Jokes Don't Save Lives

Rating: 5/10 (12 November 2017)

Restrained in chains and dangling above a hellish inferno, Thor seems a bit more jovial this time around. The serious face has withered away, and a sarcastic comedian prances through battles with lackadaisical flair. The stoicism has been traded in for improvised one-liners, a calling card of his Avenger co-workers.
Cannon story lines are immediately abandoned as this third installment grinds itself into an intergalactic buddy cop movie. Studios love to beat a winning formula into submission, and dilute all originality from newcomer directors. The structure of banished, enslaved, regrouped, and returned is about as fresh as gas station pizza.
The reconciliation at the start of the narrative is drunk with convenience, and the cameo-ridden moments of the first act are more rushed than a 6th grade science project. The film desperately reaches for compelling set pieces, however, the cliché and predictable plot advancements reveal half-baked CGI, and sloppy line deliveries.
​Brothers, who evidently have an unlimited number of do-overs, have lazy, quick-serve conflict. The Hulk has a clunky motivation and tags along because of reasons. And Valkyrie has about the most blatantly constructed redemption backstory you could give an one off character.
A story that embraces the absurd offers a fluffy, yet enjoyable rainbow ride into family feuds. Bleak late battle decisions dish out compelling conclusions, and the easy way out erodes with existential U-turns. The least serious Thor has stumbled upon the most intimate conflict in his reign, and he's only barely emotionally capable of vanquishing his sibling foe.