THOR: RAGNAROK – A Review by Hollywood Hernandez
In the new Thor movie, Chris Hemsworth returns as "The God of Thunder" but this time around he's evolved from the big lug in the original movie into a more all around character with a wider range of emotions. With credit to Hemsworth the new Thor is funnier and has more emotions than in the previous Thor movie. He's even gotten a haircut.
In Thor: Ragnarok Thor returns home to Asgard to find Loki (Tom Hiddleston) up to his old tricks. He's faked his own death and is posing as the king, his father (Anthony Hopkins). He's also sent his father off to another realm (an old folks home in New York). So Thor and Loki head off to find their father but when they find him his life force is fading and before he dies he tells his sons that they have an evil, all-powerful sister, Hela (Cate Blanchett), who they never knew existed.
Hela returns to Asgard to claim the crown that she thinks is rightfully hers. With her evil powers, she's able to bring her former army back to life and, backed by her army of zombies, she sets out to conquer every realm and to be the most powerful queen in the entire universe. However, her plans run into a roadblock when Heimdall (Idris Elba) comes out of hiding and steals the key that will allow her to leave the realm of Asgard.
Meanwhile, Thor's return is delayed after he is captured by a female bounty hunter, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson from Creed), and sold to "Grandmaster" (Jeff Goldblum) who entertains his realm by staging gladiator fights. Captives can only be set free by defeating the sitting champion, who just happens to be an old friend of Thor's, The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
The two "Avengers" end up teaming up and returning to Asgard to save the people of the realm and to do battle with the evil queen Hela. It's really a straight forward story that is easy to follow on the big screen (shown in IMAX 3D). I think this is the best Marvel comic book movie since the original Iron Man.
Although no explanation is given in the movie of the word "Ragnarok" it has to do with Germanic mythology and refers to the end of the world for the gods and resurfacing new and fertile again. Seems like a good title because Thor: Ragnarok is a breath of fresh air from the often complicated and hard to follow super hero movie. It's rated PG-13 and has a run time of 2 hours and 10 minutes (which passes really quickly). On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I give this movie my highest rating a JUMBO (with extra butter)!
There is a funny bonus scene that appears after the movies' credits so be sure and stay until the very end.
Hollywood Hernandez
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch
