The most recent addition to the Marvel cinematic universe, “Thor: Ragnarok” was bound to be a commercial success based on the built-in fanbase alone, but the film handled its characters and plot carefully enough to deserve the success, despite a few obvious flaws.
Familiar faces are accompanied with unfamiliarity in other aspects of the story. With new characters being introduced to the universe and old ones dying off, the film is entirely different than any of the previous ones.
One great decision was to bring Hulk into the Thor franchise, which gave everyone a familiar face during a movie otherwise very different from the previous films.
A new and important character was Hela, Thor’s eldest sister. By bringing Hela in, the makers of “Thor: Ragnarok” gave a new aspect of the classic family squabble, which is a cornerstone of the Thor franchise.
This is brilliant because a large chunk of the mythology Thor is based on, is pure family drama. Not only was Hela a great villain, but she was also able to point back to core ideas which have been key to the franchise since the beginning.
With Hela came her minions, which included a very evil but adorable puppy, which was great because everyone needs dogs, whether they are bad or good.
The further development of Loki’s character was another big positive for the film. Because Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, has always been considered the villain, it was a refreshing change of pace to see the character switch from villain to an anti-hero of sorts.
Throughout the movie, Loki is constantly switching from good to evil, depending on what would give him the upper hand. Hiddleston handles these character changes with a stride.
By the end, Loki plays a significant part in the defeat of Hela, the evil being trying to dictate Asgard, and in doing so, ends the film on much of the audience’s good side, largely due to Hiddleston’s ability to play the character so well.
Valkyrie, a retired Asgardian warrior, was introduced while Thor was stuck on another planet, and gave him the opportunity to get back home. Tessa Thompson was the perfect actress to accurately portray this strong new character who is hiding from her duties, and she was a very positive addition to the movie.
Despite excellent handling of new character introductions and the comfort of familiar faces, there were certainly some negative aspects of the film.
The introduction of the movie was rather disappointing.
As a whole, it was generally a very comedic film, and while sometimes the jokes were too much, they usually served their purpose in lightening the story in general. However, the entire introduction was full of jokes, even though Thor was battling a fairly dangerous and threatening creature.
One character who played an important role in the film’s conclusion, Surtur, was not mentioned much at all until the very end, although he appeared early in the film.
For being such a small character, Surtur was the only reason Thor succeeded in getting his people to safety, so he certainly should have been unforgettable from the very beginning.
It is hard to believe while Thor can defeat him with jokes and a hammer, his all-powerful sister stands no chance.
Overall, the movie was enjoyable, and it stood out from all the other Marvel movies.
The film’s ties to the Guardians movies, as well as to the Hulk, made it memorable; and though the film was full of light-hearted jokes, it still managed to create a sad and deep atmosphere with Odin’s death, and the loss of the Asgardian empire.