Thor : Ragnarok (2017) review

Thor : Ragnarok (2017)

Rating : 4/5

Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson

Directed by Taika Waititi

Review by Zulfiqar

            The flamboyance of the marvel movie franchise is exhibited in the way Thor : Ragnarok is made. The movie’s promos had a lot of loud blaring music with long, tedious ads, which irked me as I didn’t want to get exposed to much of the plot. But you needn’t worry. Taika Waititi stores a lot up his sleeve and divulges it in a very nonchalant fashion.

            The tone of the movie for me looked very audacious but this could have gone very wrong. It has retro punk music with glaring colors onscreen and sets, which are constructed on the lines of 80s sci-fi fantasy epics. It looks so artificial and might be jarring, but Marvel franchise goes ahead with this bold experimenting of Waititi’s vision. The result is absolutely spell binding.

            The movie’s strength lies in the characters, their juxtaposing bonding and a plot, which has trump card at its core. But most of all, it has Chris Hemsworth at the center, the near physical God of looks, and the way he balances both the braggish and humble outlook, while he does it. His character has a lot of humor in the way he conducts himself. He looks imposing and makes a joke of this character in the next second. His bromance with Hulk/Bruce Banner/Mark Ruffaalo wouldn’t miss the mark with the way they fight and make up like dudes.

            The movie provides a hint of inquisitiveness with the way Doctor Strange opens up the plot for Thor. The street where the Doctor lives is a witty take on Benedict Cumberbatch. These inside jokes keep on coming whole through the movie. Odin Allfather (Anthony Hopkins) reveals at the start that Thor has an elder sibling, Hela, a fierce and ruthless warrior. In a rare moment of frank poignancy where Loki is concerned, there is a terrific shot as Allfather gazing at the scenic coast line of Norway, has a tete-a-tete with his kids. He leaves them forever to handle the elder sibling who will come to claim Asgard with no mercy.

            Cate Blachett cuts a caricateurish picture of Hela with dark antlers like hair and an imposing presence while she flips Thor’s hammer as a juggler’s bowling pin. Hela is rumored to bring in Ragnarok, the apocalypse for Asgard. Before he could do anything he is another world where he is a gladiator and reunites with his soul-brother, Hulk. There is a bounty hunter called Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who could be crucial playing on line dividing between good and bad. Loki is already there on the new planet and he slithers to and fro before he teams up with Thor to save Asgard from Hela, which is next to impossible.

            Though Loki may have many reptilian moments as he sidetracks Thor, a couple of times, Ragnarok comes close in establishing a close bond between the brothers. Tom Hiddleston has the knack to lure us into believing the god of mischief time and again. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk provides a lot of laughter at the middle. But at the same time, we have an insight into Hulk’s mind, which is in peace with its anger issues. Ruffalo, at the other end of the spectrum as the normal human, loves being conned by Thor for the greater good. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is a delicious sadistic-fun loving, even voiced but menace-talking villain while doing it in smooth-stammering tone.

            Waititi himself voices Korg, a fellow gladiator, who talks about his boldness, while giving reasons for its absence at every turn. The final gag with him and Loki is absolutely hilarious. Skurge is an underdeveloped character and it is a miss for Karl Urban. The movie is laced with puns and references of old inside-jokes at every turn. Its VFX is gracious in the moments where Hela is involved, which is a lot of screen time. But the end is a delicious punch of clever writing when the finale involves Surtur (Clancy Brown’s choicest inclusion is baffling as he gives vocals but doesn’t measure up in physicality).

            Thor : Ragnarok like the other avenger, spidey, this year is a new take on things while leaving a lot of future possibilities to unfold. But with countless avengers in the pipeline and terrific writers at the helm, it is safe to expect a lot and be delivered.