Thor: Ragnarok finds the right balance of humor and action
Of the winners and losers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor has always been towards the bottom. His has a very specific character challenge.
It’s easy for Iron Man or Captain America to exist in the more realistic world Marvel has created for its characters (though this realistic world is fast disappearing in favor of flashy comic book fantasy).
They are more or less plausible, at least moreso than an immortal Norse god that wields lightning and short silver hammer of varying weight that depends entirely on a dubious understanding of ethics and morality.
Thor is, and has always been, a little bit dumb. This isn’t to say he isn’t entertaining, especially as a foil for other, more rational characters within the Avenger’s films. If anything, he feels underused, much more of an outsider than the other heroes.
His previous standalone films always felt like more of necessity, a stepping-stone to the larger flagship films. The directors of these films, Kenneth Branaugh and Alan Taylor respectively, did their best to breathe life into a ridiculous idea, and were somewhat successful. Still, there was simply something off about the tone.
Enter Guardians of the Galaxy. Here was another film, with absurd characters, that could have easily come off poorly and underdeveloped. But James Gunn took the film a different way, using vibrant colors, humor, and classic rock to develop a team of misfits far more fun to watch than Marvel’s original team.
Suddenly, someone at Marvel remembered that comics books are supposed to be fun. Taking a page from Gunn’s playbook, director Taika Waititi embraces the absurdity of Thor in Thor: Ragnarok and makes a film that is absolutely the best treatment of the character so far and one of the most enjoyable Marvel Cinematic Universe films since the previous Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) hasn’t been doing much with the Avenger’s team since The Age of Ultron. He completely missed the whole Civil War debacle hanging out in Australia and then spent a lot of time wandering the nine realms restoring order and preventing catastrophes.
He was so busy, in fact, that he didn’t notice his brother Loki had faked his own death four years ago and had since been impersonating his father in Asgard.
This leads to some fun shenanigans until the brothers learn that their father Odin is now at the end of his life. Turns out, Odin’s power was holding back Hela, goddess of Death and sister to the princes of Asgard. When he dies, she will be released from her prison, thus ushering in Ragnarok, the prophesied end of Asgard. She does so with glee, banishing the brothers across the galaxy to a world of junk and gladiatorial combat.
Admittedly, the synopsis of the film sounds like more of the same nonsense that was found in the other Thor films. But Waititi, director of the hysterical vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, takes the material and makes it his own.
It seems that with the success of films like Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel is allowing the creative talent they hire to be creative.
Waititi is a strange choice for Marvel—he has only two features under his belt and neither are as large and unwieldy as a Marvel film. Waititi handles it with no missteps beyond some obvious cribbing from James Gunn, and overall the film is fun, eye catching, and entertaining.
If anything, films like Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians of the Galaxy series make anything that happens on Earth drab and depressing.
Even Tony Stark, with all his billions and rapier wit, might have a hard time competing with the likes of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Here’s hoping that The Avengers: Infinity War is a marriage of these styles.
Most likely it will be. Harmony between franchises is the bread and butter for Marvel Studios. They’re great at set-up and promotion. They make flashy, fun movies with mass appeal. Still, even with the spectacle on the screen, there is a temporary nature to these movies.
None of them feel long lasting or classic—everything is a continuation. The films are as serial as anything found on Netflix. To their credit, this is exactly what reading comic books is like. It’s also why most adults eventually grow out of them. At some point, everyone needs closure.
But the Hollywood machine keeps churning. The MCU just passed $5 billion in the North American box office. There’s no end in sight.
At least the movies are good enough to justify it.