Thor: Ragnarok Review
With each Marvel movie, the superhero's mass factor continues to strengthen; to put it in local style. We can't imagine Rajini, Salman, Ajith, Vijay in Hollywood, which is precisely why there are these gentlemen from Marvel universe. Instead of being dark with a gloomy flashback, Marvel has continued to emphasize on light hearted banter and humor which paved way for its success in Ironman, Spiderman and now Thor has surpassed our expectations with a full fledge entertainer on cards. Demigod Thor and Hulk aka Bruce Banner join hands together to save back Thor's homeland Asgard, or according to the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) - Asss what? Taika Watiti is the latest director to integrate a healthy dose of comedy onto the big screen after Deadpool and Antman found the mix of action and humor to be a winning combination. The film takes place around the same time Guardians of Galaxy, Doctor Strange and Spiderman Homecoming happens, as is the case in any Marvel film, they somehow co-relate other superhero movies, every bit of screenplay inching towards the finale of Avengers: Infinity wars which probably will give answers to most of these unanswered questions.
Thor's home planet of Asgard is menaced by the death goddess Hela (Cate Blanchett), released from imprisonment after thousands of years. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the God of Thunder, has spent a great deal of time away from his home of Asgard, choosing instead to travel the Nine Realms in search of Infinity Stones. However, Thor has begun to dream about the destruction of Asgard at the hands of Surtur in the event known as Ragnarok, so he finally returns home - but discovers that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been ruling over Asgard disguised as Odin (Anthony Hopkins). The brothers travel to Midgard/Earth to locate Odin, only to learn that Thor's dreams are prophesied to come true and Ragnarok will come to pass. Though Thor believes he can prevent Ragnarok, Odin reveals the events that lead to Asgard's destruction have already been put into motion. What happens next is anybody's guess, they put together one of the weirdest teams on play to bring down evil and eventually set the usual "Thor Saves Asgard" theme.
Jeff Goldblum as the gladiator like Grandmaster pits Hulk against Thor as you have seen in the trailers, the banter, scenes and all of it are so roll licking funny. Two things; if you are a keen follower of the Marvel universe and a lover of English movies dubbed in Tamil; then Thor is a treat by all means. The latter is even funnier! The weakest link is Blanchett, who stalks around arrogantly like every wicked queen you've ever seen in the movies. She's plainly having a good time, but Waititi's jokes depend on the idea that his characters are basically ordinary people, something she never conveys for a moment. For a reputed actress, her role looks wasted still enjoyable in the scenes she comes.
Watching it in IMAX 3D, the entertainment quotient just went one level up with the hardcore action and humor amplified in a grandiose manner. The Gladiator fight between Hulk and Thor looks promising and worth every single minute although IMAX price in Chennai is unimaginable, ok for good movies though! Hulk's character is the most surprising yet enjoyable. Its usually Loki who steals the fun with his wit and screen presence, but we've seen Hulk as an angry green monster who smashes and crumbles whatever comes in his way, but for a change for one moment instead of using Bruce's brain the director has given an extensive dose of humor.
Verdict : Thor Ragnarok is easily one of Marvel's best superhero movies, humor, wit and deafening CGI makes it a must watch.
- Thamizhil Padikka