Thor's Third: Charm and (no) Hammer

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2017)

Roger Moore once described the difference between Sean Connery's approach to playing James Bond and his own as, "Sean goes out the comedy door, I go in it." Thor: Ragnarok takes the Roger Moore route. Director Taika Waititi eschews the epic stylings of prior Thor helmers Kenneth Branagh and Alan Taylor for a Norse-god superhero film that's less Wagner, more Gilbert & Sullivan.
It's a crowd-pleaser, but it has its tradeoffs. The filmmakers are far less interested in the Serious Plot—the potential fall of Asgard and subjugation of the Nine Realms (and any other realms lying around) by Hela, god of death and the older sister Thor never knew he had—than they are in Thor's adventures on the planet Sakaar, where he ends up after his disastrous first encounter with Hela. (RIP, magic hammer Mjolnir.) Such back-burnering is par for the course in Marvel movies, especially the more comically-inclined ones (does anyone remember what Lee Pace was up to in Guardians of the Galaxy?), but Thor: Ragnarok loses steam whenever it cuts back to Asgard, and the high-stakes cosmic threat rarely reaches its full potential for suspense.
The film's assets, however, outnumber its deficiencies. Of particular note is Chris Hemsworth, giving full display to the comic skills he showed brief glimpses of in his previous Thor turns before letting them loose in 2016's Ghostbusters. He's aided by a deep bench of talent in the Sakaar scenes, including Tom Hiddleston (back again as Loki), Jeff Goldblum (in full Goldblum mode as the planet's Grandmaster), Tessa Thompson (expatriate Asgardian warrior Valkyrie), and a certain green-skinned behemoth with anger issues (hint: he's played by Mark Ruffalo and his name rhymes with Sulk). Director Waititi himself gets in on the fun as the voice of alien gladiator Korg. Back on Asgard, Karl Urban and Idris Elba (among others) get relatively short shrift, but Cate Blanchett, in one of her occasional forays into screen villainy, plays Hela with her usual style and verve.
The visual effects are eye-popping, including compositions that could easily adorn a heavy-metal or prog-rock album cover—or an airbrushed van, circa 1976. And in addition to the requisite Stan Lee cameo, a couple of other notables (no spoilers) turn up in fun "Waitwas that?" moments.
Overall, Thor: Ragnarok is a solid superhero film with appeal for hardcore comic lovers and more casual fans. And while not every future Marvel film should take the Roger Moore approach, this one does a fine job of it.
FYI: There are two "stinger" scenes in the end credits, one fairly early, one at the very end. They're good, but if your bladder's under pressure, the second is the more skippable.