Review of Thor: Ragnarok (2017) by Shpostal — 04 Nov 2017

My wife likes these superhero movies, and I'm generally not a fan, but since I love her, and want her to be happy I take her to whatever she wants to see. We usually take turns picking the shows, and for every "superhero" movie, I usually choose a biopic or something wonderfully weird, like a Coen brothers film.

So not expecting anything besides the special effects and usual cliched dialogue (if I hear the word "destiny" one more damn time . . .) I was pleasantly surprised to find that "Thor: Ragnarok" was actually a pretty decent movie.

Following the success of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series, the folks behind this movie opted for a lighter and more humorous approach but still kept the special effects dazzling as the other "Thor" pictures have been.

So while we get the usual plot, Thor vs. The Hulk gladiator duel notwithstanding, of Hela, the Goddess of Death (boo) whom, after Odin dies reappears and promises the utter annihilation of Asgaard and the universe, one presumes.

So leave it to Hammer Boy and the wishy washy Loki, always well played by Tom Hiddleston to figure everything out and save the universe yet again. That plot has run its course and I deduct two stars for what has become one of Hollywood's lamest cliches for sci-fi and superhero movies.

What saves it though as I said before is a fresh injection of genuinely funny material, even if it is derivative of "Guardians". After all, humor was not invented just for that pair of movies, but it certainly made the difference between another outer space yawner and a brilliantly hilarious pair of movies.

I do not want to spoil the main parts of the movie that aren't part of the old tried and true formula, but it is indeed fun to see that even superheroes can screw up. A portal between one planet run by a deceptively evil character played by Jeff Goldblum and Asgaard is referred to as the "Devil's Anus", and immediately I could think of a few towns and cities I've been to or worked in that deserve that title themselves.

So if you like the "Thor" series anyway, you'll be happy with this one. If you're like me and are long tired of this genre, with the exception of the unexpectedly good "Wonder Woman", at least you'll get some good laughs from a movie of this type that for once doesn't take itself too seriously.