Movie Preview: Thor: Ragnarok
Production: Marvel Studios/ Walt Disney Pictures
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum and Mark Ruffalo
Directed by: Taika Waititi (Based on the Marvel Comic by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Larry Lieber)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: Not rated yet
Release Date: November 3, 2017
This year will see the release of three new entries in the highly-acclaimed and massively-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the summer will have “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” on May 5 and “Spider-Man Homecoming” on July 7, this November will see one of the biggest films in the series yet: “Thor: Ragnarok.”
The film will be the third standalone entry in the series after the first film in 2011 and “Thor: The Dark World” in 2013. With the two previous films being surprise critical and commercial successes, director Taika Waititi looks to expand on the elements of previous films as well as further prime the character for his appearance in “Avengers: Infinity War,” in 2018.
After the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has returned to his homeworld of Asgard. His joy is short-lived, however, when the villainess Hela (Cate Blanchett) destroys his hammer, Mjolnir, and begins laying waste to Asgard, going so far as to capture Thor and sell him into gladiatorial combat. Under the eyes of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), Thor must engage in combat to win his freedom from the planet of Sakaar — even against his friend the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
If the scenario described in the last paragraph sounds totally bonkers, you’d be right. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has never shied away from embracing the completely insane nature of its source material, and the film looks to be one of the most delightfully mad entries in the franchise yet. In addition to previous cast members reprising their roles, such as Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Idris Elba as Heimdall, the film will also add newcomers to the fray such as Karl Urban as the Asgardian warrior Skurge.
With the holiday season looking to have every bit as many anticipated films as summer, “Thor: Ragnarok” should easily build on the success of the previous films as well as bring more than enough to the table to suit its totally bananas first trailer. Since the trailer was uploaded to YouTube (set to a thunderous use of “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin), it has been viewed a record 29 million times. If the full film is every bit as gleefully bananas as its teaser, it will easily be the best “Thor” film yet. Keep an eye out when “Thor: Ragnarok” arrives in theaters for “main event time” on November 3.
Preview by Steven Pryor
