Thor Ragnarok
Entertainment Film

Thor: Ragnarok and Roll!

When our family attended an advanced screening of Thor: Ragnarok on the Disney lot a couple of weeks ago, it was a warm night with school in the morning and the sun at our backs. The traffic between our home and Burbank had been so thick that our allotted time for dinner was instead spent idling on the freeway, the boys doing homework in the backseat, and the front filling fast with assorted curses. We were stressed and hungry and hoping it was worth it.

Spoiler: It was.

Thor: Ragnarok is, according to my 11-year-old, “kind of like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.” He isn’t wrong. The film has more humor than all of the other Thor movies combined, plus enough space adventure and daddy issues to make Star-Lord blush.

To be clear, “kind of like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie” is the highest form of praise that kid can give. It’s like getting your hair done and someone saying you kind of look like Jared Leto, which, really works for anybody.

In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) learn that their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) has been keeping a secret: Hela (Cate Blanchett). She’s not a good secret. Tensions flare. Hilarity ensues.

Then our hero(es) are whisked away on a fantastical journey in which they spend quality time with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Heimdall (Idris Elba), Skurge (Karl Urban), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Also, the Hulk’s butt.

As you may have guessed from the Guardians of the Galaxy comparison and the PG-13 rating, not to mention the aforementioned incredible backside, the humor is crude at times. Additionally, the violence a tad graphic and the themes can get heavy, all of which combine for a very entertaining story.

It’s not my want to provide spoilers. Nor is it my place to tell you whether or not Thor: Ragnarok is appropriate for your kids. I will say that my boys, ages 11 and 14, respectively, having been raised on a lifetime of sci-fi and fantasy, not to mention all of the previous Marvel films, never flinched. Your kid may vary, and probably will.

Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3, is rated PG-13 and is an absolute blast of a film. We have every intention of seeing it again.

Whit
Whit Honea is the author of “The Parents’ Phrase Book” and co-founder of the philanthropic organization Dads 4 Change. He is the Social Media Director/Community Manager of the Dad 2.0 Summit. His writing can be found at Fandango, GeekDad, Disney, Today, Good Housekeeping, City Dads Group, Stand Magazine, The Washington Post and several other popular publications. He previously covered travel for Orbitz, CBS and AOL, and served as Editor of Family Travel for UpTake. Deemed “the activist dad” by UpWorthy and one of the “funniest dads on Twitter” by Mashable, Whit has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and is the 2015 winner of the Iris Award for Best Writing.
https://whithonea.com

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