By far the most humorous of the Thor franchise, Thor: Ragnarok keeps you laughing. After setting out to deal with the visions he’s been having, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to Asgard to find that his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is alive and has been pretending to be their father, Odin. Thor and Loki set out to find Odin (Anthony Hopkins) but end up learning more about their family than they knew…they have an older sister-Hela (Cate Blanchett) who upon the death of Odin will be released from her prison. Both Thor and Loki end up on Sakaar, a planet run by the Grandmaster (played by Jeff Goldblum) after Hela battles them in the Bifrost. Loki lands on his feet as a friend to the Grandmaster while Thor becomes the next challenger in a battle to the death against the champion—The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). With the help from some new friends, Thor must return to Asgard to save the planet and its people from Hela before she destroys everyone and then sets out to conquer other planets. This installment of the Thor movies is by far the most humorous. Going mostly without a dialogue script, the actors were encouraged to improvise as the director Taika Waititi wanted to showcase Chris Hemsworth’s comedic talents. But it’s some of the other characters which steal the show! Korg, a sentient rock being has the soul of a gentle giant even while appearing to be dangerous. Voiced by Taika Waititi, Korg’s lines are deadpan serious but come off hilarious. As well, the Grandmaster is both vicious and goofy. One minute killing his cousin and then “screaming like a girl” that the goo is touching him. But it’s the buddy moments between The Hulk and Thor which bring to mind classic buddy movies like Starsky and Hutch or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Karl Urban is almost unrecognizable as Skurge, a man whose only ambition is to stay alive. With cameos by Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon and Sam Neill as well as Benedict Cumberbatch and Stan Lee, you can’t blink or you’ll miss something important. The TWO after credit scenes will keep you in your seat and set up the story for Thor and his part in the Infinity War movie coming next year. All in all, a laugh out loud movie with an incredible musical score to keep you engaged throughout the movie (and while it’s music is one for fans of my age, the music keeps the story moving) and one I’ll see again and again, even if only to capture those moments I missed the first time through. :)
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Melissa KeirIt's all about the movies... Archives
January 2020
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