Thor: Ragnarok (Home Entertainment Release)
Thor: Ragnarok
Directed by Taika Waititi
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins
Available on Digital Download from February 19th, 2018
Available on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD and On-Demand from February 26th, 2018
by Jenna Johnston
Thor: Ragnarok celebrates its home entertainment release this week (26th February 2018) and what better way to honour our Marvel favourites on the small screen than with a reminder of what to expect from the third, dedicated film to the God of Thunder.
Directed by Taika Waititi, the revered New Zealand director, Thor: Ragnarok takes a clear, stylistic departure from the previous two films. The tone is set immediately, and before the opening credits have run, Thor’s highly entertaining, blundering monologue leads explosively into a showdown between Thor and Surtur, played out to Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. Thor has been given the Guardians of the Galaxy treatment and it is comical, flamboyant, 1980s-pop-synth-filled, explosive entertainment for it.
Once Thor has finished his Zeppelin-choreographed battle, he must return to save Asgard from the prophecy of Ragnarok as well as from his newly discovered evil sister Hela, after he has dealt with his brother Loki, who is currently inhabiting the throne disguised as their father. The multiple threats against his home realm are an early gauge of how many characters and plots have been integrated into this film. The appearances of Dr Strange, Korg, The Grandmaster, Valkyries etc. in their sheer volume give the feeling of enforced debuts for a slew of new franchises from Marvel Studios yet to come. And this doesn’t include the pre-existing characters from the Avengers also among the extensive and impressive cast.
But it is this incredible diversity of Marvel elements, characters and architecture in this film that is one of the main reasons Thor: Ragnarok leads the pack in the superhero genre. It is a treasure trove for Marvel fans who have been awaiting the home entertainment release to track down every Easter egg, inside-joke, secret and comics reference that are hidden in almost every scene, which are boosted to greater ingenuity under Waititi’s guidance. Thor has made a dramatic departure from the Earth-based plots and mortal-romance dalliances of previous films and embraced the fantasy, mythical and sensational.
For those that are not up-to-date with their Marvel lore and the Avengers movies, some relationships and jokes may be slightly perplexing. However, this does not detract from the unadulterated delight that is Thor: Ragnarok, which is highly entertaining even as a standalone film. The combination of tender, theatrical and farce is perfectly balanced and Waititi uses a magic touch blending these in ways that continue to surprise right until the very end of the film. The compulsive love/hate relationship between Thor and Loki continues to be a joyful feud playing out, blazingly enacted by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and Hela, played by Cate Blanchett, is an equally if not more brilliant adversarial addition to the family.
Thor: Ragnarok is one of the most exciting and entertaining films to come from Marvel to date and will make an excellent addition to anyone’s collection, not just as a film but as a brilliant treasure-hunt tribute for fans. Good luck finding all the Easter eggs!
Home entertainment extras available are:
– Director’s introduction
– Deleted/Extended scenes
– Gag reel
– Exclusive Darryl short
– Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years
– Gettings in Touch with your Inner Thor
– Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie
– Finding Korg
– Sakaar
– Journey into Mystery
– Director’s Commentary
– Evolution of Thor and Hulk’s Bromance
– Additional Deleted scenes
