Review: Thor Ragnarok Is Marvel's Peak In Comedy
- Oct 29, 2017
- 2 min read
In 2014, Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy not only created a new sub-genre with their colourful and flamboyant take on the space opera, but a new standard for comedy in superhero movies. Essentially all the superhero movies released since (except Wonder Woman) have tried to capture the comedic tone of Guardians in one way or another, but the tone hasn't been quite right ever since. Until Thor Ragnarok, that is.
Upon his triumphant return to Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) realises that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been posing as Odin (Anthony Hopkins) since his last solo movie. They embark on a rescue mission for their father, before meeting Odin's previous right-hand-woman and the goddess of death, Hela (Cate Blanchett). Thor and Loki become stranded on a distant planet where they find an old friend who could help them return to Asgard to take back the throne.
Under the masterful direction of Hunt For The Wilderpeople's Taika Watiti, Thor Ragnarok is definitely the funniest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The star of the show here is the incredible co-ordination between the director and the writing team, who seem to be on the same page through all 130 minutes. My personal highlights, though, are the Hulk and Korg, voiced by Mark Ruffalo and Taika himself.
The film doesn't take itself too seriously, except when Cate Blanchett's Hela or Idris Elba's Heimdall are on screen. It works well - comedy doesn't work without at least one character played straight - but Heimdall is a tired character now. His extremely one-dimensional role in the film is a reminder of this. Jeff Goldblum's strange performance as the Grandmaster is also a low point for the film.
Marvel films suffer from cramming too much into one movie, wasting time trying to set up future movies, and failed attempts at comedy. But Thor Ragnarok, like the other two Marvel movies from 2017, are refreshingly better. I really have no reason not to recommend it wholeheartedly - just don't stick around during the credits.
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