Movie Review: Thor: Ragnarok

(Photo: Marvel Studios)

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

One of Earth’s mightiest heroes and member of the Avengers return in the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarok.

In this continuation of Thor’s storyline, Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) learns that the goddess of death Hela (played by Cate Blanchett) has broken from her prison and began her quest to bring an end to Thor’s home of Asgard. Thrown through the Bifrost by Hela onto a planet called Sakaar, Thor must team up with his brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), the Hulk/Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo), and an ex-warrior Valkyrie (performed by Tessa Thompson) to escape Sakaar and defend Asgard.

Because this is Thor’s third solo movie and fifth one overall in the Marvel Studios movie lineup, then that means that the character of Thor is pretty much developed. However, the plot of this movie lends itself to being perceived as a repeat of what he experienced in his first film because he is sent to an unfamiliar place and must think (and sometimes physically fight) his way out of the situations he is put in.

What has established right away in this movie that differs from the previous Thor movies is the more availability of comedy, both verbal and physical. The setting of Sakaar itself contributes most to the comedy aspect of this movie because of the planet’s active and somewhat narcissistic leader the Grandmaster (played by Jeff Goldblum) and how he has established this planet to receive power from chaos. This dominates presence of comedy also derives from the fact that the comedy is not subject to just one character, but every main character can get at least one chuckle or bellow of laughter from the audience.

Regarding putting this movie and its characters into the context of a Jesuit education, the role of Thor and his purpose in the movie is best summed up in the Jesuit value of “men and women for and with others.” What this film ultimately comes down to is the idea that Asgard is not a place – it’s people, meaning the people itself are the heart and soul of Asgard. Without them, there is nothing. So when the people are threatened by Hela, Thor and his comrades take it upon themselves to best serve the people of Asgard by working together despite differences of opinion and protect them.

From this standpoint, I’ll be one to say that I can see Thor walking around campus as a student and fitting right into the Jesuit atmosphere.

The Critics Who Couldn’t Criticize

(Photo: REX/Shutterstock)

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

While the conflict may not have been rooted right here in Colorado, it still has a say in what we as a society can identify as the restriction on press freedom.

On November 3, the Los Angeles Times posted on its annual holiday movie preview list that Thor: Ragnarok and other movies released by the Walt Disney Company would not be reviewed on the list.

This absence came as a result of disagreements between the LA Times and the Walt Disney Company about a series of articles the LA Times had posted that took an inside look at the Walt Disney Company and its relationship and business influence in the city of Anaheim, California where the Disneyland Resort is located. The Walt Disney Company said of the articles that “The Times moved forward with a biased and inaccurate series wholly driven by a political agenda.”

 The disagreement resulted in the LA Times movie critics not being permitted to an advanced screening of Thor: Ragnarok and all the other Disney Company movies coming out in the future.

As the weekend digressed, many critic organizations, newspapers, and valued members of the entertainment business took to respond to this by supporting the LA Times and its journalists. Many also committed to boycotting upcoming Disney movies such as Disney/Pixar’s Coco and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

One of these supporters, the LA Film Critics, tweeted out a statement saying that Disney’s actions were “antithetical to the principles of a free press and set a dangerous precedent in a time of already heightened hostility toward journalists.”

On November 7, the disagreement was settled and the LA Times was granted permission to attend future advanced screenings of upcoming Disney films and review them.

While the issue is closed, it brings into question how much we as a society value freedom of the press, even though we may never agree on what is being stated in the press. Restrictions of any kind can be seen as dangerous, as the Washington Post reported on in conjunction with this issue.

This overall theme of freedom of the press is a lot bigger than what can be covered here and now. To learn more about the issues faced with freedom of the press, you can go to https://pressfreedomtracker.us or explore a generalization of different resources at http://www.nyguild.org/press-freedom.