Shortly after returning home to Asgard, the mighty Thor is introduced to a new threat which could cost the lives of many. To make matters worse, Thor soon finds himself imprisoned on the other side of the universe and is forced to enter a deadly gladiatorial game that pushes him to fight warriors including the mighty HULK. Can Thor escape from this new, ‘prison’ world, and, most importantly, can he make it back in time to save his home planet?

For those who are unaware, this is the third Thor film in the Marvel franchise. One of the biggest positives in this latest film is that our lead hero, Thor, now has an increased amount of humour and much better character development. I mean, after all, lots has happened since we 1st met the mighty god of Thunder back in 2011. Thor has seen and experienced many things over time and in this film, it’s finally starting to show. Your personality would change over time too if you defeated aliens and hung around with quick, witty people such as Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Thor is also more than ever required to take charge and lead, something that builds the pressure as the clock is ticking and Thor is desperately trying to return to his planet.

As mentioned above, this time Thor isn’t alone. This film includes many familiar faces from the Marvel world including HULK (aka Bruce Banner), Loki, Odin and more. Each character works perfectly in this film and never feels out of place. This is also the same for some of the new faces that are introduced in the film. 

Unlike some of the previous Marvel films, we also have a new soundtrack which is super awesome! Other than a killer audio track from Led Zeppelin, Thor: Ragnarok takes full advantage of using beats, techno tracks and it’s always perfectly timed with ships flying by, things exploding and the fight sequences.

Director Taika Waititi also deserves a positive mention. Considering his film history includes directing titles such as Hunt for the Wilder People, What We Do In The Shadows etc, Taika Waititi has succeeded in the challenge of his 1st Marvel movie and has also taken risks by changing the pace, characters depth and overall plot direction compared to the previous Thor instalments. Overall, the results are indeed positive and credit goes to both him and the actor Chris Hemsworth.

While Thor: Ragnarok is a massive joy ride that promises to leave you ending on a high note, the first 10 – 15 minutes of Thor: Ragnarok had me really concerned. Luckily enough, the beginning of the film actually differs in pace from the remainder of the film. The pacing in these first fifteen minutes moves far too quickly with some jokes not quite delivering the final laugh that would have been intended on the cutting room’s floor. If the film’s pacing at the start were to continue throughout, the film could have been, well… messy.

Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is exciting and fully loaded for enjoyment. Other than what appears to be a hiccup in the editing department during the film’s first 10 minutes, this Marvel film manages to fire yet again in the right direction, leaving cinema audiences members walking out on a high note. As characters development gets stronger and bigger with an added touch of humour, I’m proud to announce I personally enjoyed this film more than some of the recent Marvel successes, including Dr Strange & Spiderman: Homecoming.       

8.7/10

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Review Written by Peter Walkden