being the bad guy, it’s also about sacrifice, and this film capitalized on this, adding a level a maturity to an overall comedic film. Consequences play a part in the construction of the film and Thor grows a lot in having to deal with not necessarily losing, but understanding that being a hero is not some easy job. He faced those challenges on the film and gave some depth to the character.

Overall, it was a great movie, the direction of the film, the retro vibe created by the use of music and colorful style of the film, and the overall comedic performances of the film that just made it a joy to watch. Thor: Ragnarok was simply a great addition to the MCU. (★★★☆ | A)

—Film Credits—

Directed by Taika Waititi

Screenplay by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost

Based on Thor by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo & Anthony Hopkins

Rating | Length | Genre: PG-13 | 2h 10min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures