The status quo has changed : Avengers - Infinity War | Review

The last movie to be able to make a statement this phenomenal despite its gargantuan star-cast was the Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King. And let’s be fair, they had made 2 similarly scaled films previously for swinging practice. Marvel has finally brought us to the 10-year and 19-movie milestone of the journey they started us on with Iron Man (2008) that will mark the near end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we recognize it, and helm some expansion that you will come to grasp in the post-credits scene (shuddering already?)

This is simply a review, and no plot points will be discussed. Spoiler review will come a week later! 

In a nutshell that most will obviously be well-versed with – Thanos, a megalomaniacal despot from the planet Titan is out to collect the Infinity Stones so that he can be the ultimate power in the universe and “rebalance it” as he sees fit. The Avengers, who disbanded after a Civil War between 2 factions led by Iron Man and Captain America, must join hands with Doctor Strange, Spider-man, the Wakandans, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor to thwart Thanos and his Dark Order’s plans and protect the Universe.

The complete Avengers roster with Thanos in the background

Talking about Infinity War is tough. THERE IS SO MUCH TO COVER! This film would make a great book, probably titled “How to make a comic-book film that is 149 minutes long, comprises over 25 superheroes, and still packs enough story to appeal to nerds and serious film-goers alike!” 

(Scratch that title. Death sentences are shorter than that title. But you get my drift.)

For this review, let's just stick to the principal new entry in this film – Thanos (played by Josh Brolin.) Marvel has always been on the receiving end of praises for the character development of its villains (for the most part.) Last evidence of that was Erik Killmonger. Strangely, I was quite skeptical originally about Thanos, based upon his trivial appearance in Guardians Of The Galaxy. But here, we get to see a seemingly grounded, complex villain who seems to be OCD about balance in everything, and does a challenging discourse about the extent of and the moral compass directing our stereotypical hero’s views about helping people and the world/universe at large. Thanos is a great matter-of-fact villain who believes more in the scale and fulfilment of his purpose than the talk and pomp and show around it (okay, maybe he’s a little pompous? I suppose that much is complimentary), compared to the previous villains like Loki and Ultron. 

The highlight of the film is the relationship between Thanos and his adoptive daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) the green skinned assassin and a Guardian of the Galaxy. We get a glimpse into Thanos' more human side which gives weight to emotional attachments too beside his plans of galactic destruction. 

Avengers - Infinity War isn't a perfect film, and probably not close in terms of coherence to many of its predecessors, but with a film of this scale, they manage to touchdown above and beyond expectations. The movie has quite a few plot holes and instances where things happen too fast and merely to allow plot convenience. But where this movie succeeds is the ample screen time and nearly equal share of the spotlight that it gives to nearly ALL its characters. Another thing it succeeds in an extensive lineup of neatly edited action sequences which are well-spaced out and precise in length. The faults that still remain, are fortunately not too major to effectively affect the storyline, even though they might invite some strong questions on repeat viewing. And then, there is this permanent problem that I have with Marvel regarding its persistent overinsertion of childish humour in serious transitional moments in their films, but Infinity War witnesses a polarization, with the story taking extremely emotional strides towards the continuity of its story, which might make you require a drink after. I kid you not.

VERDICT – 3  and 1/2 out of 5 toots of the Bugle 

No-can-do bruh. Sorry.

If any of you out there have been getting too used to the MCU as you know it, brace yourselves for this new big bang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which signals a sordid turn towards the beginning of the end, and a road to new beginnings.

  

Hiccuping Through : Hichki | Review

You’ve seen this kind of movie before, in Hollywood as well as Bollywood. It’s the movie where someone enters the lives of a team of rebelliously careless underdogs to turn them around for the better - Coach Carter and Chak De! India to name a few. However where these movies dealt with a team overcoming their personal shackles particularly in a sport, Hichki gives a larger package which is both inspirational, and depictive of the realities in the Indian education system as well as the class differences that seemingly start to permeate into society from the inception point which is a school.

Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) is a young Mumbai woman who has Tourettes Syndrome (Go Google) and yearns to become a teacher more than anything in life, but is rejected nearly every opportunity to do so due to the speech impediment that is caused by her neurological problem. Eventually she lands a job at her alma mater where in exigent circumstances she becomes the in-charge of a class comprising a motley crew of slum kids who despite having gained admission into the school due to the Right to Education guaranteed by the Indian constitution, do not receive the same brand of attention or investment from the administration as their more socially privileged schoolmates, and are considered an extreme liability. The rest of the movie follows the journey of Naina and the kids towards achieving a semblance of success despite all obstacles and biases that come their way through social hurdles or personal misdirected energy.

Hichki is a top notch specimen of a commercial Bollywood film out to generate a social discussion while sensitising the audience with something new, which here is Naina’s Tourette’s Syndrome. It deals with class conflict that seemingly starts to establish itself from the nascent days of school; the concept of privilege and the resultant opportunities, both of which are probably not at par for 2 given people; the system of segregation of students into classrooms based on their academic performance – and packages all of them into a flowery Yash Raj product that despite a flurry of cheesy filmy instances, hits the sweet spot.

Neeraj Kabi and Shivkumar Subramaniam as Mr.Wadia and the school principal

The film does well by putting good actors in good roles too. Rani Mukerji gives an earnest performance as Naina Mathur, which might seem a bit too-sweet-to-be-true at times, but effective overall. Neeraj Kabi does a splendid job as Mr.Wadia, a polished co-teacher with Naina who is a stickler for orthodox methodologies of teaching and acts as the pseudo-antagonist of the film. Young talent that will blow you away are Harsh Mayar and Sparsh Khanchandani (Uttaran fame) as Aatish and Oru.

Verdict – 3  and a ½ out of 5 toots

Hichki isn’t absolutely hiccup-proof. It works on a familiar format, gives a familiar ending, but leaves a sensitive mark owing to a strong choice of subject and cast.   

Black Panther: Marvel's most grand product or Marvel's First Sociological Thesis?

Anyone feeling a bit nostalgic for some Magneto-Xavier love? Don’t worry! Marvel comes to the rescue packaging the good old X-Men fight-between-ideals story in a more world-relevant issue and throwing in a bit of monarchy and a whole lot of Africa into the mix. And wait, there’s a bit of James Bond and the Phantom as well (those who know it will see the connection).

And really though, it’s not at all bad. It might just be better than expected.

Wakanda as shown in the film.

So Marvel’s much awaited Black Panther came out this week, with a nearly all-black cast, with the exceedingly revolutionary concept of Afro-futurism, where we get to peek into life at Wakanda, a hypothetical and fictional African nation which is way more advanced than the rest of the world that shares a common Imperialist history, due to the availability of a resource (the metal Vibranium) that allowed them to leap - technologically and societally - ahead of other civilisations by several decades. To maintain their superior status without getting involved in the world’s chaos, this nation uses special technology to hide in plain sight and disguise itself as a third-world country, disconnected from world politics since the beginning of the Time of Man.

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             ...Black Panther is a principally commercial film from the Marvel banner with cliche’ film troupes sprinkled all over it – a monarchy in trouble, a fight for the throne between warring relatives, and the entire world somehow in danger; many might even find some fleeting similarities with The Lion King in terms of the general plot movement.

But that doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have its merits...

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The film follows straight after the events of Captain America: Civil War, with Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) gearing up to take over the Wakandan throne as well as the mantle of the Black Panther, a superhuman Wakandan protector, after the death of his father King T’Chaka. In the process of apprehending an old enemy from Civil War - Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) – he comes across Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) a claimant to the throne with a radically different idea on how Wakanda should exist and what it should strive toward.

Black Panther is a principally commercial film from the Marvel banner with cliche’ film troupes sprinkled all over it – a monarchy in trouble, a fight for the throne between warring relatives, and the entire world somehow in danger; many might even find some fleeting similarities with The Lion King in terms of the general plot movement.

But that doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have its merits.

Erik Killmonger (Right) challenges T'Challa (Left) for
the Throne of Wakanda

Unlike the typical fight-for-the-crown stories, there is no unilateral device of good v. bad in the movie, like the X-Men films. Marvel does a repetitively good job with the character development of its villains (except for a couple of 2D villains in the past (Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, that elf guy from Thor 2, Blonsky and General Ross in The Incredible Hulk)) and it shows here again with Erik Killmonger. The audience gets to sympathize with both the antagonist and the protagonist based on their respective back-stories and no character is an absolute shade of black or white. Shades of Character! CHARACTER!!

The film is not flimsy, and has it’s layers. Other than a good villain, we see the development of a king and the soon-to-be newest addition to the Avengers in their fight against Thanos in the upcoming Infinity War. The film starts with exploration into T’Challa’s relationship with his late father, the seemingly all-good, benevolent Mufasa-like king who taught his son the ropes of being a king, seemingly so benign he could be called a god, but as the film advances we see a deeper spiritual connection between father and son, through which the new king gets to learn that his seemingly great father made mistakes too, mistakes that could seemingly shatter the pedestal on which he placed his father, and mistakes through which he learns that however big or great the position of a man may be, in the end he is still a man, who must stay as close to the ground as any other. We see a mirror image of the same in Erik Killmonger who, though fighting for an arguably noble cause and possessing the elements of a far-reaching king, might not eventually possess the elements befitting a good man. Also the film reasonably answers audience’s questions regarding the source and reach of the Black Panther’s superhuman powers, which had been left unanswered in Civil War.

__________________________________                ...Marvel does a repetitively good job with the character development of its villains  and it shows here again with Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)...

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In Black Panther, we get to see an amazing conceptualisation of Afrofuturism and get to imagine how the African continent might have turned out as a society with a similar or greater kind of advantage over their Imperial oppressors, and we see this take effect in their clothes, architecture, symbolism and it’s anything but spectacular. We see a good connect between the design of these elements in the film and the contemporary comic book depictions, and hats off to the entirety of the film’s costume and VFX team for providing this visual feast.

Clockwise to Center - General Okoye (Danai Gurira),
M'Baku (Winston Duke), Ramonda (Angela Bassett),
Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), Shuri (Letitia Wright),
Zuri (Forest Whitaker), Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o),
W'Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) and T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman)

Then we have the biggest thing to speak about – the all black cast! For probably the first time, we have a film that builds upon and moves forward from its roots in the ‘blaxploitation’ subgenre, showcasing a story with a total of two white characters, and an advanced, rich society where blacks are not a minority but the superior people; not the criminal on the run, but the police force chasing him, complete with their own MI5-ish intelligence organisation and cool gadgets and their own king for a James Bond; and yet succeeding as both a mainstream universally awaited comic book film - catering to the millions of Marvel fans the world over by providing a neat standalone entry into the MCU’s continuity with an extremely likeable and kickass superhero – as well as a sociological concept that sets out to tap into a completely new audience who get a major superhero/action hero that they can actually relate with, after nearly a century of filmmaking history.

Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue

Coming to the performances, before we move on to the principal cast, we must concede to the energy-ball that is Andy Serkis. Serkis in playing Ulysses Klaue provides a haunting yet comically entertaining rendition of a South African black-market arms dealer, and easily one of the most welcome performances in the film, with a neat South African accent and a dangerously eccentric personality. As for the remainder of the cast, it was a commendable performance from the entirety, especially from the principal leads i.e. Boseman, Jordan, Wright, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia (T’challa’s ex-lover and a Wakandan warrior) and Danai Gurira as Okoye (the leader of the Dora Milaje). We could have expected better from Angela Bassett who plays Ramonda, the queen-mother of Wakanda, and somehow fails to shed her American persona completely and sound more locally African like her co-stars.

VERDICT: 4 () out of 5 toots of The Bugle

Black Panther seeks to be much more than a simple cliche’d popcorn flick with an all black-cast. And despite all the familiar elements, there is eventually something new and absolutely lovely. 

P.S. - Throwback to the time we saw Black Panther first in Civil War

The Last Jedi: All that was plain wrong in an otherwise good film

<DISCLAIMER: MASSIVE PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD>

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi came out last weekend, and it almost measured up to the hype. Beautiful CGI work, and brilliant lightsaber fight choreography show this film series has stood the test of time and stood its ground among a plethora of various other sci-fi and superhero movie series. A beautiful final performance by Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley as Rey, the future pallbearer of the Jedi religion, and Adam Driver as the deeply conflicted Kylo Ren (whose mildly underfed performance as the grandson of Darth Vader is still monumentally better than that of Hayden Christensen) carry much of the film’s soul forward.

However, despite the credit where its due, it is also a concern that The Last Jedi doesn’t eventually measure up to the standard set by many other films that have come out of the majestic Star Wars cannon. Plot holes, muddled character descriptions, misplaced distasteful comedy and chronological conveniences overshadow much of this spectacle, some key examples of which are as follows:

1. Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?
   
   
   
   Other than in a plethora of fan theories, this is the pertinent question filmmakers failed to address in both Episode 7 and Episode 8. This is a character who is leading the First Order, who has quite literally and quite single-handedly resurrected the Order populated by followers of the Dark Side of the Force, and is the apparent mentor of Kylo Ren a.k.a Ben Solo. Even Luke Skywalker mentioned that Snoke had been peering into the conflicted soul of Ben even while he was under Luke’s wing at the Jedi temple – how? Why? What is this guy’s history? Why did he look the way he did, all scarred-like? Many fans found similarities between him and Mace Windu but none of that is getting out of the realm of speculation any time soon.
   
   
2. Why is the film called 'The Last Jedi'?
   
   
   
   
   
   Ever since the release of the first trailer and ever since Luke said, “It is time for the Jedi to end,” there was a buzz amongst fans that this would mean the birth of a new religion through Rey – the Gray Jedi, a religion that would tread both the Dark and Light side of the force and have significantly more ‘balance’ (This was one word they threw around a lot throughout this film), without losing itself to the cold depths of the Dark side of the Force, while not being completely shackled in the monk-ish ways of the Jedi Order. There were further hopeful clues in the film when we come to know that Ben Solo might not have been completely seduced by the Dark Side and Luke’s intervention was what pushed him over, and that Rey might fill in those shoes eventually. However, the title is eventually revealed to be sort of a misnomer, with Rey taking sort of taking over from Luke and adopting the Jedi religion.
   
   
   I mean come on, anyone who is even mildly familiar with the concept of cinematic continuity knew that if nothing else, Rey the force sensitive character newly introduced in Episode 7, was going to become a Jedi. Why did you have go putting ideas into our heads, Rian Johnson??!!
   
   
   So yeah, THAT was a disappointment.
   
   
3. Why did Luke get killed off so early? And HOW DID HE DIE, really?
   
   
   So all those uneventful years after Episode 6, they feature Luke for 5 seconds on some random island at the end of Episode 7, to just retire him in Ep.8?? Luke vanishing into the air was one of the most unsatisfactory parts of this movie. The basic premise was, 
   “Hey Rey, I am not into training Jedis anymore, cause I like, fucked up bad with my incredibly force sensitive last disciple who was also my nephew. But guess what, I’m gonna train you, changed my mind. On second thought, you too goddamn strong girl, you go on ahead and become a jedi. Imma fool ol’ Ben with a hologram and die. Peace y’all!”
   
   
   Additionally, dear old Carrie Fisher’s no more. That means in the next episode the makers will have to come up with a half-baked side explanation for retiring Princess Leia off-screen. So there will be no more characters from Episodes 1-6 in the next Star Wars. Let that sink in. Now, wouldn’t it have been better to let Luke stay on longer and die a far more significant death than he did in Ep.8??!!
   
   
4. Yoda's confusing depiction
   
   
   
   
   
   The inimitable Jedi master Yoda is dead. He became one with the force and there is absolutely no question regarding that. Maybe the Star Wars saga should write a thesis on the extent of the power one can derive from the force, ESPECIALLY AFTER DEATH because we just saw a dead ‘person’ burn the Holy tree of the Jedi Order. If dead force-sensitive people are able to wield such powers, they should stop making these movies already, because then it would be a never-ending battle between light and dark, and more sooner than later, someone will feel bound to ask, what was the point really?/
   
   
5. The bonkers casino sequence 
   
   
   
   
   
   This was probably one of the most idiotic sequences written for any movie in this saga. Finn and Rose go to Canto Bight to find some ‘master codebreaker’ who they’ll take along with them to the Imperial Destroyer, and meddle around some machinery that would give the Rebellion ship ...6 minutes to get away from them untracked. Like that made any sense whatsoever. Then they are not able to find the ‘master codebreaker’ and settle for some looney played by Benicio del Toro who says that he can. That’s like going to buy a bespoke suit and returning with an off-the-rack item from the Gap. It doesn’t take an Einstein-ian IQ to understand how weak and poorly timed this plan was, but hey, whatever helps to pitch in del Toro’s speech on war profiteering.
   
   
6. Why is Captain Phasma such an insignificant side-show?
   
   
   
   
   
   I understand how massive it must feel to be a part of this amazing universe, even in the most miniscule capacities, but I still wonder why a name such as Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones) took on the role of Captain Phasma yet again for this film. Her character held promise when it was introduced in Episode 7, but even then it got a minimal amount of inconsequential screen time and that too under that chrome helmet. She is ushered into the movie again, and we are left waiting with the expectation of a grand fight between her and Finn with her face eventually getting revealed. Instead we see a half-assed excuse for a fight sequence, which ends in some minor damage to her helmet that just shows one eye, before she falls to a fiery death. Such wasted potential.
   
   
   Wait. They did something exactly similar to another character before. Remember this cool little guy called Boba Fett? Yeah, they had to give a nice, riveting backstory of a potentially badass character in a separate series of books. Wonder what's their spite against such characters in movies?

These points, and a variety of minor issues, such as the very limited utilisation of an actor such as Domhnall Gleeson in the role of General Hux (that too mostly for comic gags) are holes that are spread throughout the canvas on which the Last Jedi is painted. Nonetheless, the remaining picture is a more-than-decently constructed one. The film carries forward on the darker tone set by Rogue One, which is particularly why the comic gags seem sometimes weirdly out of place (the General Hugs sequence by Poe Dameron in the beginning), but undersells itself with a plot that doesn’t seem very ambitious for the name that it is carrying.   

Ragnarok could be worse, and Thor: Ragnarok could be better

I also want an adrenaline sequence all my own with the ‘Immigrant Song’ playing in the background! <So badass>

Before we proceed further, heartiest congratulations to director and madcap enthusiast Taika Watiti for reclaiming the phrase “Guilty pleasure” and painting Thor Ragnarok with it; body and innards.

Yep. That's him. Taika Watiti. The director. 

It’s indeed rare when one is faced with such a conundrum while watching a film – whether to stand up and marvel at this marvellous visual spectacle by Marvel, or to shout out cries of utter disappointment? This film, in an interestingly distinctive manner affords us both these opportunities. Such guilty-pleasure-abound it is.

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                           ... This is the funniest, most rib-tickling product by the Marvel banner yet, with often-misplaced moments of comedy that had me going, “Why is this being done? This is weird. I really don’t want to laugh at this. But it’s so funny!!” ...

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Thor: Ragnarok continues after the destruction of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has become a ‘lone wolf’ of sorts, and has been bumbling about the Nine Realms investigating about the Infinity Stones cropping up every here and now, when certain circumstances require him to face Hela, the Asgardian Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett) and prevent Ragnarok i.e. Asgardian apocalypse. He and adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) almost join forces against her before they accidently land up on a garbage planet Sakaar ruled by a flamboyant being called Grandmaster(Jeff Goldblum), in whose gladiator pits he comes across ol’ green Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) who seems to have developed a limited baby vocabulary of his own. Rest of the film is about him forming a team and getting back to Asgard to? Prevent Ragnarok, of course.

Thor: Ragnarok is exceedingly predictable, literally all except the climax, and that’s despite the fact that it doesn’t really follow the comic but that’s not the problem with it; it is a comic book movie after all. The colour palette and action choreography is absolutely spectacular, with particular scenes (especially the opening sequence) being so close to comic book art, it’s astounding. And that’s definitely and obviously not the problem with it.

My problem with the movie is the very reason I or anyone else would love to sit through it again and again: the comedy. Thor Ragnarok is exceedingly comic. Taika Watiti had made it quite clear beforehand that the movie is being made a comedy, but there is no single comical device that has been left out and that’s what makes those very funny moments (a little) nauseating at times. It crams in elements of teen comedy, buddy comedy, madcap and more than often slapstick comedy. There’s bit of toilet humour too (You have no idea how literal I am being there).

Bad comic timing is a problem apparently characteristic to Marvel films, though the magnitude was significantly lower before. Ragnarok’s real plot, with its beloved characters and certain new ones, becomes a sideshow attraction, merely in place as a structure for a fundamentally comedy feature to stand upon.

Principal character descriptions have been muddled tremendously.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

• Loki’s suaveness has been shorn off him and in its place, we find a lowly person scrambling about to ensure a spoilt, flamboyant life for himself, amidst all manner of contempt and abuse; he’s basically turned from the God who almost destroyed NYC in the Avengers into a cosmic cockroach. 

• Wasn’t Hulk ALWAYS angry? I mean, that was THE thing that makes him what he is. If he isn’t angry, he’s not in Hulk mode anymore. But here he fights, then he has a hot bath, full VERBAL arguments, after which he cracks jokes, and if he has time left he even throws childish tantrums. He even allows Valkyrie to play with him! One is forced to ask - Banner had to hide out in Calcutta, to contain THIS guy? He’s basically turned into a gladiator cum mollycoddle. 

Hulk and Bruce Banner(Mark Ruffalo)

• Bruce Banner finds himself on an alien planet unable to produce any account of events post Sokovia, and he behaves like a child in a fanfare. Everyone in this film, including the notoriously introverted Bruce Banner is a wisecracking clown.

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        ... The scripting of the film appears to have been done by some Vine maker rather than mega-budget filmmakers ...

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The scripting of the film appears to have been done by some Vine maker rather than mega-budget filmmakers, with all lines other than those spoken by Odin culminating into some wisecrack.  Even Antman was a comedy essentially, but the plot wasn’t being carried by it’s laughs, unlike Thor: Ragnarok. Plus, Antman isn’t as essential and imperative a character as Thor, which allowed quite a decent amount of wiggle room in terms of setting the tone of the movie. Even a laugh riot like Guardians of the Galaxy had a pivotal emotional edge to it. Though Waititi ignores this idea, and though it works if one considers Ragnarok a standalone film, it does injustice to the continuity that Marvel has established with regard to the character arc and story arc for Thor, even though Ragnarok fares better in enjoyability over Thor 1 and 2, any day of the week.

Cate Blanchett as Hela

Coming to the new additions to the cast, Cate Blanchett looks stunning and makes a welcome entrance as Hela. Her intro sequence had promise for the character in terms of how intimidating she could be and the extent of her powers that eclipsed even Thor’s. That was it. For the remainder of the film, all her appearances seem to be a fleeting indication that, “Guys it’s good you’re having a laugh, but don’t forget about Hela. She’s gonna cause Ragnarok; you know, as in the name of this movie” – that’s about all the importance this film invests in her.

3 new characters steal quite a chunk of the show - Valkyrie, Korg and Grandmaster.

From L-R: Valkyrie (Thompson), Korg(Waititi) & Grandmaster (Goldblum)

If Wonder Woman became the princess of female representation, Valkyrie is nothing short of a knight. Tessa Thompson plays the part of the rugged, hard-drinking and unquestionably kickass Asgardian warrior with seemingly absolute ease, and every time she steps onto the screen, she brings an expectation of extreme action, the likes of which few female superheroes have been able to showcase. Korg is a stony gladiator who Thor befriends on Sakaar. Played by Waititi, Korg is easily the most hilarious element in the entire film. Talkative and relatively mild-voiced, he not-too-quietly owns every scene he’s present in. Jeff Goldblum pulls a Goldblum as Grandmaster, meaning he does nothing but enjoy his time as himself, and we enjoy that, thoroughly.

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                             FUN FACT: Unlike as in the comics, Waititi didn't let Grandmaster's face be painted completely blue, so that Goldblum needn't detract from his personality by concealing his appearance.

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Thor (Chris Hemsworth)

Coming to the star attraction, the belle of the ball - Chris Hemsworth! 

Hemsworth had shown us previously in Thor 1 that the character had some comic potential, which was suppressed to promote a more ‘mighty’ persona. Thor Ragnarok helps him turn the tables, and help restructure the God of thunder in a much lighter and jovial spirit. In an attempt to restructure Thor’s arc from the previous films, Waititi made a film that helps Hemsworth make Thor one of THE most likeable characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, competing with even Iron Man. One gets to see many radical changes – the haircut just being one among them.

Keep eyes and ears open for some really wild cameos. 

Verdict: 2 and a 1/2 ()out of 5 toots of the bugle

Everything in this film works, but it would have been deemed more appropriate had it been a film without the burden of following after 4 prequels and leading up to an impending universal war. Thor Ragnarok stands out in the MCU like that rebellious cousin of the family who is a genuine fun time but also kind of a delinquent outcast your parents tell you to stay away from.