7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff GoldblumAdventure | 100% |
Action | 99% |
Comic book | 88% |
Sci-Fi | 84% |
Fantasy | 76% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
German: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional)
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Thor: Ragnarok just released to theaters several month ago, but it's no longer the latest installment in the ever-expanding, increasingly complex, and endlessly fun Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest film is Black Panther, and Thor: Ragnarok reminds viewers at credits end that the hero will be returning in Avengers: Infinity War, which will be hitting theaters around the time Black Panther should be making its home video debut. That's a lot of movies, a maelstrom of Marvel, but "while the iron is hot" and all of that. Thor: Ragnarok is the third film to feature the blonde-haired Nordic warrior from Asgard as the lead, following on 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Ragnarok, which is not a reference to a place or character but rather an idea -- the prophecy foretelling the destruction of Thor's home world of Asgard -- is a humor-heavy, abundantly colorful, and ridiculously fun movie. It's maybe a little skimpy in terms of dramatic resonance, getting caught up in its laughs, locations, and lightning-paced action, but as a core MCU experience that brings together a few familiar faces in large parts and small supporting roles alike while also introducing a few new and dynamic characters, it's a winner.
Thor: Ragnarok's 4K UHD presentation, presented at the 2160p resolution with standard HDR-10 color enhancement, offers a pleasantly obvious upgrade from the companion 1080p Blu-ray release, even as the film was reportedly upscaled from a 2K digital intermediate but photographed at a significantly higher resolution. The boost over the Blu-ray is clear upon re-watching the film closely after viewing the Blu-ray. Details are firm and colors are more dense. Textural efficiency and clarity receive a boost even beyond the incredibly revealing Blu-ray. Various armor, fabrics, and environmental details, particularly on Sakaar where there is no shortage of both complex and clean locales, are all impacted by the increased resolution and clarity the UHD formats afford to the image. Even digital construct environments and characters, like Sakaar's vistas and the rocky Korg and the vascular Hulk, look precisely presented down to the finest digital nuance the artists have created for them. The HDR-10 coloring gives the movie a modestly darker edge about it, with colors remaining significantly vibrant with many impactful highlights, including more robustly diverse, intricately nuanced, and obviously punchy colors on the richly colorful world of Sakaar. Additionally, various blue-white lightning effects are intensely bright, as are the color variations on green as the people of Sakaar celebrate their champion, Hulk. Black levels are wonderfully firm and detailed and flesh tones appear spot-on. No significant source or encode issues are apparent.
Thor: Ragnarok's Dolby Atmos soundtrack adds height channel effects to the presentation that are absent on the 7.1 DTS-encoded Blu-ray. The differences aren't substantial, but neither are they insignificant. The arena battle midway through the film enjoys heightened top-end awareness and engagement both as the Grandmaster addresses the crowd and as the crowd cheers and jeers prior to, and during, the fight between Hulk and Thor. Minor added effects and a greater sense of space and place are present within the track. Action effects range from more than a bit puny to somewhat substantial. A number of crashes during the arena battle lack significant depth. Even as Hulk crashes around the arena's walls, there's not a significant sense of power, of heft. Clarity is strong and sound distinction clear, but intensely powerful the scene is not. Laser blasts in chapter 13 -- whether from rifles or a flying craft -- lack punch but not detail. A large-scale battle on the Bifrost Bridge at the film's climax, particularly as Thor wields his devastating powers, delivers a little more in terms of low end depth and dynamics, but still not to great, meaty substance. Musical clarity and spacing, like everything else, are stellar, whether orchestral score, techno beats, or a bit of Led Zeppelin at the film's bookends, but, frankly, the menu screen music is more intense and dynamic, at least at a very crude level. This is a frustrating track; it's not lacking in detail but it is lacking in intense dynamism, which is certainly not new for some Disney tracks; much the same was observed with the companion Blu-ray's DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack.
Thor: Ragnarok contains a number of extras, headlined by an audio commentary track, all included on the bundled Blu-ray; no extras are to
be found on the UHD disc. A Movies Anywhere digital
copy code is included with
purchase.
Thor: Ragnarok is just flat-out fun. It's light on story, even with a tough new villainess and a deadly serious prophecy as its namesake. For so many dark cues, Director Taika Waititi keeps the movie continuously light on its feet by painting a balance between quips and quality of story and action. The film accomplishes enough universe expansion to leave an indelible mark on the MCU, as well as redefine tonal expectations for the Superhero film, bringing the heretofore almost exclusively Guardians of the Galaxy brand of humor into the rest of the universe's very lifeblood. Disney's UHD is great, visually, while featuring plenty of extras. Atmos audio is good but lacking that dominant heft the action would seem to want (need) to deliver. Highly recommended, despite the reservations about the audio.
Cinematic Universe Edition
2018
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
Cinematic Universe Edition
2015
Cinematic Universe Edition
2016
2017
Cinematic Universe Edition
2012
2017
2013
2019
2011
2019
2014
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
2023
2018
plus Theatrical Cut on standard Blu-ray
2016
2021
2013
2016
2018