Thor Ragnarok -- a review

Thor Ragnarok is the third in the Thor series of superhero movies. Thor, the God of Thunder, was always a strange idea for a superhero. But director Kenneth Branaugh (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing) did a great job at humanizing this character and making him relatable in the first Thor movie, by pumping up the Shakespearean aspects of the character. And while the second Thor film has its detractors (and understandably so) I still enjoyed it--despite the fact that it lacked the charm of the first film. For the third Thor flick, director Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows) was brought in to bring a different take to the end film in this trilogy. And he did this in spades.

He made a comedy.

Thor: Ragnarok refers to the end of the world--namely the legend which refers to the end of the enchanted land of Asgard, Thor’s home, which falls under the domination of Hela, the goddess of death who is very well played by Cate Blanchett. Clad in a creepy/cool outfit that sprouts antlers from her head whenever she goes into battle, Hela easily takes over Asgard while Thor is off tying to find his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) with a little help from Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a sequence that made me wish we could have stayed with the good Doctor a little longer. Strange’s scene here reminded me of another Marvel superhero movie that I enjoyed far more than I did this one.

I really don’t mind comedy, nor do I mind if a film has a more lighter tone than its predecessors. But the Lethal Weapon films are funny while still being true to their action film storylines. That’s not the case with Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi is so hell-bent at bringing on the humor that he throws characters and entire situations under the bus just to get a laugh. Characters from the first two films (who are already reduced to cameo appearances) are dispatched here with a joke--and even a dire situation which should be properly solemn is ruined by a quip from a secondary character. It’s almost as if Waititi is desperate for his audience to keep having happy thoughts, no matter what.

And while Hela is the first truly impressive villain in a Marvel superhero flick, her potential is ruined because she disappears in the mid section of the film, where Thor winds up on a casino-like world that’s run by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum, who’s more funny than threatening). The Grandmaster pits Thor in a gladiatorial fight against the Hulk, which is admittedly pretty cool to watch but offers nothing to advance the main plot. Hela should have remained the focus of the movie, instead of getting stuck in this gladiator world, a place so gaudy and glitzy that it feels more like an idea for the next Disney theme park. At least Thor Ragnarok is visually impressive, as well as being loaded with laughs. But if the filmmakers are not going to take their own story seriously, then why should I? --SF

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