Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is the third and final film in the Thor series. The movie finds Thor humbled, hammer-less, and in a desperate race against time to save Asgard.

Ragnarok finds Taika Waititi taking over directorial duties, Kenneth Branagh having directed the first in the series and Alan Taylor having directed the second. Both Branagh and Taylor played the first two films dreadfully seriously. While the first had intermittent, light humor, the second film was oppressively dark and grim. Waititi corrects this problem in only five minutes. Ragnarok’s prologue alone contains more lighthearted fun than both of the previous films combined.

Waititi has a bit of a reputation for his oddball sense of humor, but it works wonders for Ragnarok. Waititi suggested that much of the film’s dialogue be improvised, and it does a great deal to reinforce the film’s themes of uncertainty and insecurity. The randomness and off-the-wall quality of the jokes makes the film the funniest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by far, as well as one of the most memorable.

Even more important, however, is the fact that, for the most part, Waititi is able to nail down a singular, consistent identity for the film. From the very beginning, Ragnarok knows exactly what it wants to be. It’s a straight-up action-comedy with mostly realized emotional payoffs.

That brings us into negative territory. The film’s chief (and only) flaw is that in the midst of its ingenious comedy and terrific character development, it forgets to make time for many genuine emotions. There are some fleeting moments where the audience truly feels empathy, but they are few and far in between. This doesn’t detract from the film as much as one might expect, however, as the biggest emotional moments are wisely set up well in advance, and therefore the payoffs are sufficiently rewarding.

The film featured composer Mark Mothersbaugh making his first mark on the MCU, and his debut is very impressive. Mothersbaugh forges a brand new, synthesized identity for Thor, all the while paying homage to his old thematic identity. The result is one of the most memorable scores the MCU has ever produced.

Surprisingly, the acting is taken up a notch in Ragnarok. The audience has never been prone to demand much emotional range from Chris Hemsworth, as Thor himself seems capable only of feeling ecstatic glee while wielding his hammer. Here, however, Hemsworth turns in a performance that’s surprisingly emotional in parts and is easily his best work yet in the series. As always, Tom Hiddleston is a delight as Loki, and Cate Blanchett menacingly plays one of the most memorable villains in the MCU.

Overall, Ragnarok is a complete triumph. It manages to create a new identity for Thor, miraculously making the audience care about him in the process (something that would come in handy once Infinity War rolled around). It is easily one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and indeed one of the funniest films in recent memory. Please bring Waititi back for more. 4/5 stars.