Ragnarok was the end and the beginning. That said we are left with the results of sin and greed of the elders, rained down on the younger. I loved the cycle of this film. You could take nearly any stress point of western society today, racism, consumerism, anything and add it into this; no really!
The 'height' of civilization that Asgard represents is a paradise founded on the most harsh exploitation of others and maintained by the suppression of that fact. Until the result of a conquest (Loki) seeks power-just like Odin and sets in motion a chain of events long predicted and some would say overdue.
Odin's adopted son was like him in his youth and eventual takes his father's power from him and abandons him away from his home. This unlocks the secret of the kingdoms past. And the child Odin raised to be his champion, who later he betrays.
Hella is doing as she was taught, she is who she was raised to be and the rightful heir. She reveals Odins dark past and raises the demons of the past buy way of reanimating the corpses of the soldiers who died for Odin's conquests. Solders who would then be sent out to continue their mission, which involved cutting down their own descendants.
It's a great play on "you can't hide from the past" no matter how hard you try to coverup and paint over the ugliness of it all. Eventually it is revealed.
And as always the executioners of the violence is someone who simply wanted to matter, to be heard, and in the process betrayed whom they wanted to impress. Though in this movie, the executioner dose try to redeem himself. This movie was dark and could have been overwhelming if not for the comedy that evens it out.
All in all, this was a really great film. The passing keeps you attentive to the plot and the characters are all just over the top enough to be believable. Cate Blanchette is going to win awards for this role. Well, if you have already heard the Norse myth of the end of Asgard then this isn't a spoiler except to say-Thor survives. I think it interesting that they never involve Thor's twin Freya in the movies and yet bring in an older sister to kick his ass. If ever there was a movie that felt like rock and roll, this is it. The color palette was great and instrumental to the film, signifying worlds and belief/practices. With the fall of the thrown room roof mural we see the history literally on the wall and with the fall of the floor into the burial chamber we see the might of Odin's war machine. The imagery together shows the harsh reality of the paradise that was formed from it. Hella was perfect in how she represented that time and her shock and anger at being erased.
Loki is still Loki and Thor is more comfortable with himself in this film. That is crucial as Thor was to become something more not based on power but personality. Now Asgard has to restart, what will Asgard become?...