About two years ago I had the pleasure of viewing What We Do in the Shadows, it was a relatively low budget New Zealand film about a groups of roommates who happened to be vampires. Long story short, that film was bloody hilarious, and when I heard that one of its directors- Taika Waititi, would be directing Thor Ragnarok I couldn’t help but have high expectations for the MCU film. After seeing the new film I can’t deny that I thoroughly enjoyed the new Thor, and surprisingly I found it to be better than Spider Man Homecoming (which is odd since Spider man is one of my favorite fictional characters).

The basic gist of the Ragnarok is that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must return to Asgard in order to release it from the death god Hela’s (Cate Blanchett) control. But first Thor needs to escape from a barbaric trash planet which is under the control of the enigmatic Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), in order to do so Thor must rely on the aid of the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), a mysterious Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and his scheming brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). In terms of story Ragnarok is a simple albeit fun action comedy, very much in the same vain as the prior Guardians of the Galaxy films, but I would argue that Ragnarok doubles down on the comedy and action aspects. The film is constantly moving with little time for the characters to rest and contemplate events, however this works in the film’s favor since it is a minute by minute joy ride of action and jokes. At the cost of this fast pace, some characters such as Hela, Valkyrie, and Odin (Anthony Hopkins) feel a little undeveloped.

Out of all the MCU films that have been released, I believe that Ragnarok is the most visually interesting film so far. This may be due in part to cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, who is known for his work on the film adaption of The Road. In Ragnarok, cuts between scenes are handled very well, and the fight scenes are also some of the best the MCU has to offer (thank goodness there isn’t an shaky cam). The film also makes great use of vibrant colors in both the sets, costumes, and fight scenes, thus making Ragnarok a far cry from DC Comic’s line of films. Interestingly enough, one of the more memorable scenes featuring Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) only makes use of basic jump cuts, a somewhat simplistic technique, but it was used to great effect.

Ragnarok was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, who injected rock ‘n’ roll into most of the soundtrack, which fits the film much more than a regular orchestra composition would have. Most notably, the film features Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, that plays at the best moment possible.

In conclusion, I believe that Thor Ragnarok proves that not all MCU films need to follow an established formula, and I for one look forward to seeing Marvel Studios produce more experimental films in the future (and maybe we can hope that they make an R rated film eventually).

Pros:

• Rapid barrage of comedic moments and jokes, thankfully most are hits rather than misses
• Thor, Hulk, Valkyrie, and Loki are likable leads
• Fun new characters
• Interesting use of color and camera placement in shots
• Bombastic action
• The ending

Cons:

• You may need to watch previous MCU movies to understand some plot elements
• One dimensional main villain
• Most emotional moments are undercut by the comedy
• Not enough Anthony Hopkins and Jeff Goldblum

Score: 9 out of 10