17 – Thor: Ragnarok
This is, I believe, largely regarded as the best of the Thor movies in the MCU, and I have to agree. Not only was it a great superhero movie, it was just a great movie. Chris Hemsworth really is the perfect actor to play the God of Thunder. He is incredibly handsome, amazingly fit, and is a pretty darn good actor to boot. By this time, he owned the character, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. He is amazing! He can do the drama, the action, the humor, and everything in between. It was great to see the continuation of Thor’s journey. He endures more personal loss than any other MCU Character. In this movie alone, he loses his father, his hammer, his freedom, his home, and his eye. But he still refuses to give up.
Next, you add in veteran MCU actors like Tom Hiddleston playing Loki, Anthony Hopkins playing Odin, and Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner, aka, the Incredible Hulk. After that, we get a few other familiar characters in Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange, and Idris Elba as Heimdall. But then we get a few really big names to play new characters like Karl Urban, Jeff Goldblum, and we get a powerful performance from Cate Blanchett, playing the film’s big villain, Hela, the Goddess of Death. Another new character with a new face is Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, a really kick-ass woman.
The MCU has often been criticized for its underdeveloped villains, and to a certain extent, I agree. But despite that, Blanchett did a fantastic job. She was so powerful and evil that she was basically undefeatable. She had the ability to manifest an infinite number of weapons to fight with, and was as durable as any Asgardian. She killed off the Warriors Three pretty early in the movie, and most of the Asgardian palace guards, without even breaking a sweat. She looked fantastic, and the giant Hela headdress that seemed to grow right out of her head was so cool! In the end, the only way the heroes could defeat her was to summon the ancient demon Surtur, and allow him to utterly destroy Asgard, the source of Hela’s power. And that’s where we get the movie’s title, Ragnarok, the event in Norse mythology, the Fall of the Gods.
The visual effects on the Hulk were incredible. The plot heavily featured the Hulk, and the realism achieved in the computer generated image of the big green guy was stunning. It just seems that his every movie appearance gets an upgrade. Not only does the impossibly large monster look as real as the live actors, it is easy to see Mark Ruffalo’s face in the image. And though green isn’t a natural skin tone, it looked just as good as a live actor wearing green makeup. And Ruffalo was just as good as Banner as he was as the Hulk. The fight in the Grandmaster’s arena was one of the best parts of the whole movie.
Jeff Goldblum also did a fantastic job. The character of the Grandmaster seemed to allow the actor to play himself, like I’ve seen him in interviews and such, but it fit the film. I did a little reading, and found that he and the Collector are members of an ancient race called the Elders of the Universe, and are apparently some of the oldest living beings in the universe, coming from one of the first intelligent races to evolve after the Big Bang. Interesting.
This movie also featured two scenes in which Thor goes into full God mode. In the gladiatorial arena and during the climactic battle with Hela and her forces of resurrected ancient Asgardian warriors, Thor’s eyes start glowing white, and he unleashes his most powerful lightning. Despite losing Mjolnir to Hela in her introductory scene, which showed just how much of a total bad-ass she was, Thor is able to prove that he is nearly as powerful. And he just looks so cool when his eyes start to glow! Oh, and they gave him an awesome new haircut, too! Thor has always been one of my favorite MCU characters, and Ragnarok only serves to strengthen that opinion.
Top 10 Favorite Parts
- The fake play with Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Niell, and Thor revealing Odin to be Loki in disguise.
- Hela’s release from her prison and the destruction of the hammer. “You have no idea what’s possible.”
- Thor is captured by a drunk Valkyrie and given to the Grandmaster. “Please sir, do not cut my hair!”
- The introduction of the Grandmaster
- The Thor vs the Hulk battle in the arena. “He’s a friend from work!”
- The reconciliation and understanding between Thor and Loki in the Elevator. Also “Get Help.”
- Valkyrie joins Thor and Banner, and they escape from Sakaar in the Grandmaster’s pleasure ship.
- Hela and Thor fight in the palace throne-room, and Thor loses an eye.
- Thor goes God mode and fights back. “Are you Thor, the God of hammers?”
- Surtur is summoned and Asgard is destroyed in an explosion that rivaled the destruction of Alderan.