Thor: Ragnarok was a huge change from the previous Thor movies. After the more serious tone of Thor and Thor: The Dark World, this movie felt much more colorful, funny and energetic. It still had serious moments, but most of the time it felt like Marvel had decided to let Thor have a lot more fun.
Chris Hemsworth also seemed much more comfortable in the role here. Thor had always been capable of making jokes, but Ragnarok gave him a much bigger chance to show his funny side. His reactions, especially when things did not go the way he expected, made me enjoy the character more than I had in the earlier movies.
The movie also looked very different. The colors were much brighter, the worlds were more unusual and the whole thing had a strong comic book feeling. I especially liked how the movie used bright colors instead of making every dangerous situation look dark and serious.
One of the biggest reasons the humor worked so well was Thor's interaction with the other characters. His relationship with Loki was still complicated, but their conversations had a much lighter feeling than before. They could argue one moment and then somehow end up working together, which made their scenes fun to watch.
Then there was Hulk.
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Seeing Thor and Hulk together was one of the things I was most excited about, especially after their short interaction in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Their dynamic was completely different from Thor's usual interactions with other characters. There was a funny rivalry between them, but there was also a sense that they understood each other in their own strange way.
The gladiator-style action was my favorite part of the movie. The setting itself was already interesting, but watching Thor finally face Hulk in that arena was a lot of fun. It was one of those MCU moments where the audience already knew both characters very well, so seeing them finally go against each other felt special.
I also liked Valkyrie. Tessa Thompson gave the character a strong personality, and she did not feel like someone who was simply there to help Thor. She had her own history and attitude, and I liked the way she gradually became part of the group.
Cate Blanchett was also a lot of fun as Hela. She had a strong screen presence, and I liked the way she carried herself whenever she appeared. The character felt powerful without needing to constantly prove it through long speeches or complicated explanations.
Another thing I enjoyed was the use of comedy during action scenes. Ragnarok often took a serious situation and suddenly added a ridiculous reaction or piece of dialogue. Normally that could have ruined the mood, but here it worked because the whole movie had already established that kind of personality.
The movie was much more relaxed than the earlier Thor films. It did not spend every scene trying to remind how important everything was. Even when the stakes were high, there was still room for the characters to joke around.
Overall, Thor: Ragnarok was the most entertaining Thor movie for me. It had a great combination of comedy, action, colorful visuals and strong character interactions. Chris Hemsworth finally got to show much more of Thor's funny personality, while Hulk, Loki and Valkyrie added even more energy to the movie.
What I liked most was that the movie did not completely forget the character while changing the tone. It made Thor funnier and more relaxed, but there was still enough action underneath everything to make the important moments matter.
After the first two Thor movies, this felt like a fresh start for the character. It was loud, colorful, weird and sometimes completely ridiculous, but that was exactly what made it so much fun to watch.
All photos of the post are collected from The Movie Database and/or IMDB.
Until next time.
Rating: 90/100
