Then I heard they were turning this film into a screwball comedy. I raised an eyebrow at this. I know Chris Hemsworth can be a great comedic actor, but could he balance that role with Thor, the stoic God of Thunder? And I didn't really know who the director was, as I hadn't heard or seen much of his work. Taika Waititi was someone unfamiliar to me. I had heard that both Boys and Hunt for the Wilderpeople were excellent movies, but I wasn't sure how his style would impact this third and what I had believed would be the final Thor movie. I was deeply nervous before I went to see Thor: Ragnarok. But, I held my ground and went into the movie with an open heart. Thank God I did, because this movie was an absolute treasure. It's comedy was always a slam dunk, it's action was awesome, it's characters more defined than ever and every major Thor universe character (with five exceptions) got their moment to shine in this film. Even both the Hulk and Bruce Banner got their moments. This movie was a treasure that I'm so thankful introduced me to Waititi, because I've since fallen in love with another of his movies in Jojo Rabbit. If this isn't the best film in the MCU, it definitely belongs in the conversation.
Plot: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) manages to defeat and capture the Fire Demon Surtur (Clancy Brown), believing he had not only prevented Ragnarok from transpiring, but also learning that his father wasn't even on Asgard to protect it from him. Thor hurriedly returns home and finds it under the control of a disguised Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who had cheated death in the previous film to hold sway over Asgard. Thor captures and unmasks him, bringing him down to Earth so the two could find their father. With the aid of Doctor Strange, they find Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in Norway, only to discover he was dying. He warns his sons that his death would bring about the return of Hela (Cate Blanchett), his firstborn child and the Goddess of Death, whom he had contained and banished because of her desire to dominate and destroy peoples. Odin passes and Hela returns, destroying Thor's Hammer after he threw it at her and chases both her brothers back to Asgard, banishing them to the recesses of space as she prepares to conquer her domain. Killing Thor's friends The Warriors Three, she claims Asgard as her own and schemes to use it's power to conquer the Nine Realms, but Heimdall steals the sword to control the Bifrost and hides along with many of the people of Asgard.
Thor and Loki both crash land separately on the planet Sakaar. While Loki fits in with the eccentric Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), Thor is captured by a Scrapper 142, who happened to once be a Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), but has since become a drunken servant of the Grandmaster. Thor is forced to serve as a gladiator in Colosseum matches, with his first opponent ending up being the Hulk. Thor tries to convince the raging monster of their friendship, but Hulk and Thor battle it out, with Thor nearly coming out on top by conjuring lightning, but the Grandmaster sabotaged it. Thor escapes from his prison and tries to find a way to freedom, but is hounded by the Hulk, who unintentionally reverts back into Bruce Banner when a message from Natasha Romanov plays in the Quinjet. With a ragtag team of himself, Loki, Banner, a comedic alien named Korg (Taika Waititi) and the Valkyrie, Thor must find his way off of Sakaar and back to Asgard to prevent Hela from destroying everything and preventing the end of his world as best as he can.
What's Bad?: While I won't just blurt out that it's a major flaw with this film, I do think it's kind of funny how many elements of the previous Thor movies were just casually ignored or tossed aside in this one. Jane Foster and Thor's human friends from Earth only get a single brief mention, Sif is nowhere to be seen and the Warriors Three exist in this film only to be struck down by Hela. I know they weren't particularly popular, but I found it hilarious all the same that these characters the whole universe had established just go by without a mention. Not a flaw, exactly, but it's a funny thing to notice with this movie.
What's Good?: I don't think the characterization has ever been on point this much in a single MCU movie. All of the principle characters are not only on point in this film, but I don't think the MCU has done characters this good in any of their films. Thor is seemingly finally able to be more than a noble son of Odin. He has so many phenomenally funny and heartfelt lines in this film that I feel thankful that this is the Chris Hemsworth many have been waiting to hear from. Loki is as always a delight on screen, with Tom Hiddleston getting better at the role as time passes. Hela is one of the greatest villains in superhero film history and Cate Blanchett is absolutely sensational in the role. She's a combination of Ursula and Maleficent and I cannot help but thoroughly love to hate her whenever she's on screen. She might be the best villain in anything I've seen in recent memory, if I'm being honest. Both Valkyrie and Hulk are a blast of fun and Jeff Goldblum continues to be a treasure to our society with every role he plays. This movie knows it's characters and puts them in the best situations to succeed. Loki is shown to be more benevolent, but still retains his mischievous ways. Valkyrie retains her honor despite losing much else to bottles of alcohol. And as I said before, Thor is finally a fully well rounded hero and I am thankful for this.
I don't usually comment on these sorts of things, but the action scenes in this movie are also superbly done. Hela's sheer domination of both Thor and Loki, as well as that of the entire Asgardian force set to oppose her shows just how powerful she is. Adding to that the violent and downright gorey clash between her and Thor at the end of the movie is a spectacle to behold. The Hulk has his moments, taking on Hela's enormous pet wolf and fighting Thor in the Colosseum are also exciting clashes. I cannot say that there is one moment of action in this entire movie that feels forced, contrived or repetitive. Waititi certainly knows how to make one of these movies, so I'm curious to see how the next movie will be done.
The comedy, something Waititi has been known for for a long time now, is some of the funniest in all of the MCU. Whereas the other movies usually have one quippy one liner in them, this one has a dozen comedic scenes wrapped up in scenes of both emotional warmth and action packed spectacle. Characters are allowed to visually and truly represent who they are and who they want to be. No one is restrained by any kind of writing weaknesses or an over the top director. This movie is a natural film.
Overall: Thor: Ragnarok was and is a welcome surprise from two previously serious and stoic Thor movies. It has all of the good things working for it: a solid cast, a great script, strong action scenes and an emotional core that is key to keeping something as big as this MCU going. The more movies come out feeling like this one, the happier I'll feel about continuing past Endgame, which I haven't extensively watched anything beyond it.
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