A Different Thor

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2017)

I had a difficult time even rating this film. I have a special affinity for Thor in general, especially because the first Thor film is the movie that brought me into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I really love that film. I had to check my star rating and I rated it an 8. The follow-up to that film, Thor: The Dark World was good, but not as good as the first one and I rated it 7 stars. So because this one, while a decent adventure film, is my least favorite of the 3 Thor movies, I had to rate it 6 stars.
Tonally, I feel comedy was overused and there were many instances where you could tell they were trying too hard to be silly, and it fell flat. While being sold as a buddy comedy of sorts, I don't think it even meets my expectations for a buddy comedy. I giggled maybe a few times, but there were no laugh out loud moments.
The talent in the film was underutilized. Cate Blanchett certainly came off as serious and dramatic, but against the flippant comedy of the characters, her performance was made comical. The tone of the film did not work for me at all. Compare it to the first Thor, that was excellently acted and dramatic, yet had funny moments. It was a more serious work definitely. Even Thor: The Dark World had excellent writing and serious acting and tone, and injections of humor. The first two Thor movies had a great balance of humor and drama. This one lacked drama and tension. The conflict, while present, was not one of tension and suspense because of the petty behavior of the characters.
The film was fun to watch though. The soundtrack was pretty good. I wish the tone of the film could have lived up to the rocker edge the music gave the movie and Hela. My initial thoughts while viewing Thor: Ragnarok were it felt like I was in an early 90's video game and that it was campy like watching a mid-80's coming of age film about misfit boys.