Things just don’t seem to be going well for Thor. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor finds himself facing a crisis that threatens the very existence of Asgard. To top it all off, Thor is up against his greatest foe yet and doesn’t have his hammer Mjölnir. Thor soon finds himself not only fighting against the evil plans of Hela, goddess of death but also against the whims of the Grandmaster on planet Sakaar. While there he discovers an old friend and makes a new one. Together, along with Loki, they form a new team to try and save Asgard.
Quality
Thor: Ragnarok is a movie that is very fun to watch visually. It varies from the beauty of Asgard, the majesty of space, to the whimsy of Sakaar. All of this fits in a universe together in a way that makes sense and isn’t distracting. It all creates something that is interesting to look at and at times absolutely beautiful. The colors are varied, the effects well executed, and thankfully the CGI isn’t too much. The sound design for this film matches the visual in quality. It adds and doesn’t detract, from the viewing experience of Thor: Ragnarok. Couple it with some solid music choices and score and it is a movie that is definitely worth watching with a good entertainment system.
Extras
The extras for Thor: Ragnarok continues Marvel’s trend of offering a solid set of extras that are worth watching with its movie releases. This movie, in particular, has an added level of entertainment and interest value because of the antics of the director. Taika Waititi adds a level of comedy, whimsy, and brilliance to both the movie and the extras that is either ridiculous or brilliant. Honestly, it’s both. The extras that revolved around him were easily my favorite included with this release. However, pretty much everything is worth taking the time to watch. Here is what is included in the extras for Thor: Ragnarok:
Blu-ray:
- Director’s Introduction
- Deleted/Extended Scenes – Deleted Scenes: The Sorcerer Supreme, Skurge Finds Heimdall & Hulk Chases Thor Through Sakaar and Extended Scenes: ThorMeets the Grandmaster, Stupid Avenger vs. Tiny Avenger & Grandmaster and Topaz
- Gag Reel – Watch a collection of goofs, gaffes and pratfalls starring the cast
- Exclusive Short/Team Darryl – Fresh off being unseated as the ruler of Sakaar, the Grandmaster makes his way to Earth to start a new life. It’s been over a year since Thor left Australia and Darryl has been struggling to pay his rent. Now Darryl needs a new roommate to help make the monthly payments. Unfortunately for Darryl, the Grandmaster was the only one who answered Darryl’s “Roommate Needed” ad and with no viable options, the Grandmaster moves in.
- Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years – The Evolution of Heroes – Marvel’s universe is vast and transcends both time and space. We’ll examine the Cinematic Universe as a whole and revisit each of our heroes’ current location and their place in the current MCU timeline, as it all leads up to the one culminating event: “Avengers: Infinity War.”
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Thor – “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi has brought his unique sensibility and sense of humor to the film in a great many ways but it is the evolution of Thor’s own sense of humor, which stands out the most in the new film. This piece explores the impact Chris Hemsworth has made on the development of his widely-loved character and celebrates the mighty cast and crew who reveal the fun and hard work that went into assembling Thor’s eccentric counterparts.
- Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie – This piece explores the strong female characters in “Thor: Ragnarok,” their importance in the MCU, their incredible casting and their epic comic origins.
- Finding Korg – A tongue-in-cheek interview with Taika on casting Korg. He describes the difficult search for just the right evolution of the character design, and the nuances of this instantly classic character in the MCU. This conversation will also delve into all the extraordinary visual effects that brought Korg, Sakaar and the worlds of “Thor: Ragnarok” to life.
- Sakaar: On the Edge of the Known and Unknown – Sakaar is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. This documentary will answer all known and unknown questions while also exploring the hard work and creativity that went into creating the look and feel of Sakaar. From design inspired by Jack Kirby’s classic artwork to the dedication of the visual development team to the awe-inspiring physical and digital production, you will see this distant world come alive.
- Journey into Mystery – A deep dive story piece with the writers, director and producer Kevin Feige about the inspirations for “Thor: Ragnarok” within the comics. Most notably, the contest of champions limited series where the Grandmaster pitted our favorite heroes against one another as he does in the film. This piece also further explores Thor’s comic book origins and classic arcs through interviews with some of the most important comic creators, such as Walt Simonson and Jack Kirby.
- 8bit Scenes – Final Bridge Battle + Sakaar Spaceship Battle. Dive into these climactic sequences presented in retro video-game format.
- Directors Commentary
Digital Exclusives:
- Evolution of Thor and Hulk’s Bromance – We’ll examine this Super Hero friendship, which has spanned through several Marvel films. From their original Helicarrier fight match to the now iconic Hulk punch from Avengers 1, see how Marvel’s most powerful Super Heroes become the most extraordinary Super Hero buddies.
- Additional Deleted Scenes – Travel to Asgard & Race To The Wormhole
There are a lot of extras to enjoy in this collection. If I had to pick one as a favorite, it’d probably have to be Finding Korg. There are quite a few fun ones though so make sure and sit down and take some time to watch them!
Final Thoughts
As Marvel celebrates 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it seems there is no sign of them slowing down. Thankfully, this fast pace of movie production hasn’t led to a decrease in the quality of movies being released. Thor: Ragnarok is simply a really fun movie to watch. Even by itself, it is fun. Put it into the context of the bigger MCU and it is even more fun! This movie is one that I completely enjoyed watching (and re-watching) and is very easy for me to suggest that it should go in your movie library. I have no hesitation in giving it a hearty hat tip!
