By Brennan Atkins & Noah Barnes
After the first two Thor movies, the last thing that we expected was to have a huge grin on our faces within the first five minutes of Thor Ragnarok. The first two films left a lot of Avengers’ fans disappointed with his solo-features. They were melodramatic, dull and left a lot to be desired. It lacked vision and it simply felt like Marvel wanted to expand the universe without taking any risks.
In 2017, Marvel took that risk, and its reward was Thor Ragnarok, directed by Taika Waititi. Thor Ragnarok is the 17th Marvel Cinematic Universe 0lm and it feels like it was ripped straight out of a ’60s comic. Who knew the best way to make Thor a concrete character was to take away the thing that makes him who he is – his hammer.
Thor Ragnarok takes place two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Thor has been on a personal voyage to find out the cause of a recurring dream about the destruction of Asgard, also known as Ragnarok. Through this journey, we are met with some returning characters such as Loki, Odin and the Incredible Hulk. Our heroes are met with what could be their biggest foe yet: Hela, the Goddess of Death.
Thor’s journey of self-discovery shows a different side to him than we have ever seen before, a more light-hearted comedic spin on the god of thunder. Along with him and a couple other comedic relief characters, you’re going to have a hard time not laughing during this movie. This isn’t to say that there isn’t action, however, we would go as far as saying there are some of the best choreographed fights in Marvel history. The interaction between characters, especially Hulk and Thor, keep the movie’s flow going and it is because of this that there doesn’t seem to be a dull moment.
Another thing that makes this movie pop is its unique aesthetic. Marvel recently has had a lot of movies with lackluster settings including a lot of gray color palettes. This movie is 0lled with so many colors, each setting has its own unique style to it. One of the worlds that is featured in the movie is Sakaar, a colorful junk-0lled planet. The sheer fact that Marvel’s CGI team was able to make trash look beautiful is a testament to the rest of the film.
Overall, Thor Ragnarok was all we wanted and more. It combines the humor and style aspect from Guardians of the Galaxy but provides action very reminiscent of the 0rst Avengers movie. Waititi clearly shows he has passion for this series and had a concise vision for what he wanted. The creativity Marvel allows its directors to have is astounding and this is a clear product of letting the director’s imagination go wild. It looks like Thor has 0nally shown he is in fact, worthy of the title god of thunder.