by Chris Feil
The hilariously self-absorbed God of Thunder returns for Thor: Ragnarok, a top tier addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to the smart and snappy voice of director Taika Waititi. Even though the film is comedy first and action second in its priorities, it is like getting stuck in the best game in the arcade for two hours.
This time around, Thor faces the unshackling of his apocalypse-hungry sister Hela, played by a horned and horny Cate Blanchett. Hela aims to make good on her prophecy to destroy Asgard in retribution for her banishment, and presents Thor’s greatest physical threat to date. Once Thor is cast off himself to the technicolor planet Sakaar, he finds a cast of characters that might help him save his home, including lost Avenger Bruce Banner.
As ever with a Waititi film, Ragnarok is an ensemble effort. Hemsworth is especially attuned to the Waititi brand of goofball, while returning players Mark Ruffalo and Tom Hiddleston play mostly to their previous beats. Blanchett is perhaps given less to do than expected, but her Hela is equally intimidating and worthy of our diva worship. Her brightest contribution is the similarities she shares with her brother - she’s equally enamored by her own visage and physicality. Jeff Goldblum plays the Sakaarian Grandmaster with the kind of oddball attitude that only forwards his cult following. Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie is intriguing and accessible, presenting someone truly compelling amongst the silliness. You’ll hardly care if you’re unfamiliar with the character - Thompson is a goddamn movie star.
Ragnarok and this year's Guardians of the Galaxy sequel suggest Marvel is moving in a more episodic direction, losing the sense of mounting cataclysm that has begun to weigh down the genre in recent years. This feels like a smart move - if we're going to be given an endless stream of these movies, it becomes a more rewarding experience if we’re not imprisoned to one connected sequential story. It primes the upcoming chapters, but think of Ragnarok like a delightful appendix.
That doesn’t mean Ragnarok isn’t essential. On the contrary, it’s gleeful abandon makes it one of the most unique among the MCU filmography - and one probably most welcoming to folks a few movies behind or completely uninitiated. In Waititi’s hands, Marvel is no longer preaching to the converted but creating a comedic world that convinces by its own merits.
Ragnarok does have that tiresome "end of the world" trope (for Asgard, that is), but you never notice it as you do in other recent superhero outings. In a way, it's even more detached from the human cost of extinction than its more gloom-and-doom brethren attempting to make entertainment from destruction. But Waititi turns the audience's predetermined assumption that everything will be just fine (because, duh, we have maybe four more movies coming in half as many years) and turns the conflict into more of a fun kerfuffle than a cataclysm. You can invest in this film for itself, and not as homework or follow-up for other films.
Waititi also revels in what is deeply, delightfully strange about this particular character’s mythos. Where previous Thor films have drenched Asgard in earnestness to campy effect, this one is able to not take itself so seriously in exploring the legend. It’s a balancing act that’s taken three films (and filmmakers) to achieve so effectively - the silly with the awe-inspiring. He has precisely the kind of point of view that could take the MCU to the next level.
The film is simply so fun to make you forget how familiar much of the elements are - even the ubiquitous “Immigrant Song” feels fresh when stapled into Waititi’s enthusiastic anarchy. It’s blockbuster escapism that actually provides a satisfying respite from the real world - vivid, weird, and a complete blast.
Grade: B+