First Take: Thor: Ragnarok- the most unique and bold Marvel film so far

Spoiler free as per usual. Because I can just see Thanos in the distance.

SYNOPSIS-

Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.

Thor is a franchise that’s had a rocky start to put it bluntly- with Kenneth Branagh helming the original 2011 film, and 2013′s The Dark World regarded by many as one of Marvel’s lower quality films. But with Taika Waititi bringing a very different skillset to the MCU, this could arguably be the most bold and daring film to officially get the hype train rolling for April’s Infinity War.

Waititi brings his pin-sharp sense of style when it comes to the direction of the film, and as a result, the early pacing of the film suffers- but by the end of the first hour, the film is pretty much spot on. The script though, well, Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost have crafted a film that not only progresses the storylines of the MCU, but honours its past with some really cool callbacks to earlier films in the timeline. It’s shot incredibly well by Javier Aguirresarobe, and the score from Mark Mothersbaugh adds to the 80′s aesthetic that the film seems to utilise to its advantage. Not only that, this film was deemed worthy enough by Led Zeppelin for them to license The Immigrant Song for use in some big scenes- a very rare feat indeed.

Performance wise, this cast is on fire. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston nail it yet again, and newcomers Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson make a hell of a debut in the MCU. It’s hard to single out any performance, as they are all brilliant, and with the improvisation afforded to the cast by Waititi, the humour in this film is just incredible. I didn’t have many issues with it whatsoever, and to talk about the brilliant bits would spoil a good portion of the plot- so stay tuned for a Director’s Cut post in the weeks to come.

THE VERDICT

When it eventually hits its stride, Ragnarok is a film worthy enough of making a lot of money this half term, and with a radically different style and sense of humour, this is a film that stands out from the other MCU entries. With just 1 more film to go until the Avengers re-assemble, this is where things get interesting.

RATING- 4.5/5