Review: Thor: Ragnarok (UK Cert 12A)

The God of Thunder is back in his third solo film, this one directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople)

When Hela, the Goddess of Death, rises and takes over Asgard, Thor finds himself on the distant planet of Sakaar. Imprisoned and forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena, Thor must find his way back to Asgard to face Hela and prevent the end of days- Ragnarok- from happening...

Tonally, it's very different from the other Thor films- indeed, tonally different to most other MCU films if I'm honest. Whilst the original had an almost Shakespearean feel to it (thanks to director Kenneth Branagh), and the second had a Game Of Thrones aesthetic (thanks to director Alan Taylor), Thor: Ragnarok is a synth-soaked, buddy-comedy, end-of-the-world extravaganza. 

Moreover, it's funny. Like, properly laugh-out-loud funny. The other Thor films have suffered a little from being a bit too strait-laced, a bit po-faced- which seems ridiculous when you're dealing with an outlandish story of gods and monsters. Here, the humour comes thick and fast- but not at the expense of anything else. There's a fine balance between this humour and the more dramatic elements and the incredibly well choreographed fight scenes. 

Chris Hemsworth is as good as ever as Thor; he's got that cocky but charming act down to a tee. Tom Hiddleston is similarly at home in Loki- again, a charming but utterly dangerous being. As always, their fractious relationship- part sibling rivalry, part best buds- forms a cornerstone of the film. Anthony Hopkins really earns his 'and' credit, with a total of about five minutes on screen- but he's superb when he is. Idris Elba gets more to do as Heimdall this time round- removed from his role as gatekeeper for the Bifrost, he acts as a resistance leader trying to save the Asgardians from Hela's undead army. 

Mark Ruffalo is great as Banner/Hulk and brings an extra dimension to the role. He's been Hulk for two years (since he skipped off at the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron) and has found himself on Sakaar as the Grandmaster's champion. There's a great deal of confusion when he turns back into Banner and is afraid of the change, that he'll lose himself if he Hulks out again. He has great rapport with Chris Hemsworth, which forms part of the buddy-comedy strand. Benedict Cumberbatch's brief appearance as Doctor Strange may not be strictly needed, but it's fun to see them interact (especially after the hidden scene at the end of Doctor Strange) 

Of the new members of the cast, no complaints at all. Cate Blanchett is utterly superb as Hela; I honestly can't imagine any other actress doing the role as well as she does. From her very first entrance into the film- and what an entrance it is- she commands the screen every time she's on it. While the MCU tends to have a bit of an issue with its villains (in that they're either not very good or not drawn out well), Hela is a rounded and very credible threat. Once again, Blanchett shows that's she's one of the best actresses working in Hollywood today. 

Tessa Thompson (Creed) is great as Valkyrie, a drunken scavenger when we first meet her (as she captures and brings Thor to the Grandmaster) but is revealed to be the last of the great warrior women race- previously decimated by Hela. Her relationship with Thor is great; luckily, they eschew any obviously romantic overtures for something more like friendship. 

Jeff Goldblum is just magnificent as the Grandmaster, the ruler of Sakaar. A mercurial, kooky, but ruthless leader, he pits creatures against one another in his Contest of Champions. Again, I can't really imagine anyone else in the role. Karl Urban is great as Skurge, a rough Asgardian warrior with a Cockney accent who takes Heimdall's role as gatekeeper of the Bifrost and becomes a conflicted ally of Hela's. Finally, director Waititi also voices Korg, a blue alien rock being that Thor meets on Sakaar and becomes friends with and who is seriously one of the best characters in the film.    

Thor: Ragnarok was excellent. Whilst the film is 130 miuntes long, it never once felt like it. Fun, bright, brilliant. Simply put, another triumph for Marvel. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

News From Comic-Con 2017

It wouldn't be July without a round-up of some of the big and interesting news coming out of this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Running from July 20th-23rd, it showcased some of the big upcoming events in the world of TV, film and entertainment.

At the DC Panel, the first order of business was an absolutely kickass new poster for Justice League, followed by an equally kickass new trailer:

It was announced that the upcoming Flash movie will now be called Flashpoint and will be based on Geoff Johns' 2011 comic book series which sees major repercussions in the DC universe due to Barry Allen saving his mother from being killed. This is a very interesting and quite ballsy move which will allow them to essentially press the reset button on DCEU so far (if they want to).  

Both Suicide Squad 2 and Shazam (without Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam) are due to start filming next year, whilst Joss Whedon will also start working on his Batgirl project in 2018 as well. Wonder Woman 2 is confirmed, with Geoff Johns already working on the script. Justice League Dark, Green Lantern Corps and The Batman (which WILL feature Ben Affleck as Batman, despite rumours to the contrary) make up the roster of DCEU films so far. 

There was no mention of the standalone Cyborg movie, Man Of Steel 2, Nightwing or Gotham City Sirens (the Harley Quinn/female villain spinoff) but there was new footage shown from Aquaman.

Marvel released several new posters, trailers, and pieces of concept art. The official poster and trailer for Thor: Ragnarok was dropped and looking absolutely epic:

New footage was also shown from Black Panther, featuring T'Challa and two of the Dora Milaje spying on someone in a casino. The footage also showed villains Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) in action. There was also a new teaser poster:

As well as a new teaser poster, several new cast members for Ant-Man And The Wasp were revealed. Joining Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, and Michael Douglas in the Ant-Man sequel will be Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster/Giant-Man and erstwhile Catwoman Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne (Hank Pym's wife and the original Wasp). 

It's also been revealed that Captain Marvel will be set in the early 1990s (before the events of Iron Man). Samuel L. Jackson will be returning to the MCU as Nick Fury- but will be without the iconic eyepatch, as Fury still has both eyes at this point. It's also been revealed that Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) will be facing off against the Skrulls- an evil galactic race of shapeshifters.

There was no new footage from Avengers: Infinity War but the footage shown at the recent Disney D23 event was given another airing- to a rapturous reception. The footage has yet to be released officially (and we'll probably need to wait until Thor: Ragnarok for that). Although there is an interesting new three-part poster to advertise Infinity War which shows most of the heroes:

Away from the comic book franchises, there were new trailers for the upcoming Blade Runner 2049 (with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard, alongside Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto), Steven Spielberg's hotly-anticipated adaptation of Ernest Cline's cult novel Ready Player One, the remake of The Watcher In The Woods, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Jigsaw (previously titled Saw: Legacy) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle:

In TV news, there were panels for The Walking Dead, Marvel's The Defenders (which featured a surprise appearance by Sigourney Weaver), Twin Peaks, Game Of Thrones, Westworld, Stranger Things, and Battlestar Galactica among others. At the Doctor Who panel, it was announced that Mark Gatiss will appear in the upcoming Christmas special (which will be both Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi's final episode) with a superb trailer dropping shortly after which confirms the episode title as the rather magical Twice Upon A Time. 

There was also a special panel to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Yep. 20 years. Makes you feel old, doesn't it? OK, maybe just me.

So, as usual, a lot of exciting stuff coming our way in the next year or so!

Happy New Year From The Watchers!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has had a lovely and relaxing Christmas and saw the New Year in with a bang. Whilst 2016 was a year with more than its fair share of woe, we hope that 2017 will be a good year for everyone.

There's an absolute shedload of brilliant, intriguing and (hopefully) spectacular films coming out over the next 12 months: Blade Runner 2049, Justice League, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Fast & Furious 8, Thor: Ragnarok, Beauty And The Beast, Logan, Despicable Me 3, Ghost In The Shell, Wonder Woman and Star Wars Episode VIII, to name but a few.

We'll be giving our opinions on all these films and more in the upcoming year, so keep your eyes on the blog and your ears on the podcast (which we hope to do more of this year, as our schedules won't be quite as busy as they have been previously)

With all our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2017,

The Watchers

(Rhys, Matt & Tez)