Thunder Buddies

It's hammer time! In Thor: Raganork, Opening this week, the mighty God Of Thunder has a new haircut, new allies, new foes–and a new funnybone.

Have you ever wondered why The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) weren’t involved in the intra-Avengers spat in Captain America: Civil War?

Turns out the Son of Odin and his angry green pal are throwing a (powder) keg party of their own in a galaxy far, far away. And that’s pretty much the gist of Thor: Ragnarok, the hammer-wielding alien hunk’s third solo feature — and the 16th instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Unlike the first two Thor movies which took place mostly on Earth, the threequel — except for a brief detour in New York City (doubled by downtown Brisbane) — is set mostly in Asgard, Thor’s home turf, which now is threatened by Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett); and on Planet Sakaar, where Thor and Hulk are locked in a gladiatorial throwdown staged for the pleasure of the ruler Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum).

Oh yeah, God of Mischief Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is back too, but whose side is he on?

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok refers to the apocalyptic battle waged between deities before the world goes kaput. Is this going to be a downbeat movie? Not on New Zealander director Taika Waititi’s watch.

“I think what Ragnarok really signifies is a rebirth,” says Waititi, who made the delightful coming-of-age comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople. “It’s the start of a new cycle in the life of the world or the realms of the universe. It’s the destruction of the old and the rebirth of the new.”