Firstly, it is good to see Thor back. It's been a while since we as Marvel fans have gone this long since seeing the god of thunder, and it seems he's got a new sense of humor, whimsy, and wit. Despite the fact that it's Ragnarok, or the end of Asgard, Thor still has that newfound charm and smolder that he picked up in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Not a fan of that haircut, though. But the helmet is awesome, and reminiscent of that winged headwear in the more classic Thor comics.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention new baddie, Hela. She's essentially a Norse goddess of death, and she looks dope being played by Cate Blanchett. I swear to god, that woman looks better in every movie she's in. Seeing that she has the power to destroy Mjolnir, the indestructable hammer of Thor, is intimidating enough, but add on the fact that she has a form where she has crazy-scary death antlers and is able to raze Asgard is just a beautifully horrific sight to behold.
Seeing fan favorites like Loki and the Hulk back is just as delightful, and the fact that they reconvene with Thor on this arena world is just as interesting. Last time we saw Loki, he had usurped the throne of Asgard and was impersonating Odin. As for Hulk, we last saw him abandoning his love interest(?) Black Widow and the rest of the Avengers after the destruction of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron; how he gets to the far side of the galaxy is beyond me. And how Loki blows his cover should be an interesting development. Even more interesting is the fact that Odin is precisely what Thor would need to help bring Hela down. Where is he?
The two newcomers in the Grandmaster (played by Jeff Goldblum) and Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson) had little to offer in this trailer. Valkyrie was seen riding a pegasus and taking on Hela in some flashback, I'm assuming, but then she's in the service of the Grandmaster by some odd chain of events. The Grandmaster himself doesn't look too significantly different from that of the Collector, last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy (which is fine, considering that the two characters are brothers), but his lack of weight in a scene is really what I think will be the true detriment to his character. These two have a long way to go to beat the lasting impression that our four mainstays will have.
With all of that said, the style of the movie is what has me on edge the most. It seems as though all 3 Marvel movies this year are homages to 80's movie and culture tropes: from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and their music and style inspirations, to Spider-Man: Homecoming and the tribute to old-school coming-of-age movies, to Thor: Ragnarok and it's irreverent action and comedy, alluding to the era of Marvel comics from which it comes from, Marvel is all on that 80's homage bandwagon. It's fine, and it can even be fun at times, but the appeal for the Thor movies for me was that they had this fantasy angle to them, more of a tribute to Lord of the Rings than to Mad Max. Because, here's the thing: almost every Marvel movie pays tribute to the 80's, that's their largest demographic audience. But I liked how they differ their films to pay tribute to genres, rather than time periods: The Winter Soldier was the political thriller, Ant-Man was the heist film, Guardians was the space opera. I still hold the belief that Thor should be the fantasy/adventure movie. But Ragnarok looks more like a Thor movie with a Guardians of the Galaxy skin. Granted, I understand that Guardians is what the people love, and it makes sense, but I'm just a bit miffed that they're changing up the game in this particular manner.
That being said, I'll still go see it and I'm sure it's going to be awesome.
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