Despite its weak storyline, if you are a fan of super heroes and science fiction this is a movie you won't want to miss seeing because its gladiatorial scene between the Incredible Hulk and Thor really is an exhilarating experience. It is a great battle with tremendous special effects that make you forget these characters aren't real. The Hulk and Thor duking it out gets your adrenaline pumping plus provides some laughs. This is obviously not a serious dramatic film, but if you are looking for a rip roaring good time THOR: RAGNAROK is sure to satisfy and absolutely well worth the price of admission to the movie theater.
The movie is rated PG-13, but I took my 8 year old twins to go see it and there wasn't anything we saw that triggered parental concerns from my perspective. The Motion Picture Association of America assigned that rating for intense sequences of intense sci-fi violence and suggestive sexual content. I think this rating is primarily due to two things: (1) a main character suffers a very traumatic, appearance altering injury and (2) there is a prominent naked image of the Hulk's rear end.
In regard to the sexual content in the film, it flew right past my kids without them really paying it any notice. They've probably encountered more provocative stuff on television sitcoms but parents may want to know about these scenes in advance. For a moment the Hulk's bare rear end is shown and other character's react to seeing his front side though that isn't seen on screen. Thor jokingly exclaims "that is in my mind now" implying that he's seen the Hulk's penis without saying the word. In another scene, characters steal a spaceship and one of them remarks the person they stole it from used the vessel to hold "orgies" in. Also a character makes an allusion to masturbation in another scene.
The violence in the movie isn't beyond what is standard for the Marvel cinematic universe but one of the main characters does suffer a life-altering injury that could be traumatic for some young viewers to witness. The injury isn't particularly gory but could be troubling for children to look at. There are also some undead warriors in the movie that are meant to be scary but my kids and I agreed they actually appeared rather goofy to us. Of course some children may be scared by them. Nothing in the movie seemed to bother my kids though and there were no nightmares triggered by anything in THOR: RAGNAROK after we got home for the night. In fact as the movie concluded, my son jumped out of his seat exclaiming "that was AWESOME!"
When it comes to the end of the movie credit scenes that Marvel movies are known for there are two of them. One is midway through the credit scroll and is a tie-in to the upcoming Avengers movies so it is worth waiting to see. The other one comes at the end of the credits and involves Jeff Goldblum's character. This post-credit scene is amusing but you could probably skip it and not feel like you missed out on something.
In THOR: RAGNAROK, Odin's first child, Hela, emerges from an ancient prison she's been held in and is intent on getting revenge, taking control of Asgard and ruling the universe. As Thor attempts to stand in her way, he is hurled across the galaxy and crashes onto a planet in far off space. Imprisoned by the planet's inhabitants, Thor is forced to fight in a gladiatorial competition against his former ally ... the Incredible Hulk. Can Thor win his freedom and stop a seemingly invincible foe in his sister Hela or will he be smashed to death by the Hulk within the gladiatorial arena?
Because THOR:RAGNAROK provided an entertaining and enjoyable outing to the movie theater for my kids and I it has earned A GEEK DADDY nod of approval. It is the best of the three stand alone THOR movies and makes a nice addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. If you enjoy super hero movies make sure to fly to a theater to take this one in. We saw it in 3D and I'll give that a nod too. Often times 3D detracts from a movie in my opinion, but for THOR: RANGAROK these special effects complimented it very well.
Here are some fun facts about THOR: RAGNAROK from A Geek Daddy's friends at Marvel Studios:
- Ragnarok translates to “the end of the universe” in Norse mythology
- Director Taika Waititi not only directs, but also plays a new CGI character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe named Korg (introduced by Marvel in a 1962 comic book). Waititi is well known for not only directing, but acting in his own films.
- Other characters from the Marvel comics being introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in THOR: RAGNAROK include the villainous Hela (Cate Blanchett), introduced in 1964; the fierce warrior Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), debuting on the comic book pages in 1971; Skurge, the executioner (Karl Urban), a 1964 comic book debut; and the Sakaarian dictator Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), first appearing in the Marvel comics in 1969.
- Cate Blanchett’s, Hela, one of Thor’s most formidable enemies from the comics, is the first leading female villain in any of the Marvel Studios’ feature films to date.
- The world of Sakaar in the story where the Thor / Hulk gladiatorial match takes place is like nothing ever before seen in any of the previous Marvel Studios’ films. Its design was inspired by the comic book illustrations of Jack Kirby, who co-created “Thor” (with Stan Lee) in 1962. Sakaar is the world ruled by Jeff Goldblum’s dictatorial character, Grandmaster in the film. It was also the setting for a popular Marvel Comics storyline titled "Planet Hulk" that has the Incredible Hulk exiled from Earth and stranded on this strange world.
