As usual, the inescapable headline praises made their way across my various news feeds. Thor Ragnarok was receiving near universal praise, the most common being that it was the most funny of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Even if you discount some of the hyperbole, it was quite the claim. And while the plot is a bit slow to start, I could see why people might feel this way, it’s filled to the brim with gags, quips, and jabs. But, honestly, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

I realize those are fighting words, and I have my reasons, but first let’s take a step back and give the film the praise it is due. It has an incredible color palette and set design. There is an amazing blend of cartoon realism and sci-fi fantasy that you don’t often come across. And to go with it, you have two of the strongest, indestructible bodies on the Avengers, which director Taika Waititi aimed to use the to smash into everything he could find. The soundtrack was also pretty great, but it bounces around from orchestral to digital to rock too often. The whole cast is still killing it on screen, especially Tessa Thompson and Cate Blanchett as Valkyrie and the big bad Hela. The only downside is they tend to lean a bit onto their comic characteristics a bit, Valkyrie and her alcohol, Hela with sarcasm, and it kind of keeps them from being a bit more. The film strikes a nice balance and every character has their moment to shine. It also has some great action pieces that slow down a bit to resemble Norse paintings. Or maybe just 300.

Alright, gloves on, fists up. Jeff Goldblum is a one note joke that gets a old shortly after his introduction. Every joke he delivers has only a slightly modified punchline, but he hits the joke with the same consistent tone it feels like I’m hearing the same thing over and over. Some people might get a kick out of the gimmick, but this is actually a problem throughout the entire film. Chris Hemsworth as Thor has great delivery and timing and there is no doubt that he and Tom Hiddleston as Loki have some of the greatest chemistry in the MCU, but so many of the jokes are too human and down to earth. This is supposed to be a sci-fi fantasy story, but all of the jokes could have been in any film, they miss out on the chance to run gags against this amazing scenery and universe. The Amazing Spider-man is a better backdrop for these character jokes, it’s about a kid from New York with superpowers, but Thor is about demigods who basically live in heaven.  

But, this isn’t about what they didn’t do. The jokes that ended up in the film take up too much of the center stage. Anytime the film is about to get epic, it’s undercut with a joke, sucking the atmosphere out of the scene. Can you imagine if in the Avengers, the moment where the Banner delivers his famous “I’m always angry” line, is undercut by a silly joke? We get so few moments to enjoy the fact that we are watching a Thor featured film. Waititi applied equal parts Spider-man Homecoming, Iron-man, and Guardians of the Galaxy, he left out trying to write a good Thor film. Every other feature film is soaked in the essence of its own universe, but Thor gets left on a junk planet that the film barely explores. It might as well have happened anywhere. The saving grace is how seamless the world and its inhabitants are portrayed. 

**The other films in the MCU have a refined balance between comedy and seriousness that helps the story resonate beyond the confines of its own film and universe. It also helps refine the characters for broader shorthand in team up films. And in the confines of the film itself, it helps temper a sense of growth for the characters, the narrative arch, and the theme. 

It’s difficult to critique this film on its own because its part of a broader narrative and has so little of its own that it becomes difficult to separate it. Its just a pile of funny bones and little meat. It keeps the pulse beating in the MCU, but the Thor universe is dead on arrival. Thor also has his own rich history and the film just paints broad strokes over it possibly because of how poorly the other two films were perceived. Or possibly because the second film spent much more time explaining it.

There are some pretty dire consequences in this film for many members of the cast, and yet almost all of them are shrugged to the side immediately. This entire film is almost of no effect to the MCU as whole save for a single plot point that the film is completely flippant about and may not even make a feature outside of a few lines of dialog in future films. And precisely because of that glib attitude throughout the film that by its end, you wonder of its of any concern to Thor. If he returns dark and brooding in other film outings, what will have been the point of this film in the greater context. Judged on its merits alone, this film is cheeky and fun despite some grim outcomes, but it often sweeps them under the rug in favor of banter. In the wider context of the franchise (of which this film is very aware and is almost a necessity to follow any of said banter) its a stray hair on any otherwise finely permed head.

So, this boils down to a film you can have fun with, but it misses the mark on its universe almost entirely. The film is still about Thor and the MCU, but almost as a consequence and just left to set as a framework, focusing on showing off the actors comic ability instead. Its ultimately a lost opportunity, like going to a Power Rangers film and focusing on romance instead. The film is fun and I think people will enjoy it for what it is, but for this reviewer, the wider context of Thor is lost for the sake of a couple of throw away jokes.

~* 7/10 *~

**EDITED TO ADD: After some conversations with a few other fans, it occurred to me I had further thoughts on the overall tone of the film vs. the consequences of the characters actions. And to change a blurry title card.