Are We Ready For ‘Thor: Ragnarok’?

Written by Dana Havey

Should we be waiting eagerly with popcorn in hand or send Thor: Ragnarok to an early date with Valhalla?

Let us start off by agreeing that the first Thor movie, which debuted in 2011, was filled with fun, action, and a fairly straight-forward plot line. However the sequel, Thor: The Dark World, left the viewer constantly asking questions and trying to remember the plot of the tale. But, let’s be honest, how many Marvel fans strive for thought-provoking performances over adventure, fantastic one-liners, and gorgeous men? Feel free to silently raise your hand, we shall only judge you a little.

Yet now we are greeted with another tale of Asgard and it is due to be released on November 2^nd. But the real question is, will it be worth the hype? To try to make an educated decision, there are some facts we need to bring to light.

First off, just who is the villainess in the film? I thought Galadriel already passed her test and did not succumb to the darkness – oh, wait, wrong realm. It was recently revealed that the strange woman capable of defeating Mjolnir is in fact the Goddess of Death from Valhalla. One can only assume she managed to find a way to break into Asgard – this plot seems to happen a lot, perhaps Heimdall should hire an assistant to better watch the Bifrost – and she is intent upon bringing Ragnarok around. Once again, the end of life as we know it is threatened. But fear not, little ones! Thor will save the day. Right?

Well it turns out that Goddess of Death is more powerful than we first thought. Not only is Thor captured, forced to get an excellent haircut, but somehow becomes part of the Space Gladiator tournaments. It seems Space King Jeff Goldblum is the head of these tournaments and makes the brilliant decision to have Thor battle the Hulk. Probably to save money in marketing to have the two shortest named members of the Avengers battle one another. Yet it begs the question, out of all the earthlings to get captured, why the Hulk? Hopefully the director gives us a fairly clear answer that is not as out there as when Dr. Erik Selvig was running around Stonehenge naked. That scene is still haunting.

But is the Goddess of Death the only villain of the film? For one, Loki is once again in the midst of all this chaos. Can we just give him credit already for being smarter than most people in the Marvel universe? Despite constantly getting caught and nearly killed, he always manages to find a way to deliver a quick bit of wit and sarcasm while walking away unharmed. Marvel should really look into a film starring just him. Perhaps he will turn the coat halfway through and end up helping his brother merely because he can already see the evil plan failing. Why else would he be fighting side by side with Thor at one point?

Loki is not the only antagonist of the film though, as there is a brief clip of a giant wolf attacking the Hulk. According to the legend of Ragnarok, this is either Skoll or Hati, one of the two wolves who spend their lives chasing the sun and moon. Should one ever swallow the sun or moon, Ragnarok would come about. So it is logical to assume these wolves are the pets of the Goddess of Death. With so many creatures and beings that Thor and his team of “Revengers” must battle (still not sure on whether that name is funny or desperate) will this latest Thor movie be worth it?

Naturally there will amazing battle sequences, with only 90% of it CGI more in likely, and the choreography will be superb. The score for the film seems promising and yet, perhaps the only highlight of the film will be to see Jeff Goldblum wearing eyeliner or those philosophical and monosyllabic talks Thor has with the Hulk. For die-hard fans of Thor, this is sure to be a roller coaster. But for all others, I encourage you all to watch it with eager skepticism.

Are you excited or perhaps feeling a bit hesitant for this next Marvel film? Tell us in the comments below!