I never thought I’d see the day where a Thor movie earned more laughs than a Guardians of the Galaxy film, but here we are. What a time to be alive.
The third solo Thor movie faced two distinct problems, one rooted in its individual story and one based in the overall Marvel cinematic universe. The latter problem comes down to expectation. Audiences anticipate that the third solo movie for a Marvel hero will serve as a blow-off to a three-film arc. Tony Stark destroyed his tech suits in Iron Man 3. Steve Rogers tore the Avengers apart in Captain America Civil War. Crowds come to the third film to see the grand fireworks.
But what fireworks does Thor have to offer? His first two films are largely unconnected adventures. Thor, while a good character, doesn’t have much growth after his first film. His story is the least developed of the main Marvel heroes. There can’t be a big payoff if there was no buildup.
This macro problem feeds into the series’ personal problem: Who cares about Thor’s world? Asgard and its assorted characters (aside from Thor and Loki) are dull and uninteresting. The MCU never fully captured the epic fantasy vibe with the first two Thor movies. The world felt underdeveloped and half-baked, more of a sketch than a fully-realized vision. How can you get people to care about the third film when the first two did little to create audience investment?
Thor Ragnarok finds a solution to these problems: It ignores them.
Ragnarok is easily the best Thor movie because it tosses the entire franchise’s baggage and dead-weight in the trash bin as it speeds towards a funny, light hearted adventure that ranks with some of the best MCU movies.
Thor (played by a better-than-ever Chris Hemsworth) has a lot on his plate. His girlfriend has dumped him, his brother Loki has seized the throne of Asgard, and he’s plagued with nightmares of his home world being destroyed. On top of that, his sister Hela (a delightfully hammy Cate Blanchett) returns from exile to claim the crown and lead Asgard to a bloody conquest of the universe. She easily bests Thor and Loki, sending them hurtling through space. They crash land on the futuristic Sakaar, where they encounter friends (and enemies) old and new. Thor will have to punch, stomp, and wisecrack his way back home to save the universe (again).
If those two plots (Thor on Sakaar and Hela on Asgard) feel completely disconnected, that’s because they are. If Ragnarok has one major flaw, it’s the massive second-act stretch where Hela virtually disappears from the story while Thor sorts out things on Sakaar. The plot feels somewhat jumbled, as if two different movies have been smashed together. Hela never feels like a big threat, despite Blanchett’s excellent work. Of course, this lack of tension could be part of the joke, as if the film is subverting expectations that the third movie of a series needs to have the highest stakes. Ragnarok knows what it is, and a grand finale it is not.
But it is a lot of fun. The cast is uniformly great. Returning stars Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Mark Ruffalo are perfect, building off past films’ events and creating excellent character-based payoffs. Blanchett plays Hela like Galadriel if she’s taken the One Ring (man, that was a nerdy reference) and it’s glorious.
But even the best actors have to bow at the feet of one man: Jeff Goldblum. The ‘Blum plays the Grandmaster, the owner of a death-battle arena on Sakaar. Goldblum is beyond entertaining in this role, imbuing the performance with his typically odd facial tics and weird line delivery. He needs to be in every Marvel movie going forward.
The script gives these actors plenty to work with. This film takes the Marvel movie formula for quips and one-liners, and multiplies it by 50. Hardly a minute goes by without a gag that’s at least chuckle-worthy. It’s one of the most consistently funny movies of the year, which can probably be credited to comedic director Taika Waititi.
The visuals are also strong. Ragnarok is easily the brightest and most colourful Thor movie, filling the screen with lasers, explosions, and creative sets. The film borrows some visual cues from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies while still crafting its own unique vision. It’s a treat.
Ragnarok is not the epic final chapter for Thor that some may be hoping for, but it’s a welcome distraction. As the MCU gears up the the massive event of Infinity War, Ragnarok is the perfect pit stop.
