"This joke I like it! ANOTHER!"

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2017)

Those of us with the unmitigated gall to still love Marvel Studios movies bear a perennial cross: everyone else bemoaning their superhero ennui. How they've had enough of self-important, solemn, formulaic superhero films, with their aimless CGI- drenched climaxes, paint-by-numbers villains, and clumsy scaffolding to sell tickets to future movies.
"All fair," I respond, as we wait to pre-order our Black Panther tickets.
Still, you know what they say about squeaky wheels - Disney execs listen to them, apparently. And lo, there was balance in the Force er Thor-ce? And Ragnarok is its puzzling Skywalker. On one hand, its unfettered comedic whimsy and synth-soaked Flash Gordon pastiche feel like a profound victory for the forces of fun. And yet, there's something perennially off - an indulgence in its kookiness that goes beyond cheeky and strays perilously close to contemptuous at times. Granted, it's perversely appropriate that a blockbuster titled after the apocalyptic eradication of Asgard and the Gods work to dismantle the established tone and mythos of Thor so gleefully. Still, as giddily enjoyable as this apocalypse is, there's still an inescapable sense of the baby being thrown out with the Asgardian bathwater.
Thor - a literal 'super-god' - has always been tough to sell. Even Kenneth Branagh, hired for his Shakespearian credentials, subjected ol' Goldilocks to slapstick and punchlines galore (and a meowing Kat Dennings) in his first cinematic outing to keep him accessible. In this regard, the quirky, charming Taika Waititi is an unorthodox but inspired directorial choice, and he musters up more colour, zippiness, and breezy humour that Thor's previous four appearances combined. No gag, be it witty or scatological, is too small for Waititi, and it's rare for his leads to go more than a few minutes without being subjected to some kind of amusing physical comedy indignation (Hiddleston's Loki, of all people, steals the film's biggest laugh and pratfall in one fell swoop). And, varying degrees of silliness or not, the film is uproariously funny from opening to closing shot.
What doesn't work as well is the film's comparative lack of consequence otherwise. Well-deserved zany tonal shift or not, Ragnarok is, literally, about the end of the world. And, although proceedings need not be as dark as, er, The Dark World, it is fairly disconcerting-nigh-disrespectful to have a film involving genocide, slavery, the inglorious death of the entirety of Thor's family(!!!), subplots unpacking Asgardian war-crimes and refugees (intriguing but under-explored), and, y'know, the whole end of days thing, be treated with such glib indifference by Waititi's customary impassive deadpan. Characters factually state that they are upset about their tribulations, but it seldom resonates, as Waititi, uncharacteristically, deprives them of the gently emotional character check-ins that elevate his more strictly comedic fare - Viago the vampire pining like a puppy at the window of his aging crush; Ricky Baker's crude, pyromaniac haiku betraying a lifetime of loneliness. Similarly, the film's editing is almost teasingly clumsy, careening between locations and disparate plot points (including a Benedict Cumberbatch cameo as riotously enjoyable as it is transparently superfluous) with a smirking nonchalance. If Waititi's intent was to have his cake and eat it too - taking the p*ss out of Thor while still delivering a straightforward Thor romp - he heartily delivers on the former, but too often at the behest of the latter.
Still, as the Grandmaster might chortle, you can debate academic semantics all day, but we all know why we're really here. And, in terms of exhilarating spectacle, Waititi kicks it out of the gladiatorial arena. From fire demons and subterranean dragons, to the impressively nuanced emotions of a certain jolly green giant, Ragnarok boasts some of the most exceptionally realized visual effects in a Marvel film, and Waititi draws a clever contrast between the pristine, techno- mythology panoramas of Asgard (which we finally see, beyond throne room and rainbow bridge!), and the junky, Jack Kirby cubism of Sakaar. Similarly, the film's combat, both in and out of the arena, is fast, furious, and engrossing, with operatically surreal touches - including a showdown between Hela's rippling waves of knives, spaceship lasers, a giant wolf, and two machine guns - keeping proceedings fun and fresh.
Chris Hemsworth has proved himself more than reliably adept at flexing comedic muscles in tandem with biceps. Nonetheless, this Thor is a few too many "Bros" and mugging punchlines away from his past self to fully invest in to the extent we know we can and should. Tom Hiddleston, conversely, continues to find new, compelling wrinkles in Loki - both comedic, as a begrudging whipping boy, and in quiet, crestfallen, recognition of his perennial self-sabotaging his secret aspirations of heroism. Mark Ruffalo is pristinely deadpan without overstaying his welcome, while playing his warring Hulk/Banner character beats of indignant, cavernous loneliness for all their worth. Cate Blanchett preens with masterful predatory menace, but feels almost criminally wasted as yet another frustratingly underdeveloped Marvel foe. Thankfully, Tessa Thompson is coolness personified as the grimly alcoholic Valkyrie, even if Karl Urban's Skurge feels a touch too goofy and hangdog, given his ferocious comic referent. That said, if Ragnarok unleashes one abiding gift unto the world, it's the most unapologetically unhinged Jeff Goldblum since he first growled like a dinosaur back in '93. Every microsecond of Grandmaster weirdness is a rainbow rose of enigmatic wisdom.
Thor: Ragnarok stands as a curious, slight overcompensation from a company fighting to appease a virtually built-in audience. Still, as a comedy first, superhero film second, it's an uproariously entertaining ride, albeit one that may leave comic purists wishing Waititi could have dialled down the silly or dialled up the emotion 20% for optimum Odinson. Still, as ThorFour may never grace cinemas, it's sufficient to crank the Led Zeppelin, and ride into the intergalactic sunset with him getting to enjoy himself for once. Excessively nitpicking a swan song so well-deserved would be "just ugh the worst."
-7.5/10