Ragnarocks

Rating: 7/10 (8 February 2018)

Plot; Imprisoned on a far away planet and forced to fight in gladiatorial contests, Thor must escape his bonds if he's to return home and save Asgard from the wicked Hela.
Of the solo Marvel film series, the Mighty Thor has probably fared the worst. A solid, if unspectacular, first entry was followed by a middling and utterly forgettable sequel. Ironically what the God of Thunder needed was a spark. Enter director Taika Waititi. Infusing the film with a quirky, offbeat sense of humor and a neon-soaked color palate, he finally allows Marvel's stuffiest Avenger to lighten up. For his part Hemsworth has always done well with the drier aspects of the character, but he clearly seems to enjoy getting a chance to loose up his armor a bit here. Just as in Planet Hulk (which inspired some aspects of this story), Hulk is much more articulate this go 'round. It allows the green guy to actually be a character and not just a mascot when he's not Bruce Banner. New character Valkyrie isn't just a token "tough girl", but a layered and fun counterpart for Thor.
Where the film stumbles a bit is with its villain. Make no mistake, Cate Blanchett is great as Hela, but by whisking Thor half way across the galaxy for 3/4 of the film, she's given nothing to do but bide her time demonstrating her villainy in a series of ultimately meaningless cut-aways. She all but disappears for long stretches of the film, and at times I forgot she was even in it. But once Thor returns to Asgard everything clicks into place and it races to a satisfying enough finish that checks all the boxes.
Thor Ragnarok isn't a great film, but it's a reasonably fun one, and perhaps just the sugary snack we needed before the heavy full course meal of Infinity War.