The newest installment to the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite possibly one of the greatest yet. Amidst fears that the superhero genre is becoming worn out Thor: Ragnarok stands out from the crowd and packs one hell of a punch. New Zealand indie film director Taika Waititi takes the reigns. Best known for directing the vampire mockumentary film What We Do In The Shadows, his influence instantly shines through. The usual comedic, tongue-in-cheek tone of the Marvel franchise is amped up to extreme levels. In terms of humour it never misses a beat and is incredibly self aware, constantly referencing and poking fun at previous films.
Beginning with Thor trapped in a cage and a quirky voiceover narration from the God of thunder himself, Ragnarok starts right in the middle of the action and rarely stops. It keeps an exhilarating pace, building tension and pausing at all the right moments to throw in a well timed joke. The action set pieces are larger scale than any we've seen in previous Thor films, and they certainly don't disappoint. From Thor fighting The Hulk in a gladiatorial arena to him clashing with Hela, the Goddess of Death played by Cate Blanchett who threatens to destroy Asgard. Blanchett's performance is brilliant and Hela is definitely one of the most powerful and compelling Marvel antagonists we've seen in recent years. Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster pales in comparison, yet serves more of a comedic purpose than one that is truly villainous. Either way Goldblum puts on a show and is an excellent addition to the cast. Despite being packed full of colourful characters and a fast paced story, Ragnarok still manages to answer all of the questions that The Dark World left us frantically asking. What happened to Odin? How will things be in Asgard now Loki sits on the throne? On top of this, several of the secondary characters from previous Thor films are given a significant amount of screen time and important roles within the narrative. It juggles so much that it's impressive and yet somehow it handles it all with ease and never feels overstuffed. And just when you thought there was little left to discover about Asgard and Thor's family, dark and surprising secrets are revealed.
One of the best parts of Ragnarok is the development of the main characters. Thor in this film is made much more human than in any other and certainly is a lot more of a humourous character. Likewise with The Hulk, Bruce Banner's alter ego. Whilst in previous films Hulk is seen primarily as a weapon or an inconvenience for Banner, in Ragnarok he truly gains his own personality and becomes a character in his own right. Thor: Ragnarok could be one of the best Marvel films ever made. It's action-packed, visually stunning, has some wonderfully colourful characters and is just absolutely hilarious.
