If you don’t know from my previous blog posts, I’ll fill you in. I am a comic book junkie. This era of superhero movies is something that I have waited for my entire lifetime. Geekiness has become accepted. It is my era.
I actually read the current Thor comic, despite its heavy political and social overtones. I didn’t come into this movie with big expectations. The trailers showed the Hulk and Loki, so I knew there was some potential for good stuff here. The post-credit scene from Dr. Strange proves to be well-thought out and incorporates perfectly into this film. Kudos to the writers!
Thor Ragnarok is the story of a boy growing to manhood, coping with his father’s past and fate. It is the story of an awesome warrior seeking redemption. It is the story of the boy’s wacky brother who is both hero and villain, often in the same scene. It is the story of an abused child with a wee-bit of homicidal rage in her makeup – who seeks to relive her glory days. That is as much as I will say about the plot.
The humor and even some of the visual effects harken from Guardians of the Galaxy II. I found myself chuckling throughout the film, which makes this a departure from previous Thor outings. It’s not just insider humor either. My wife, who is not a fan of superhero movies, laughed throughout the movie. The fact that she stayed awake during the entire film speaks volumes.
From a writer’s perspective, we see some real development and growth the characters. The Hulk, who we rarely get more than a few words from, gets a fair amount of screen time and is fun. There are some scenes that harken back to the Avengers when Thor, Loki, and Hulk tangled that are fun.
I was on the fence with Jeff Goldbloom’s character until the second (yes there are two) post-credit scenes.
Marvel gets one thing – start with solid writing and you can produce a great, sometimes epic, film. Frankly, they are just printing money….money that I am more than willing to hand them if they keep the quality up.
In a season where Hollywood has wallowed in the mire of scandal after scandal, and has produced films that were marginal at best – this movie is outstanding. It was funny, had plenty of action, and a solid storyline. A rip-roaring good time with a great choice of battle music.
I give it five out of five stars.
Notes From The Bunker 