Indie director Taika Waititi’s offbeat sense of humour turns out to be just what the God of Thunder needed, writes Pippa Bailey
Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as Thor, the God of Thunder
Thor is often considered the weakest link in the Marvel franchise: entertaining enough but bland and ultimately forgettable. But – despite the loss of the saving grace of the previous two, that glorious hair – Thor: Ragnarok is a riotously fun film that I consumed avidly and with a huge grin on my face throughout. This time, in a somewhat unlikely partnership, indie director Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows) is on board – and it turns out his trademark offbeat humour is just what the God of Thunder needed.
Four years after Thor: The Dark World, Asgard, home to the Norse gods, is under threat from Hela – the villainous and vampy God of Death, played by a deliciously good Cate Blanchett – who is scheming to conquer the nine realms. The problem is that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is being held captive on the planet Sakaar and is without his mighty hammer. He must somehow escape and return to Asgard to defeat Hela before she brings about the titular Ragnarok, a sort of Asgardian version of the apocalypse. The resulting romp is an uproariously funny riot of colour and sound that reunites Thor with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), with some truly excellent cameos along the way.
Thor with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston)
It may be a slightly hammy plot, but it’s more than saved by Waititi’s wacky sense of humour. Where the previous Thor films perhaps took themselves a little too seriously, this, at times, feels like a parody of a superhero movie. Waititi is equally as comfortable navigating the visual spectacle of battles in the heavens and the intimately charming and comic bromance between Thor and his ‘friend from work’ the Hulk. Hemsworth, given the right material, is a revelation; his comedic timing and delivery are impeccable.
There had been some concern that the absence of Natalie Portman’s Jane and Jaimie Alexander’s Sif left a conspicuous love-interest-shaped hole in the Thor series, but I am pleased to report that the film is all the better without a strong romantic thread. Instead, Tessa Thompson’s heavy-drinking Valkyrie is headstrong, knows how to handle a massive spaceship gun and does it all with a knowing smile on her face. In fact, she’s everything I’d hoped Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman would be. Special mention, too, to Jeff Goldblum, who, like Blanchett, clearly revelled in his role.
In what is surely an almost unheard of case of a third film being better than the previous two, Thor: Ragnarok is undeniably the best time I’ve ever had in a Marvel movie: splashy, wholehearted and rip-roaringly funny.