Thor: Ragnarok
THOR: RAGNAROK (2018)
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel House, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill, Matt Damon, Stan Lee and the voices of Taika Waititi and Clancy Brown.
Screenplay by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost and Eric Pearson.
Directed by Taika Waititi.
Distributed by 20th Century Fox. 139 minutes. Rated R.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been responsible for some very funny moments and characters, however Thor: Ragnarok may just be the first film in the series that works as a legitimate comedy, even better than as an action film. (Spider-Man: Homecoming could also probably make that claim, but it is not exactly part of the MCU, more of a parallel track to the series.)
Thor: Ragnarok is funny and light on its feet, and it’s also one of the more enjoyable MCU films. This is particularly heartening for fans of the God of Thunder, after the last chapter – Thor: The Dark World – turned out to be such a boring, lifeless slog four years ago.
It was a brilliant move to bring oddball Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Attack of the Wilderpeople) to give the world of Thor some humanity and even a bit of good-hearted goofiness.
Chris Hemsworth puts to use all the comic chops he has been learning in the series of bad comedies he has done recently (like the reboots of Vacation and Ghostbusters) and turns his heroic character from a slightly dull God-like fantasy icon to a sweet-natured goofball with super strengths. And it works surprisingly well.
Oh, sure, there are all the hallmarks of a MCU blockbuster – wild action scenes, lots of fighting, goofy cameo by Marvel creator Stan Lee – but Thor: Ragnarok has a knock-about irreverence and nerd-boy wackiness that works well for the series.
With Thor: Ragnarok hitting video soon after Black Panther swept through theatrical box office records and fan’s hearts, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only in a really good place, it’s also much more intriguing and unpredictable than it has been in years. All of this portends well for the next Avengers movie Infinity War. Let’s hope they can keep the winning streak alive.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2018 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 6, 2018.
#GodofThunder #EricPearson #ChristopherYost #LukeHemsworth #BenedictCumberbatch #MCU #ZacharyLevi #SamNeill #MarkRuffalo #TomHiddleston #anthonyhopkins #idriselba #TadanobuAsano #cateblanchett #RayStevenson #JaySJacobs #MarvelCinematicUniverse #JeffGoldblum #PopEntertainmentcom #KarlUrban #TaikaWaititi #StanLee #WhatWeDointheShadows #mattdamon #CraigKyle #ThorRagnarok #chrishemsworth #ThorTheDarkWorld #ClancyBrown #moviereview #AttackoftheWilderpeople #RachelHouse #TessaThompson #thor