Thor: Ragnarok is a no-holds-barred, chaotic blast of a movie. It’s one of Marvel’s finest—and funniest—films to date, and Taika Waititi’s oddball sense of humor pulls together some seemingly disparate elements into a visually stunning, heartfelt romp through the galaxy. When I first saw the trailer for Thor 3, I was cautiously optimistic. The movie looked fun, funny, and weirdly retro, but it was also about Thor, the least interesting Avenger in my book, and with the ’80s aesthetic, over-the-top humor, and space exploration, it ran the risk of turning into a knock-off Guardians of the Galaxy. In some ways, it is a bit like Guardians, but most of those similarities turned out to be superficial. The ’80s vibe is very-much present though, as advertised, and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is used to great effect in at least two big scenes. From here, I’ll get specific; there are minor spoilers ahead, but nothing big, so read at your own (slight) risk.

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Visuals:

This is one beautiful movie. Good-looking CGI and relatively well-choreographed fight scenes are pretty much the standard nowadays, but this movie makes good, conscious aesthetic choices and never falls into the trap of overly chaotic, messy battles, like the unfortunate final battle in this summer’s otherwise stellar Spiderman: Homecoming. In fact, without going into too much detail, the inevitable final battle does a great job of giving every major character an important, satisfying role without muddling things to the point of confusion. Sakaar, the Hulk-obsessed battle royale garbage pit planet, is a fully realized, bustling metropolis of sci-fi architecture and odd-looking alien garb. Asgard itself is a bit less interesting, but angled shots and one particularly striking fight scene toward the middle of the film which doesn’t even include Thor keep Asgard from growing stale. The characters in this movie fight with a frenetic whimsy that’s a joy to watch. Thor’s hammer feels as versatile as Cap’s shield, and in a way that doesn’t seem cheap or copy-cattish, though the sheer number of non-boomerang weapons that act just like boomerangs featured in superhero movies has gotten to be a bit much at this point. At least the virtually unpronounceable Mjolnir has legit magic to back up its wild powers. But certain plot details force Thor to fight without his hammer for part of the film as well, and watching him learn to master his very ’80s blue lightning powers is a whole lot of fun.

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Characters:

Thor himself is quite the compelling character in this film, and that’s a big deal for me, because this is the first time I’ve ever cared about him. Chris Hemsworth always felt right for the role, but the way he’d been used in the MCU felt like a missed opportunity; this is the first movie to actually utilize everything he has to offer. He’s funny, he’s heartfelt, and he’s really struggling to save his home and his people. Speaking of rectifying missed opportunities, this is the first movie in which Idris Elba actually gets to do something as Heimdall. Heimdall is one of those characters the movies have always said was important, but he’s never really done much. In Ragnarok, despite the massive cast of new characters, Heimdall actually gets the chance to be a likable badass with a huge role to play in protecting the people of Asgard. Tom Hiddleston is great as Loki, which is nothing new, but he doesn’t have as much of a role to play this time around, and that’s something I’m okay with after he got a chance to spend some time in the spotlight with Avengers and Dark World. Casting him as the main villain here would have felt redundant. And when it comes to villains, Cate Blanchett’s Hela is one of Marvel’s better big baddies. Sure, her motivations are a bit vague, but the film’s focus on family and scarred relationships help make her motives at least somewhat believable, and the film does something a lot of superhero movies fail at—proving the villain is scary. By the time Thor fights Hela in the movie’s finale, the audience is well aware she’s a force to be reckoned with.

Mark Ruffalo is in this movie almost as much as Thor, and he spends the majority of the film in Hulk mode. You won’t get the full impact of his character arc if you haven’t stayed up to date with the full MCU here (or at least watched the two Avengers films) but if you’re caught up with the canon, he’s got some touching moments (a few bits of The Incredible Hulk soundtrack even make their way into the film). Cumberbatch’s cameo as Doctor Strange is significantly less important and emotional, but he doesn’t hurt the movie, and his presence does a good job of reminding us that all these heroes really do live in the same multiverse or extended universe or something. But mostly it’s a reminder that Infinity War is coming and Marvel wants you to remember it.

We also get a tiny bit of Anthony Hopkins’s Odin, and though his presence in the movie is minimal, it actually left quite an impact, especially thanks to the score utilized in his scenes. He’s a good emotional anchor for Thor.

Other than Hela, we’ve got three other solid newbies in this movie. First, there’s the Kronan (rock person) Korg, voiced and motion-captured by Waititi himself. He serves as an ally to Thor and a consistent source of humor, and he’s just plain fun to watch. Then you’ve got Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Valkyrie is phenomenal. She’s got the typical tragic past that ties her to Thor, but she’s also a fleshed-out character. And she doesn’t fall into the trap Gamora does in Guardians—fulfilling the “serious badass, but also mom-like character” role amongst a sea of wisecracking males. She’s got a sense of humor, and that’s important. Lastly, we’ve got Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, and he dominates every single scene he’s in. He’s quirky, hilarious, cruel, and bizarre. He’s also got some of the film’s best lines, and Goldblum delivers them with his own trademark bizarre charm.

Less successful is Karl Urban’s Skurge, a character with perhaps too large a presence in the movie. I didn’t really feel invested in him as a character, and you can tell the film wants you to be invested. That said, he’s no Jar Jar Binks or any other such catastrophically disruptive character. He’s just kind of there, and he’s “meh.” We also get a little bit of the Warriors Three, but not much. To be fair, they’ve never been all that interesting, and the previous two Thors didn’t do much to make me care either. There is one exception—a fight scene featuring Tadanobu Asano’s Hogun—that had me on the edge of my seat.

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The Story:

The plot this time around is relatively compelling and usually simple. There are a few subplots related to characters like Hulk that require a little bit of background knowledge from other MCU films, and Loki’s involvement could prove a little confusing if you didn’t watch Thor 2, but other than that, Thor 3 is straightforward and capable of being enjoyed with little context. The pacing is usually good, though the movie stumbles a bit in the first act. It takes about twenty minutes for the movie to fully establish its own sense of humor, and a few of the early jokes feel generic, like they could have come out of any humorous action flick with witty heroes. (The early interaction between Thor and the movie’s first antagonist featured a few too many clichéd quips.) Luckily, by the time our heroes get to Sakaar, everything generic has been tossed out the window. Some may find the ending cheap or consider it a bit of a deus ex machina, but I think it works. It didn’t blow my mind or anything, but ended the film on the right note. In my book, it was earned. There’s one oft-repeated phrase in this movie that runs the risk of becoming cheesy, but, again, it feels earned. The characters are just genuine enough for their somewhat trite catchphrase to feel legit when they say it. It also helps that this movie often refuses to take itself too seriously. Some die-hard comic book fans may be upset about conflating the “Planet Hulk” storyline and the eponymous “Thor: Ragnarok” into one humorous outing, and I’m not qualified to speak to its adaptation of the source material. But as a movie, it works.

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The Music:

The MCU has always struggled with having memorable music, the only exceptions being Danny Elfman’s Avengers theme, the ’80s music featured in the two Guardians movies, and Michael Giacchino’s solid Spiderman: Homecoming score. Mark Mothersbaugh’s score for Thor 3 isn’t always extremely memorable for me, but it certainly has its moments; it lacks anything as iconic as Rupert Gregson Williams’s electronic violin theme for Wonder Woman or Man of Steel’s “What are You Going to Do When You’re Not Saving the World?” (a personal Hans Zimmer favorite of mine, despite my negative feelings toward the movie). But the incorporation of “The Immigrant Song” and the solid synthesizer presence, as well as the Nordic themes associated with Odin help make this the kind of movie you can hum along to. I may have to give the score another listen before deciding exactly how I feel about it, but for now I’d call it a bit above average.

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Final Thoughts:

Pros:

• Almost every character is exceptionally likable and fun to follow

• Jeff Goldblum

• Great cinematography

• Consistently funny after the first twenty minutes

• Solid plot and good pacing

• “The Immigrant Song”

• At least two memorable fight scenes, including the finale

Cons:

• Off to a slightly rocky start, especially joke-wise

• Skurge doesn’t warrant the emotional investment the movie wants him to have

• Unremarkable, (though far from terrible) score

• Prior knowledge needed for Hulk’s storyline (This doesn’t bother me at all and won’t factor into my score, but I’m including it in case it matters to people reading this)

8.4 (Awesome). Waititi proves himself more than capable of directing a top-notch superhero comedy that shapes previously uninteresting characters into iconic Marvel heroes in a thrilling sci-fi adventure

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