Thor: Ragnarok

**Thor: Ragnarok** is a 2014 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the twenty-sixth film in the universe. It also a sequel to *Thor* and *Thor: Masters of Evil*. The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Gal Gadot, Charlie Cox, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Jamie Dornan, James Marsden, Adrianne Palicki, Sam Neill, and Clancy Brown and was released worldwide on May 2, 2014. The film ran 130 minutes and grossed $710.6 million on a $235 million budget.

## Plot

2 years after retiring as a superhero and returning to Asgard, Thor has been crowned King of Asgard. He has broken up with Jane Foster and is in a relationship with Sif. Loki serves as Thor's adviser and ending his life of crime, while Amora/the Enchantress and her Executioner, Skurge, have been in cells for three years. Heimdall continues to watch over the Nine Realms, while Thor's father, Odin, lives a normal life. However, the Kingdom erupts into chaos when the Fiery diety Surtur announces his return, which Odin interprets as the coming of Ragnarök, the doom of the Asgardian civilization. Thor tries to calm the Asgardians and decides to begin an evacuation. However, Heimdall discovers that Surtur has destroyed the Bifrost Bridge. Thor reluctantly takes Amora and Skurge's help. Amora is forced by Thor to use the last of her travel magic to bring two allies to Asgard. Amora brings Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, and can no longer link between Realms.

Clint and Bobbi agree to help, though Thor realizes Amora purposely chose the two weakest of the Avengers. Thor, Sif, Heimdall, Loki, Amora, Skurge, Clint, and Bobbi take their fight to Surtur and his Fire demons, who have stormed the city. Thor discovers among the records that Ragnarök is an unstoppable event that will happen no matter what Thor will try. Loki and Sif work together to find an old safehouse that numerous Asgardians hide in. Amora double crosses her teammates, selling them out to Surtur, who destroys the safehouse, and over half of the Asgardians. Amora asks to be at Surtur's side for her help, though he executes her after her usefulness has passed. Sif is glad to see her dead, though Thor views it as one less ally.

The team splits up, Thor, Sif, and Loki fight the Fire demons and Surtur, Clint and Bobbi help the citizens to safety, while Heimdall and Skurge try to activate Yggdrasil to allow travel between Realms. Heimdall and Skurge discover that Surtur has numerous of his demons surrounding the Watchtower. Skurge acts as a distraction while Heimdall storms the building. Skurge dies in the event, and Heimdall promises to honor him. Skurge managed to get all the demons out of the Watchtower and Heimdall closes all of the entrances, trapping himself in the room for the time being. Clint and Bobbi find Odin, injured under wreckage and get him to safety along with several other citizens. They evacuate them to underground tunnels, where Clint stays with them and Bobbi goes back out to help more people. Thor, Sif, and Loki discover that Surtur has planned for any event they try to oppose him with.

Heimdall opens up a bridge and is killed by the demons in the process. Loki and Sif get to the Watchtower to fight off the demons and get the citizens to safety. Loki sets the coordinates for Earth while Sif fights. Several citizens are directed towards the Watchtower and make it to Earth safely. However, Clint leads his group, including Odin, almost above ground until Surtur drops a large builing upon the tunnel, killing everyone inside. Bobbi is devestated as Thor mourns his father. Thor, Bobbi, and Sif reunite as Loki gets the citizens to safety. Surtur prepares to send his troops through the Bifrost Bridge to Earth, forcing Thor to push Loki down to Earth and destroy the Watchtower, closing off any remaining travel, though protecting the other Realms from Surtur, now trapped in Asgard. The three heroes find the last of Amora's magic in her body and use it to direct Asgard to self-destruct in three minutes. Thor and Bobbi use the magic to transport themselves to Earth, though Surtur traps Sif with him.

Sif tries to escape though the nation explodes, killing Surtur, his demons, Sif, and any remaining Asgardians. On Earth, Thor and Bobbi find Loki and rendezvous with the rest of the Asgardians in a pasture in Norway. Thor discovers that out of the hundreds of thousands of Asgardians, only 200 remain. Thor decides to create New Asgard in Norway with the Loki, while Bobbi returns to S.T.R.I.K.E. In a mid-credits scene, Thor and Loki watch over the citizens as they discover a large spaceship coming into orbit. In a post-credits scene, Bobbi finds S.T.R.I.K.E. and reveals to Sharon Carter what has happened.

## Cast

* Charlie Hunnam as Thor
* Gal Gadot as Sif
* Charlie Cox as Loki
* Olivia Wilde as Amora/Enchantress
* James Franco as Skurge
* Jamie Dornan as Heimdall
* James Marsden as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
* Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird
* Sam Neill as Odin
* Clancy Brown as Surtur

## Production

Hunnam revealed this was the last *Thor* film on his contract and he would appear in *Avengers 3* and *4*. Joss Whedon signed on to direct the film, while Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost wrote the screenplay. Gal Gadot, Charlie Cox, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Jamie Dornan, and Sam Neill reprise their roles from earlier *Thor* films, all concluding their contracts, except Cox who has a single film left on his contract after this film. The film was officially announced in July 2011, when a release date of May 2, 2014 was confirmed. By May 2012, James Marsden signed on to appear as Hawkeye in the film, also concluding his contract, while in August, Adrianne Palicki agreed to appear in the film, reprising her role as Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird from the then-upcoming *Hawkeye and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*. Clancy Brown was cast as the main villain, Surtur, in December and filming was revealed to begin in June of 2013. Filming began on June 21, 2013 and concluded on October 2. The film's title, *Thor: Ragnarok*, was also revealed in March 2012.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Thor: Ragnarok* was a success at the box office with many critics calling it "the summer’s best popcorn film". The film grossed $208,545,589 in the USA & Canada, and $500,290,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $708,835,589.

### **Critical reception**

*Thor: Ragnarok* received critical acclaim upon release. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a score of 90% based on 287 reviews with a rating average of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "With intelligence and emotional resonance to match its stunning special effects, *Thor: Ragnarok*ends it's trilogy with an exciting and ambitious burst of sci-fi achievement." On review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average, the film has a "generally favorable" rating score of 79 out of 100 based on 48 reviews.