Thor: Ragnarok
Lightning strikes thrice for Marvel’s God Of Thunder
The director of vampire mock-doc What We Do In The Shadows may seem like an unconventional choice for Thor’s third solo outing, but handing Taika Waititi free reign to craft an idiosyncratic Thor-quel has paid creative dividends. Ragnarok is the funniest Marvel movie yet by a whopping great distance.
A much-needed refresh following the dreary Dark World, Ragnarok sees Odinsons Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stranded on the trash planet of Sakaar when their secret sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) breaks out of space jail to bring about the end of days. On Sakaar, Thor is reunited with The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and, with the help of fallen warrior Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), teams up to stop Hela and save Asgard.
A riot from start to finish, Ragnarok has a gag count that puts most so-called comedies to shame. Cutting loose after two films of Shakespearian grandstanding, Chris Hemsworth’s lunkheaded Thor is a delight, his budding friendship with Ruffalo’s (talking) Hulk lending the film an ‘odd couple’ charm.
Hiddleston’s Loki remains one of Marvel’s most captivating creations and Blanchett is, ahem, Hela good – but the real star of the show is Waititi, whose loopy sense of humour permeates every frame. With several of the film’s weightier moments barely registering before the next laugh-out-loud gag, it may actually be too funny for the apocalyptic story it’s telling, but that’s a good problem to have.