Thor: Ragnarok

Story

In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his estranged brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are brought together by the loss of their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Before his death, Odin warns Thor and Loki that Ragnarok (an epic battle) is upon them. This battle is led by their sister Hela (Cate Blanchett), who was previously unknown to her brothers. In an initial battle with Hela, both Thor and Loki are banished to a world called Sakaar. Thor is captured by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), who pits Thor against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) for the citizens’ amusement. After their fight, Thor and Hulk become allies and are joined by Loki and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). This group returns to Asgard to take on Hela and save the people from her oppressive rule.

Themes

Gods and superheroes; the supernatural; war; retribution and reprisal

Violence

Thor: Ragnarok has some violence. For example:

Many battles involve demons, as well as the use of high-powered guns, swords, knives and other weapons.
A giant fire demon uses a sword.
Huge guns on a ship shoot a whole group of marauders.
Thor gets stuck with a device on his neck. When the device is remotely activated, it sends shocks throughout his body, causing convulsions.
In many scenes, fighters use swords and weapons to skewer bodies and body parts. These scenes are quite graphic.
Some scenes show decapitations.
A man is impaled on a spike.
An alien is shot with a weapon that slowly burns him like acid, melting him to the ground.
Hela strikes out Thor’s eye, leaving a black and bloodied hole.
Hela pins Thor’s arm against the floor with a large knife.

Sexual references

Thor: Ragnarok has some sexual references. For example:

Thor says, ‘I love women … actually … sometimes I love women too much’. This implies that he has been with many women.
In one scene, it’s mentioned that a ship is used ‘for orgies’ and ‘no-one should touch anything in there’.
Hulk walks past Thor naked (with nothing shown on screen). Thor looks down and says, ‘I won’t be able to un-see that for a while’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Thor: Ragnarok shows some use of substances. For example, Valkyrie is often seen drinking. In one scene she drunkenly stumbles off a platform into garbage. Both Valkyrie and Thor drink over-sized vessels of beer and alcohol.

Nudity and sexual activity

Thor: Ragnarok shows some partial nudity. For example, in one scene both Thor and Hulk wear towels that only cover the bottom half of their bodies.

Product placement

Nothing of concern

Coarse language

Thor: Ragnarok has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Thor: Ragnarok expands the Marvel cinematic universe. In this universe, stories are usually about good versus evil. But in Thor: Ragnarok the line between good and evil becomes slightly blurred as Loki (who is usually the evil character) joins forces with his brother Thor. In the situation, it’s the most logical position to take for survival. Younger viewers who are familiar with the series might find this slightly confusing.

The movie’s violent and disturbing scenes make it unsuitable for children under 13 years, and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 13-15 years.

The main messages from this movie are about being resilient and fighting for what’s right. For example, Thor realises that even without his hammer, he can summon up his own internal strength to defeat evil.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life dangers of binge-drinking. Thor and Valkyrie both drink huge amounts of alcohol, and the movie presents this as impressive.