Thor: Ragnarok Smashes Formula With God-Tier Fun

As Mark Mothersbaugh was scoring a Marvel superhero movie based on epic Norse mythology, he must have shouted to an assistant, “I know the ideal song for this! Call Led Zeppelin!” Because holy hell, the blood-pumping Norse bombast of their “Immigrant Song” is absolutely perfect for the absurdly fun, blood-pumping, bombastic Thor: Ragnarok.

Not only does Ragnarok deftly avoid the “more equals less” issues common to franchise third installments, it thoroughly outshines both Thor and Thor: The Dark World. It’s a strong contender for “Most Entertaining Marvel movie,” right up there with Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool.

Films like Spider-Man 3, Iron Man 3, and X-Men: Last Stand suffered from going too big, cramming in too many villains and trying too hard to recreate the first installment magic. Ragnarok actually does many of those things. It goes big — literally huge — with a whole lotta Hulk and a massive battle arena. It introduces an over-the-top villain who slaughters Asgard’s warriors and raises an endless army of glowing undead heroes. But they all work, in large part because of several smart decisions by director Taika Waititi, best known for sharp, offbeat comedies like Flight of the Conchords and What We Do In the Shadows.

Waititi abandons the grim stories, dark, muted colors, one-dimensional villains, and implacable-threat-to-the-galaxy plots of previous Thor entries. Instead, he delivers a tongue-in-cheek fun-fest, full of bright, vibrant colors, snappy dialog, physical comedy, strong action scenes, and superheroes being gently taken down a notch.

He also makes Ragnarok into an ensemble movie. Rather than another installment of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor saving the galaxy with a little help from supporting actors, Ragnarok favors the team approach. Hemsworth is still the main attraction, but he happily shares the spotlight with the talented, funny cast.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has a stronger role than in previous MCU entries. He’s less the angsty, daddy-didn’t-love-me antagonist of Avengers and more the quirky trickster god of Norse mythology, with a real twinkle in his eye. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) is gigantic fun in gladiator armor, one minute revelling in the adulation of the arena crowds, peevish with Thor’s attempts at manipulation the next. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers could learn a thing or two about superhero banter from Bruce Banner and Thor. Even Heimdall (Idris Elba) has a bigger role, helping protect the Asgardians from Hela. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is an amusing, eccentric, spiky-haired version of every Goldblum character.

Tessa Thompson (Westworld) is a welcome addition as Valkyrie. She more than holds her own against her heavyweight costars. She gives depth to her fear and pain as the last surviving Valkyrie; when she’s not drinking herself to death, she kicks butt at every turn. Casting a 5’4” woman of color as a Valkyrie — traditionally portrayed as extremely tall and extremely blonde — is a brilliant choice.

Setting all of these pieces in motion is Hela, the Goddess of Death, played with scenery-chewing glee by Cate Blanchett (The Hobbit). She’s the delightfully campy, vampy villain Marvel movies need. Blanchett is Ming the Merciless in Goth makeup. She’s equal parts menacing and sexy. Best of all, she’s as willing to look slightly ridiculous as the rest of these omnipotent heroes, with campy flourishes and awkward pauses.

Ragnarok is every bit an MCU action movie, full of epic battles, set pieces and spandex. The story draws heavily on the classic Ragnarok comic run, with a big side trip to Planet Hulk. The arena scene is a stand-out. For all that, it isn’t simply a superhero movie with a handful of funny lines, ala Avengers. It’s a true action-comedy, more akin to classics like Hot Fuzz or Men In Black than to most Marvel movies. The beats, the situations, the setups and payoffs, are all straight from the comedy playbook. It pokes fun at superhero tropes even as it reveres them, like when Thor tries to escape captivity by hurling a heavy ball through a window. Blithely certain that no mere window can stand against his Asgardian strength, he pontificates about how real heroes keep fighting even when the cause seems lost right up the moment when the ball rebounds off the shatterproof glass and bashes him in the face. Hemsworth sells the joke with his smug, leading-man smile. It’s a brief, throwaway gag, but it paints a winking contrast to the typical ‘unflappable superhero’ imagery, satirical without being cruel.

Waititi has impressive creative leeway, and trusts his cast implicitly. The actors are clearly having a blast riffing off each other, more than happy to dive into the physical comedy and awkward moments that take gods down a notch. A few innuendos flirt with the PG-13 rating. Whenever it inches towards self-seriousness, Waititi slams on the brakes and cuts to something vaguely absurd.

All of which makes it borderline astounding that Waititi was given such a free hand with a major MCU third-wave movie. Some of the recent MCU movies have felt a bit homogenized by the top-down direction from Kevin Feige; decent, workmanlike showings more in service to Marvel’s long-term story arcs than to great individual films. It’s a breath of fresh air to see a third-wave movie with such vibrant colors, ensemble comedy, and so much fun.

Thor: Ragnarok is supremely fun, incredibly funny, and one of the most entertaining movies Marvel has made. Go see it and laugh your head off. Grade: A-

Ephemera:

• Stick around for the two post-ending scenes: a typical “setup for the next MCU movie” scene after the initial credits, and the “awkward and funny” bit after the final credits.
• Thor — and the audience — get a brief glimpse of Hulk’s derriere. It’s an amusing inversion of the male gaze shots, especially as it’s entirely CGI.
• Hulk isn’t the only one to show a little skin: Hemsworth is shirtless more than once.