The first two Thor movies, “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World,” are some of my least favorites from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, “Thor: Ragnarok” is a breath of fresh air for both the Thor movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general. I loved how funny the movie was, and how every joke landed quite well. The movie was also beautifully shot, with each scene having lots of color and a good variety of shot types. It is one of the best Marvel movies since the original “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and is definitely the best Thor movie.
The humor of the Marvel movies has always been a strong suit, and sets it apart from other superhero movie series, like the DC movies. Most of the time, this humor hits pretty well, but sometimes, like in “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” a lot of the jokes didn’t play very well into what the movie was going for. “Thor: Ragnarok” is the funniest of the Marvel movies, even funnier than the original “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Every single time the movie tries a joke, it works really well, except for one or two occasions. There are times when it does the same joke a couple times in the span of a minute or two, and these aren’t perfect, but they don’t take up too much time in the whole span of the movie. The humor starts immediately from the movie’s start. This helps viewers already feel like it is different, and should expect it to be better.
The director of “Thor: Ragnarok” is Taika Waititi, who is known for writing, directing and starring in “What We Do in the Shadows,” which is an extremely hilarious vampire mockumentary. Waititi is the reason the movie feels so fresh and different than the other movies in the Thor franchise and Marvel movies. The sense of humor that was in “What We Do in the Shadows” has been transferred into “Thor: Ragnarok”, but a different style of directing also helps make it a better movie. The shots that are used in the movie are ones that I haven’tseen in any of the Marvel movies, and it makes it much more interesting to watch as a whole. The first two Thor movies were some of the blandest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They didn’t have any color or style. This movie rights that wrong. It moves a little bit into the style colorful of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but not too much. The story uses this style to great lengths, and feels wholely different from anything the franchise has done before.
The acting in “Thor: Ragnarok” is also really something special. The whole cast performs extraordinarily well. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston return as Thor and Loki, respectively, and their chemistry is great. It actually feels like they are brothers, and in every scene they’re in together, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen. Cate Blanchett is the villain in “Thor: Ragnarok.” She plays Hela, Thor’s sister, who has been imprisoned for many years by Odin, Thor’s father, who is played by Anthony Hopkins. Blachett’s character feels a little bit tacked-on, but I did like how she was introduced at the near beginning of the film. This made the movie have a good end goal for the characters to accomplish throughout. Mark Ruffalo returns as well, in his first Marvel movie since “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and he steals the show. Whenever Ruffalo, or the Hulk for that matter, is on screen, my eyes focused on him. His story makes me want another standalone Incredible Hulk movie.
“Thor: Ragnarok” is the culmination of all that Marvel Studios has learned from around 10 years of making films. The movies may not be completely different from each other, but they are as different as superhero movies can be. “Thor: Ragnarok” is not a reinvention of the superhero formula, but a refinement, and I can only hope that this is a sign of things to come for the next few Marvel movies.
