Finally a Good Thor Movie

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2018)

So, this movie completely revamped the Thor series, which was direly needed. The first two Thor films were decent in certain ways, but fell flat compared to stand alone films like Iron Man or Captain America. But Ragnarok was so good. It took an entirely comedic approach which surprisingly didn't feel out of place, probably because it was done by someone who had a confidence in their vision. Taika Watiti is a fantastic director.
Starting with some of the cons, since this was more of a comedy, and since it was done well, some of the jokes actually felt a little cheap in comparison to others. For example, in the first scene when Thor is talking to Surtur and spins in the chains during the discussion. The first time viewing, it was pretty funny. But it wasn't the type of humor that aged well with multiple viewings. This was sprinkled throughout the film, but luckily not the main sense of humor. The main sense of humor was cleverer, i.e. Korg who was one of the best parts of the movie with his oddly chipper New Zealander voice, played by Taika Watiti. Speaking of, I wish he had complete creative control, because you could see at times where the studios were whispering in his ear of what the movie "should" have. I really wish they developed Cate Blanchett and her character more. The way she played the character varied a bit scene to scene, which could be chalked up to the studios interfering with the directing and writing. And the villain itself should've been given some more depth. Come on, Marvel. I know you can't go back into previous Marvel movies and change things, but it would've been nice to see Thor actually use lightning earlier in the Cinematic Universe. Though, one could argue that his abilities change as he discovers more about himself. There should've been more of the story taking place on Sakaar, since it was such an interesting world that was actually well developed.
It was where the movie really embraced itself was where it was most successful. The weird and funny moments were its strongest supporters of the story. The color was also great, and just the whimsical tone actually felt more Thor. His character is a stubborn and arrogant prince in the first film, and in Dark World, an argument can be made that that was where he was dealing with some internal conflict, and now, after spending time with the Avengers on earth, the more fun tone is fitting since he's loosened up. It surprisingly fit well with the timeline of Thor. And it was refreshing that Thor was trying to save his world, but had to change his game plan, and Asgard ended up destroyed. The way they used color in the film with Loki makes me hopeful. He wasn't in his usual green and black, the colors he always reverted back to when he would betray Thor, but he's in teal. This could represent that he's truly changed for good, and hopefully won't betray Thor again in Infinity War.
Overall, fantastically enjoyable movie that was made extremely well by a director who had a vision. The clever sense of humor and 80's-esque music was awesome, as well as the completely badass second use of Immigrant Song with Thor using lightning.