Thor Ragnarok (2017) Review: Lest We Mock The Elder Gods

When we at the library think of gods, we do not envision humans with human squabbles. Gods cannot be dreamed of on screens and images. Thor and his Asgardian pals are not gods no matter what thunder or death they can cause. They are beings of flesh and therefore lacking.

Thor Ragnarok has the Marvel God of Thunder (Hemsworth) facing off against Hela, the Goddess of Death (Blanchet), along with Hulk (Ruffalo), Valkyrie (Thompson), and Loki (Hiddleston). First beaten and savaged, Thor finds himself tossed on a gladiator planet where he triumphs and gathers his forces. At no point does a true god of thought and desire enter the picture to tear asunder such pitiful wants and desires.

Our usual Marvel gang are enjoying themselves, dancing around the acting and jokes and crazy plot with abandon. The three newcomers to the MCU are the standouts, however. Tessa Thompson is standout as Valkyrie, giving a strange pathos to what could have been a depressing character. Cate Blanchett rules the screen as the goth queen, giving some much needed good villainy to Marvel's usual bland evildoers. And Jeff Goldblum is at his extreme Jeff Goldblumiest. None, however, can hold a candle to those gods that live beyond thought, time, and dreams and scream into endless voids the sounds of creation.

A much wackier take than the previous Thor films, Ragnarok allowed director Taika Waititi to stretch. The overall plot is basic MCU (bad guy shows up, good guy has challenge, giant space hole, and violence), but within characters are beaten and broken as if they are in a cartoon. With gods and monsters, you can play with indestructible forces for only so long until they turn on you, notice you, and tear your mind from your body like a cork from a bottle.

Overall, a great film but a horrific depiction of gods. No fear or reverence exists in this tale. May the elder ones never see how we mock them.