Thor: Ragnarok

This review may contain spoilers!

This is without a doubt the worst Thor film yet and has to be one of the worst films Marvel has produced thus far. I would give Thor: Ragnarok a 6/10.

This is very much a well-crafted spectacle film, with big battles and an entertaining comedic tone. The humour used initially changes is a breath of fresh air for the Thor films, there are great references at the expense of past films or jokes that come quite unexpectedly and enhance select scenes. The first half of the film really knows how to set high stakes with several key characters from past films being killed off, great cameos from other Marvel universe roles and a clever build to the much anticipated Thor/Hulk fight. The cinematography of the film feels like it is always being set up for a punchline, generally making an impact and detailing combat sequences quite well. The special effects within the film look good for the most part; the CGI characters such as Hulk or Miek look great, yet it is the lightning effects generated around Thor throughout the film which really impresses. The score for the film is really what sets this film apart, having a sound unlike any film coming out at the moment; the use of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song' for key fight scenes works to great effect too.

Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor, looks like he's having a ton of fun throughout the film which comes through in his performance; Hemsworth is clearly dedicated to this new style of storytelling and he puts a lot of effort into blending the serious and comedic aspects of Thor together for Ragnarok. Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki, embraces his role's title as the God of Mischief in this feature; Hiddleston plays a more harmless, conniving character who still maintains a firm brotherly bond with Hemsworth. Jeff Goldblum, who played Grandmaster, is one of the finer additions to the MCU thus far; Goldblum's wit really shines through in this role and he creates quite an ego-centric yet hilarious character. Tessa Thompson, who played Valkyrie, really introduces her character quite well; Thompson establishes a reluctant protagonist who's at least as tough as her co-star, Hemsworth. Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Doctor Strange, makes for a nice appearance and change in tone within this film; Cumberbatch has a nice sarcastic barb in how he delivers Strange this time which really makes this scene a little unexpected in its execution. Clancy Brown, who voiced Surtur, brings forth the strongest and most convincing antagonist of the film; Brown's voice acting performance is the only character that makes you feel threatened and makes you believe that something dangerous is about to unfold. Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill and Matt Damon, who played Actor Thor, Actor Odin and Actor Loki respectively, all manage to deliver one of the funniest scenes in the film between them; in particular Damon's parody of Hiddleston's 'death' from Thor: The Dark World leaves quite the impression.

However, the best performance came from Anthony Hopkins, who played Odin. Hopkins is what this film needed in a big way, often grounding scenes and reminding us that this is, in fact, a Thor film. The slapstick humour that comes off as alien and new is incredibly absent in Hopkins' performance, instead, he presents the mythic nature of these characters incredibly well. Even in scenes where Hopkins is portraying an impersonation of his role you are entertained by how sly he is in how he mirrors Hiddleston. The emotionally charged scenes in which Hopkins gets to spend with his sons and farewell them before his departure are incredibly moving and a league beyond the rest of the film. Hopkins enters the feature to remind the audience what we should expect from a Thor film and not what we should settle for.

This is a fun film and is a nice blockbuster spectacle to watch as noted above but it lacks substance and doesn't place itself well as a sequel. The film's comedic tone is a risk and one that certainly doesn't pay off as the film progresses, suddenly jokes get repeated and the nature of the comedy grows cruder and more cringeworthy. The pacing for the feature is very poorly aligned, with the first act introducing or tying up so many plotlines in such a short span of time that by the time the film hits act two and slows right down you feel quite startled by the change in pace. The large supporting cast of characters don't lend a great deal to the story, often entire chunks of this film could be cut away and you'd wind up with a very similar, albeit shorter product. The comedic presentation of this film changes everything and suddenly these aren't mythic roles nor is there even a serious undertone like there was in some of the past Thor films, now it feels like very little has successfully carried over and the characters that had already been established changed for the worse. Overall, the big message behind Thor: Ragnarok is that Asgard is not a place, but a people yet in a film that spends the majority of the feature away from Asgard I don't know how I could have ever been convinced this was a success.

Cate Blanchett, who played Hela, has to be one of the worst Marvel antagonists yet; Blanchett's long dull expositionary monologues grow hard to bear and it became clear that the writers didn't really know what to do with her before the big final battle. Idris Elba, who played Heimdall, is woefully underused throughout Ragnarok; Elba is demoted to meek defender of Asgard in absentia of Thor and falls into the background even when he reappears for the final battle. Karl Urban, who played Skurge, is more accurately a scourge upon this entire film; Urban's horrible accent and meaningless role take up far too much screen time throughout the film. Mark Ruffalo, who played Bruce Banner, wanders about the set with a wondrous gaze providing little to the film and looking like a new performer stepping through his first performance; Ruffalo merely proves that Hulk has no reason to even be in Ragnarok beyond punching things, making the entire Hulk arc in this film resoundingly redundant. Taika Waititi, who played Korg, is about as lazy an actor as he is a director clearly; not only does he do nothing to lend character to his voice but this comes off as an ego-driven self-insert. Rachel House, who played Topaz, is probably the worst performance in the cast; House lends no emotion to her scenes and certainly lacks chemistry with every performer she shares a scene with. Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson and Zachary Levi, who played Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral respectively. provide impact by being killed off but could have at least been given the opportunity to properly farewell the characters; the way these characters are used merely demonstrates how little respect Waititi and the creative team have for the past Thor films.