If there is one franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that has failed to really define itself, it’s been Thor. The first two films, “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” weren’t bad movies by any means, but they were films that really had trouble creating narratives that engaged the audience and delivered scenes that stood out as memorable over time.
The third film in the franchise, “Thor: Ragnarok,” finally breaks that mold. Gone are the mundane stories, toned down sets and forgettable action scenes. “Thor: Ragnarok” wants to set itself apart from not only the Thor films that preceded it but every MCU film that came before. From that effort comes one of the most fun films in the MCU catalog, but that does come at a price.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is set two years after the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been searching the nine realms for the remaining Infinity Stones but has come up empty handed. In the meantime, Hela the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett) breaks free from her prison. Thor, along with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), are defeated by Hela and sent to the planet Sakaar.
Thor is then forced into gladiatorial combat in which he is reunited with fellow Avenger, the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). While on Sakaar, Thor assembles a team that includes himself, Loki, Hulk and newcomer Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) to take the fight back to Asgard and defeat its current ruler, Hela.
The single best feature of this film has to be the look. “Thor: Ragnarok” has some of the best looking scenes in the MCU. The only other films in the MCU that have specific scenes that look as good as some of the scenes in this film are the two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. One scene, involving the Asgardian Valkyries engaging in battle with Hela, has to be my favorite-looking scene in the entire MCU and maybe in all comic book movies.
The use of color in this film is spectacular. The MCU, aside from the “Guardians” films, have seen a fairly muted color palette as of late, and it was great to see “Thor: Ragnarok” embrace the color and make scenes on Asgard and Sakaar feel vibrant and truly otherworldly. Everything from interior sets, character costumes and exterior scenes all feel dynamic.
Just as the film looks lively, so too is its script. The story is not perfect, but “Thor: Ragnarok” stands apart from its fellow Thor films due to the characters being more complex than in any previous film. Thor is funny, fairly quick witted and also emotionally torn in this film. These were really only hinted at in previous portrayals of the character. Chris Hemsworth gives his best performance as Thor in this film, and a lot of that has to do with his having a story that took intentional steps to develop the character.
Cate Blanchett as Hela gives one of the more exciting performances. Blanchett devours scenes she’s in, and every moment she is wreaking havoc as Hela is a moment I buy into her power and ferocity. The one issue I have with Hela is that she doesn’t come off as menacing as she should, and that’s purely due to the fact she isn’t given enough time on screen.
Valkyrie is a welcome addition to the MCU. Her character has depth that many secondary characters don’t really have in the MCU, and I appreciate the attention this character is given. She is a bona-fide badass, able to hold her own against the Asgardian gods in a fight. A few scenes are dedicated to presenting just how skilled a warrior she is, and I feel that worked really well.
The rest of the cast was superb as well. Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster was entertaining even though it was Jeff Goldblum essentially playing himself with blue makeup. Idris Elba’s Heimdall took a backseat in this film’s story, but even his role in the C story was compelling enough to progress the character’s development.
Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk also shined in this movie. While he had limited screen time in his hulk form, the Hulk was funnier than he ever had been, and his presence in the film was justified, even though I would have liked to see his fight scenes extended by a couple of minutes.
Now with all of things this film does well, I think it’s important to note some of the changes in the Thor franchise that I had a bit of an issue with. I have stated before that this film is funny, and that is a good thing. The script is full of jokes, and every character cracks multiple jokes throughout the film. The issue is that “Thor: Ragnarok” has too many jokes.
I highlighted this same problem with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” where I said a lot of the jokes in that film were in there just because, and that they “were jokes for jokes’ sake.” The problem happens in this film as well. A lot of the jokes were silly and funny, but they didn’t service anything in the script. They were just there to get a laugh.
While that isn’t necessarily a problem, I think those types of jokes should be used in moderation so as to not undercut the seriousness of the film or to lessen the impact of the rest of the film’s comedy. “Thor: Ragnarok” has a lot of these jokes and when every scene has multiple jokes, it makes the worst jokes stand out that much more.
The other issue with all of the comedy is that it is such a drastic change from the tone of the preceding Thor films. As I said before, the previous two films weren’t great, but the drastic change in tone for this film at times undercuts some of the really compelling themes that the Thor franchise has spent time cultivating.
Some serious beats were included in this film surrounding themes of home, brotherhood and family, but they weren’t given enough time to develop because the movie was too interested in landing the next joke. The previous Thor films might not have been great films, but what was great in them was the dynamic between Thor and Loki.
The relationship between the two and the subtle themes explored as a result of that relationship were among the best nuanced storytelling in the MCU. It was something I think a lot of people could relate to, and turning that dynamic between Thor, Loki and the rest of their family into a joke was a gross misstep, in my opinion.
Aside from that, the last negative I’ll address here is the film’s pacing. It is all over the place. Within the first 10 minutes, the story jumps to five different sets, and some of them were fairly unnecessary. It doesn’t feel like “Thor: Ragnarok” ever provides consistency in regards to its pacing, and some scenes really should have had time to develop.
That would have helped some of the more serious moments land a bit better and would have put Hela in contention for the best villain in the MCU. When she debuts in the film, she is terrifying and powerful, and she is the same in the final act of the film. The problem is that she doesn’t do anything meaningful in the middle. It felt like a bit of a waste of Cate Blanchett’s talent. When she is fighting on screen, she is the best thing about “Thor: Ragnarok.” When she isn’t fighting, she isn’t given anything compelling to do except be an exposition machine. That’s a real shame.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is a really fun film with engaging visuals and characters that suffers a bit for over-correcting too much. It’s funny, action packed and distinct from most MCU films. However, while it discarded what made previous Thor films uninteresting, it also unnecessarily undercut much of the heart of Thor and the themes that made the character so compelling in the first place.
I give “Thor: Ragnarok” 8 / 10.
