SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 22: Director Taika Waititi attends the Marvel Studios ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Presentation during Comic-Con International 2017 at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Thor: Ragnarok is almost here. How can it become the best superhero movie of 2017?
Only a few weeks away till Marvel Studios releases their latest blockbuster, Thor: Ragnarok in theaters everywhere. This will be Thor’s third movie and fifth appearance on-screen. The new movie may be breaking down some walls and will give us a theater-going experience that we’ve never experienced before. 2017 has been a fantastic year for superhero movies, but we are anticipating this film to be better than all of those other movies to finish out the year.
Here are five reasons why Thor: Ragnarok has the potential to be the best superhero movie of 2017.
5. The director
The director of Thor: Ragnarok is no other than Taika Waititi. He is also an actor, writer and producer for most of his movies. You may know him from his work on Flight of the Concords, Eagle vs. Shark, What We Do In the Shadows, and much more. He has many years of experience when it comes to comedy and has and interesting edge to his work that sets him apart from the rest.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe films like to insert as much comedy as they can into their movies. Many of the director’s of Marvel movies have some background when it comes to comedy. Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man, became famous from the adult comedy Swingers. The Russo Brothers worked on several sitcoms and comedic televisions series such as Arrested Development, Community, and more. Waititi seems like a great fit to this list of talented directors.
If you are unfamiliar with the director, you may have seen the video above. Taika Waititi directed this short video with Chris Hemsworth a few years ago. It told the hilarious story of what Thor was doing during the events of Captain America: Civil War. The video premiere at Comic-Con and was one of the biggest surprises Marvel had to offer. The director clearly likes to improvise on set, and work with the comedic timing of these great actors. I think it’s a perfect introduction to not only this director’s talent, but what the tone of Thor: Ragnarok will be similar to.
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 13: Chris Hemsworth takes photos with fans during the Australian Premiere of Thor: Ragnarok on October 13, 2017 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
4. The early reviews are great
Some lucky people have gotten to chance to actually see the movie in private critic screenings weeks before the worldwide release date, and so far the buzz around this movie is very positive. Marvel seems to be pretty confident with this upcoming film, releasing it early to press to build up more excitement. The studio has done this before with Captain America: Civil War, and had screenings about a month before the actual movie came out. One of the biggest supporters of the new Thor film so far is the Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
When the movies of Phase 3 were announced a few years ago, the one I was least excited about was Thor: Ragnarok. Although the first Thor is wonderful, the sequel that is called Thor: The Dark World was disapproved by the majority of fans. It left a bad taste when it came to the character and it feels weird seeing him in his own movie again. Marvel definitely knew they needed to make an improvement, throwing everything they got to make a fun and exciting Thor movie that critics enjoyed. Very soon, audiences all over the planet will too.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – OCTOBER 10: Actros Cate Blanchett (L) and Mark Ruffalo at The World Premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ at the El Capitan Theatre on October 10, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
3. Cate Blanchett’s performance
Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett will be playing the villain of this superhero movie. She will portray the comic book character Hela, otherwise known as the Asgardian God of death. An incredibly powerful and fearsome foe for Thor to face off with. Fans speculate that this character in the MCU will be “Death,” who Thanos is in love with. If this is true, we could be seeing the character in more Marvel movies.
The Marvel movies have always cast an “A” list actor as one of the supporting characters in their films. Anthony Hopkins as Odin in Thor, Michael Douglass as Hank Pym in Antman, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and more. This actress certainly fits the mold, known for her works in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Truth, Carol, Babel, and much more. She’s won two Oscars for her roles in Blue Jasmine and The Aviator. From the looks of the marketing, Cate Blanchett is having a lot of fun with this role, and will certainly be kicking ass during the entire runtime.
2. The Visuals look stunning
Although I like to avoid as many trailers as I can when going into a movie, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the spectacular visuals of Thor: Ragnarok. It has an 80’s retro feel, and is extremely bright and colorful like a rainbow. Recent Marvel films such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Captain America: Civil War have dull tones and low color grading (with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy). So seeing the images from this movie is so incredibly refreshing and feels like a resurgence of energy. I’m not just talking about visual effects, the production design in this film looks breathtaking. All the costumes and hairstyles of these new and wacky characters look very authentic, which makes me very curious to see the rest of these fantasy worlds.
The Grandmaster, played by the iconic Jeff Goldblum, comes to mind when thinking of the visual style of the movie. His outfit and random blue chin line look unlike anything I’ll see in theaters in a long time. The character also appeared dancing in the credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which could mean this movie will add-on to the futuristic and over stylized environment of the cosmic universe. And of course, Thor looks pretty good in that new helmet.
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 22: Actor Mark Ruffalo (L) and Cate Blanchett from Marvel Studios’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2017 Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H on July 22, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
1. It has the Hulk!
Hulk smash! We have not seen The Hulk since he abandoned our heroes after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Bruce Banner lost control of the Hulk a few times in that movie, which made him question how safe everyone else will be around him. So after he demolished some Ultron bots and helped save the city of Sokovia, he saw his way out. Hulk hijacked their jet, turned off all the tracking and just kept flying. For at least 2 years, we had no idea where Hulk ended up, that was until we saw him burst through the Coliseum gates in this trailer.
The addition of Hulk in this Thor movie is the major selling point. Their chemistry in the other Avengers movies was hilarious and would make for a good buddy film. Hulk and Thor are both brutes and are pretty evenly matched, the marketing keeps teasing a gladiator match between the heroes. Even better, this movie will have a lot of scenes with Thor and Bruce Banner, we’ll be guaranteed some very comedic moments between these characters.
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Mark Ruffalo, who portrays Bruce Banner, is a terrific actor. Nominated for three Oscars, this actor can do drama, comedy and big action in spectacular fashion. His take on the Bruce Banner character as a and unstable man has made him the definitive Hulk. I’m excited to see Hulk rage out again in Thor: Ragnarok.