funtastic!

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2017)

For long, comic book movies were a genre onto themselves- of caricatured characters, clichÃ©d scripts and hackneyed plots. In the past couple of years though, comic book movies have been traversing genres. If Captain America: The Winter Soldier played out like a political thriller, Deadpool an R-rated comedy, Logan was a good old Western, Wonder Woman was mostly a war movie, The New Mutants seems to be a horror flick, and Thor: Ragnarok- despite delivering a heady mix of sci-fi and myths, is an out and out family friendly comedy!
Thor: "I know what you're thinking: how did this happen? Well, it's a long story..."
For the shortest Marvel film ever, Thor: Ragnarok has a ginormous plot, and things start off at a point where Thor is hanging, literally. We last saw him in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 2 years have passed by, and Thor's search for the infinity stones leads to him being a prisoner of Surtur- the fire demon. Surtur informs that Odin has forsaken Asgard, and that Ragnarok is about to happen. Thor manages to overpower Surtur,uncovers Loki's trickery and believes the danger has past. But soon he has to confront his father's death, and as a result, the appearance of Hela, Goddess of Death who was till now restrained by the presence of Odin. The Goddess of Death proceeds to do what any Goddess of Death worth her salt would do IE. kill everyone. In the process, Mjolnir is shattered, and with it, Thor's self belief. Without Odin, the universe itself is different, Thor learns it the hard way.
Fighting Hela while traveling through the Bifrost, Thor and Loki end up in Sakaar- a garbage planet connected by multiple wormholes, and ruled by The Grandmaster, who specializes in organizing gladiatorial contests. Thor is forced to participate in the contest, and it is there that he meets a friend from work. The rest of the movie is hahahaha,crash, boom, bang, and hahahaha- as Thor and his friends set to get out of Sakaar to prevent Ragnarok from happening.
Thor: I had this unique hammer, made from the heart of a dying star. I would spin it, and I would fly. Korg: You rode a hammer? Thor: No, I would lie down. Korg: The hammer rode you? Thor: No, I would spin it and it would lift me off... Korg: Oh my god, the hammer threw you off? Thor: Off the ground, it threw me off the ground!
Kind of strange that a movie named Ragnarok, where worlds are supposed to end, ends up becoming a non stop gag reel, and still manages to convey scale and impact. All credit though to Marvel to allow full creative freedom to director Taika Waititi, who fused two iconic story lines from the Marvel comics archives- Planet Hulk and Ragnarok, added a humorous screenplay, ensured a zingy 80s soundtrack, a million color palette, and allowed every actor (whether hero or villain) a shot at being at their funniest best for the movie. Waititi even motion captures Korg, the breakout character for me in the movie. Korg is made out of rocks, and tried to start a revolution without printing enough pamphlets, but don't let that intimidate you ðŸ˜Š
Chris Hemsworth's comedic timing meanwhile is a revelation. Thor goes through the complete character arc in the movie- bumbling and naive to a relatively wise king of Asgard, and Hemsworth delivers with a twinkle in his eye. Tessa Thompson's Valkryie is a nice addition to the team, and do watch out for special appearances from Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.
W for wit, W for weird and W for Winter which is just round the corner. Embrace silliness. Go and watch Thor: Ragnarok, and do stay on for at-least the mid-credits scene for more news on the Marvel Big Bad.
10/10