Thor: Ragnarok Parent Movie Review | #ThorRagnarokEvent
Last week the ultimate experience of the #ThorRagnarokEvent hosted by Disney was watching this movie. It’s been so hard not to gush about this film. Here’s the THOR: RAGNAROK parent movie review I’ve been dying to share!
This is a spoiler-free THOR: RAGNAROK review. I do give a little story background, but nothing you shouldn’t be able to glean from the released trailers.
Parents, be sure to scroll to the bottom to see how I feel about kids watching this one.
Kids love superheroes, so it’s an obvious connection to consider taking yours to see the next Marvel superhero movie to hit the theaters.
We’ve been going down the list of Marvel movies to watch in order before Infinity War comes out together.
Side note: I personally love spoilers (I’m totally that girl who reads the final pages of a book to find out how it ends) but I know that I’m a big ol‘ weirdo in that regard.
After I managed to ruin the movie for our event van driver (still SO sorry about that, Eddie!)… I learned my lesson that not everyone likes all the scoop ahead of time.
That being said…
Table of Contents
Thor: Ragnarok Review
Before I get to the review, I want to point out that I did a lot of “homework” by re-watching the previous Thor movies.
I figured it was a good idea to make sure I had the Thor backstory down pat so I was ready to jump right into Ragnarok without any surprises.
While I still support re-watching these movies before you go, I discovered within the first 5 minutes or so that it was totally not necessary.
Which is what, I think, the director Taika Watiti and Marvel wanted from this film.
In an effort to reboot the franchise, you don’t have to be a Thor super fan to love these characters and this film.
If you’ve never watched a Thor movie, I think you can still have a great time at this one.
Why the Marvel Newbie Will Like Thor: Ragnarok
Calling all the Marvel Newbies: this is YOUR movie!
THOR: RAGNAROK will be an excellent “entry film” so to speak to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Everything you need to know as far as the Thor backstory is given to you pretty quickly. This movie is a lot of fun, filled with action, humor and color and you’ll become a fan for life.
Waititi doesn’t hesitate to bring the audience up to speed in his trademark humorous way.
He said his hope was that people left the theater smiling. In my case: goal accomplished!
Annnddd… I’m still smiling over a week later.
Why Longtime Marvel fans will like Thor: Ragnarok
Because it’s THOR! And Loki! And the Hulk!
If you aren’t already cheering for these three then I’m not sure I’d call you a Marvel fan. No disrespect, but these guys are great.
However, the abundance of humor and change of tone is something that longtime Thor fans may have to adjust to.
We knew Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) were funny guys; their dry humor were some of my favorite parts of the previous movies. And I always wanted more laughs from the brothers.
In this movie, we really see their comedy on display.
If you are a big Thor fan already and loved the previous movies (raises hand) then this new movie might take a few minutes to accept.
I won’t lie: it did for me.
Because from the start, THOR: RAGNAROK is completely different than the Thor films in the past.
And it’s not just about Thor’s new haircut & loss of his hammer.
In tone, look, and characterizations we are seeing a very different set of Asgardians in THOR: RAGNAROK.
I gotta say: I loved the change!
It works if you let it- and by let it, I mean let go of your preconceived Thor notions.
Just go along for the ride; it’s a wild one!
The Thor: Ragnarok Story
This movie is the third installment of the Thor franchise, but it also rings true as a stand-alone story.
In a change from previous movies, Thor only briefly visits Earth.
The bulk of the story plays out on a new to the MCU planet Sakaar and on Asgard.
Sakaar appears to be space’s trash dump; it’s a planet littered with random objects falling from huge holes in the sky. Those random objects include the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and his Quinjet and (separately) two Asgardian Gods.
Sakaar is run by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and his henchwoman Topaz (Rachel House).
Also on Sakaar is Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) who is responsible for bringing Thor and the Hulk together.
Director Taika Watiti has a part in the movie too, as Korg, a fellow Grandmaster prisoner. His scenes were totally improvised and completely hilarious.
While Hulk, Loki, and Thor are stuck on Sakaar, Asgard has fallen under the control of Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett) who also happens to be about as big of a bad ass villain as you can imagine.
Move over Loki, there’s a new favorite MCU villain and she’s out to kick some booty.
Skurge (Karl Urban) is her right-hand man with an interesting story arc. I know some Karl Urban fans are thrilled to see him here so I don’t want to give too much away.
Favorites From Thor: Ragnarok
I’m not going to tell any specifics (scenes or moments) in order to preserve your spoiler-free viewing of the film.
What I will say is that the storyline is great, the acting is wonderful (CATE BLANCHETT, Y’ALL!), and visually this is one stunning film.
The soundtrack keeps the film rocking along, too.
If you liked the feel of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, then you’ll feel very comfortable with this installment of Thor.
Highlights for me from an acting standpoint include all the comedic turns. Everyone had a chance to get a laugh- and they did it well.
It’s not quite a comedy, but it’s pretty close. This is what I mean by very different from previous Thor movies.
I loved seeing both Hemsworth and Hiddleston steal some scenes with nicely timed one-liners and Loki had some excellent reaction shots.
In particular, there’s a story of brotherly shenanigans that made this momma heart smile. I could just imagine my own sons in that moment because they were so relatable as a family.
Tom Hiddleston fans (so that’s everyone in the entire world, right?) are going to love how much Loki screen time THOR: RAGNAROK brings us.
I cannot love enough the performances by Goldblum, Blanchett, and Thompson either.
I have no idea if it’s possible to see more of these characters in future films (see? no spoilers!) but it would be cool to see more of all three on screen.
THOR:RAGNAROK is in theaters nationwide on November 3, 2017. You can get your tickets now!
Thor: Ragnarok Parent Movie Review
My children are 14, 12, 10 and 6. Here are my recommendations for each age based on my children’s maturity levels.
Teen/Tweens Should be good to go. Unless they are highly sensitive, children in this age range will be able to follow the story and enjoy it. No overt sex or in this movie, but there is a shirtless Chris Hemsworth and some Hulk booty shown. Consider yourself warned. There is fighting and violence because it’s an action movie. Some off-color jokes as well, that frankly went over my head- but my fellow movie watchers pointed out later.
So keep that in mind- I didn’t catch them! I can’t imagine most kids catching them either.
6 to 10-years old Depends greatly on the maturity level. If they have seen and understood the previous Marvel movies, these superhero lovers are going to be fine. This age is will get the most mileage out of the Hulk booty shot.
However, if your child of this age is highly sensitive, you may want to avoid the movie or screen it ahead of time.
And I’d possibly avoid 3-D movies at this age, however. It can make the whole experience a bit more intense!
5 and Under I say, “proceed with caution” in this age range. Most likely it’s not appropriate for your kid, I mean, it’s got a PG-13 rating for a reason. But it’s not the most terrible movie to take them to either!
It is rated PG-13 due to violence and adult themes so a child who only watches Thomas the Tank Engine is probably not ready for this one.
More THOR: RAGNAROK Event
Like THOR: RAGNAROK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thor/
Follow THOR: RAGNAROK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thorofficial
Follow Marvel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marvelstudios/
THOR: RAGNAROK opens in theaters everywhere November 3rd!
Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
I LOVE spoilers too! See I knew there was a reason we got along so well, so much in common!
Ha! My people! <3