November 1, 2017: Review of Thor: Ragnarok (Blockbuster of the Year!)

A Brief History

On November 1, 2017, we look back to last night when we got to see a pre-screening of the new Marvel major motion picture, Thor: Ragnarok.

Although we will speak more about it, it is possible to sum up the movie in just a few words: Blockbuster, A Must See, Colorful, Stunning, Pure Entertainment, Action-Action-Action!, Eye Candy, and probably the biggest grossing movie of 2017 (our prediction). It is the 3^rd in a series of Thor themed movies (Thor, from 2011, and Thor: The Dark World from 2013). The film follows 16 other Marvel Cinematic Universe films (MCU). The film will make its general US premier on November 3, 2017.

Digging Deeper

Set in the Marvel Avengers universe, the Norse God Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the main character, tasked with trying to save his home of Asgard. The movie starts with Thor imprisoned, and the comic angle starts even in this early predicament. Yes, despite lots of action and killing, the movie has plenty of lighthearted moments which are obviously effective, judging from audience laughter at all the right times. Thor’s journey to saving his home takes him from universe to universe, including a short romp through our world. Mostly set in outer space and fantasy universes, interaction with our Earth is minimal.

The all-star cast includes such star power as brought by Kate Blanchett (Hela, villainess), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Karl Urban (Skurge), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk and Bruce Banner), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), and Jeff Goldblum as the comic relief Grandmaster, a bad but kind of funny guy. With stars such as these and the fantastic cinematic effects we have come to expect from Marvel Avengers movies, it is not surprising the budget is a massive $180 million. With that sort of investment, you can imagine how hard Director Taika Waititti and the production staff were willing to work to make this movie a blockbuster. After reportedly reshooting parts of the movie to please test audiences, the efforts of these movie makers apparently paid off, because not only did we love the film, so did the audience we saw it with and so did the audiences in Australia, where the film was made and premiered on October 25, 2017, and in Hollywood where it premiered on October 10, 2017, with a box office gross of over $109 million in this limited showing!

We found it hard to believe the film has a running time of 130 minutes, as the action comes so fast and so entertaining that the movie flew by, never dragging or inducing clock watching. Almost the entire audience stayed for the mid and post credit scenes, and there was widespread applause at the end of the film. Our screening was in Real D 3 dimension, and we strongly recommend you see the film in 3 D or IMAX to get the full benefit of the wonderful cinematography and special effects.

We predict this film will be the box office leader of 2017, and strongly recommend the movie to ALL audiences, not just fans of Marvel Comics. In spite of the combat and killing involved, the fantasy nature of the film does not, in our humble opinions, preclude children from enjoying the movie. (Only the most sensitive little kids may find the combat disturbing). Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a well deserved 99% “want to see” rating! That, as we say in detective work, is a clue.

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