Why Thor: Ragnarok Deserves the Hype
This post was originally published for my WRIT 340 assignment on April 23, 2018. It has been updated for my blog.
Thor, aka God of Thunder aka "Strongest" Avenger," is in a pickle in the third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok. His hammer, Mjölnir, is destroyed, he's forced to chop off his luxurious golden locks, kicked off his home planet by his step sister, and literally stuck on a trash planet. Clearly everything is working in his favor. On the bright side, he meets and sees a lot of new interesting places and people along his journey.
The film is directed by Taika Waititi, an acclaimed indie director (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), who has never directed a big budget film like this one. Waititi's vision for the film gives it a much more colorful and wildly enjoyable film that other Thor films lacked. It was worth the risk for the studio to bring on Waititi considering the film ended up grossing $854 million worldwide and has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Here are 15 reasons why Thor: Ragnarok deserves the hype it does. (Spoilers ahead.)
1. Waititi's style was what the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed
Thor: Ragnarok is the 17th Marvel film of the third phase of Marvel films. Before the film was released, there was definitely superhero fatigue as people knew ideally what to expect. However, Marvel's bold gamble in having Waititi direct paid off tremendously. Waititi's background allowed him to approach the Marvel films with a fresh perspective that gave the film a distinct 1980s sci-fi vibe that none of the Marvel films have ever seen before. What helped in giving that vibe was Waititi's choice of synth music and use of Led Zepplin's famous song, "Immigrant Song."
2. The cameos no one expected
One of the running traits of Marvel films is having Stan Lee make a cameo in all of the films. What no one expected was to have a major celebrity like Matt Damon or Sam Niell to make a cameo in this film. It was never mentioned in press tours and only until the film was released fans went crazy in the best way because the scene was hilarious.
3. Oh hi there Doctor Strange
Thor forces Loki to take him to where he put their father, Odin, after the events of Thor: The Dark World. Fans already knew of this interaction between Thor and Strange as bits of it were included in the post-credit scenes of "Doctor Strange" and in the trailers for Ragnarok. What was satisfying about this scene was the lack of CGI. Waititi relied mainly on editing and cutting, with Hemsworth doing a little wobble for the necessary parts. More importantly though, it shows how Strange's power has grown since fans first saw him in his film, but also comedically putting Thor and Loki in their place. #IveBeenFallingFor30Minutes
4. Goodbye Anthony Hopkins, you'll be missed
Strange sends Loki and Thor to Norway to find their father Odin, played by Anthony Hopkins, since the brothers want to bring him back to Asgard. Hopkins has stated in interviews that the previous Thor films didn't really interest him and was considering not to be involved anymore. After hearing Waititi is directing the third, he decided to reprise his role one more time. Odin reveals to his two sons that he can no longer hold off his imprisoned first daughter, Goddess of Death Hela, as his power is weakened with the exile. Before he dies, Odin tells both of his son that he loves them and disintegrates into pure energy. Despite the fact Marvel limits Hopkin's screen time, it is still amazing to see the Oscar winner doing these commercial films.
5. Cate Blanchett is scary AF
To see Cate Blanchett, one of my favorite actors, play Goddess of Death Hela is amazing. She brings the sass and fierceness that the character needs, which makes Thor actually fear her. After all, she did destroy his hammer in the clip above, putting Thor in an precarious situation.
6. Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is THE badass in the film
Thompson's Valkyrie adds some balance as the female badass in the male heroes group. She's tough, wise-cracking, and effortlessly cool. Her emotional story arc pairs nicely to the overall story and actually helps the story move forward. #TheRevengers
7. When is Jeff Goldblum not funny?
But really though. His role as the Grandmaster, the ruler of the trash planet Sakaar, gives the film another layer of humor that makes it even more enjoyable. Loki is somehow able to worm his way to the good side of the Grandmaster, while Thor, after being captured by Valkyrie, is now owned by the Grandmaster. In order for Thor to gain his freedom, he must literally fight his way to freedom through the gladiatorial contest, Contest of Champions. The scenes with the Grandmaster, either of him gleefully laughing in delight as the contest happens or making snarky comments about Thor makes you wonder: is the Grandmaster really just Goldblum but on the big screen?
8. Hulk vs Thor: the showdown between the two strongest Marvel superhero characters
At this point, Thor literally has nothing to lose as his beloved hammer is destroyed and decides to participate in the Contest of Champions to gain his freedom. The undefeated champion happens to be his long time friend, Hulk. Last time we saw a fight between Hulk and Thor was in the first Avengers movie, but Thor had his hammer. In this movie, Hulk already has gone off the deep end with his alter ego Bruce Banner completely withdrawn. Thor realizes this and decides to still go forward with it. The result is this epic battle filled with Easter eggs from previous films.
9. Yes, Chris Hemsworth is actually freaking funny
Waititi actually stated the film was 80 percent improv and let the actors do their thing. Hemsworth has proved his comedic side in Ghostbusters (2016), so it was nice to see him flex those muscles as Thor. The various punchlines that he spews out gives the character a comedic level of self-awareness that was not shown in previous films. Sure, Thor is still arrogant without his hammer, but his inflated confidence becomes the gag throughout the film that truly makes you LOL.
10. Humanized Hulk
It is so rare to see Hulk sad and frustrated. In this film, Hulk is trapped physically and emotionally. He is stuck on Sakaar as the champion for the Grandmaster's gladiatorial game. Emotionally, Hulk has a lot of self-hate compared to last time Thor saw Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron that makes Banner hard to reach. This film shows that Hulk is like anyone, with his feelings of sadness, frustration, anger, and insecurity.
11. Loki and Thor's chemistry is off the chart
Probably my favorite section to write is this one. As a Loki fan (ok maybe more Tom Hiddleston fan...), it has been fun to see how the character has developed over multiple films, especially his complicated relationship with Thor. Loki is back, with more sarcasm and snarky comments that I am totally here for. Thor is wiser now and doesn't fall for his brother's trickery unlike the switcheroo in Thor: The Dark World. It allows for the two to explore in-depth their feelings towards each other and where they stand now, like the clip above.
12. Waititi's character Korg steals the scene each time
Not only was Waititi the director of this film, but he played the lovable Korg via motion-capture and CGI. Korg's Kiwi accent and his unintended bluntness is a scene stealer each time. He becomes Thor's companion on Sakaar and even helps him escape.
13. Meet the new matured Thor
Thor already lost his hammer earlier in the film and fans got to see his character deal with his attachment to it. Towards the end of the climatic battle, Hela gauges Thor's right eye out so he only has one eye, just like his father Odin had. We see how Thor completely embraces his "God of Thunder" and letting go of Asgard as he realizes it is about the people, not the place.
14. Loki does good...or does he?
Start 1:38
Ah Loki. The trickster. As seen in section 11, we see how far the two brother's relationship has developed. Loki does help his brother defeat Hela in the end, with Thor even believing Loki died sacrificing himself on Asgard. We see a glimpse of Loki pausing in front of the Tesseract when he was in the Vault getting Surtur's crown. The Tesseract was what he stole and caused mass destruction in the Avengers film. Initially, fans started questioning if he did take the Tesseract on his way out and it was confirmed in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer.
15. Setting up for Avengers: Infinity War
Thor and the others are in the tiny ship.
With every Marvel film, there are always post-credit scenes that gives viewers a peak what to expect in the upcoming films. Ragnaork brings fans one step closer to the epic Avengers: Infinity War, which is about to be released this Friday, in the first post-credit scene. Thor and everyone is on board as this big looming ship comes about. Looks like we'll just have to go see what happens on Friday!