Review of Thor: Ragnarok (2017) by Garry A — 26 Feb 2018

Thor Ragnarok is the perfect example of what 'can' happen, when you throw a big money franchise, the way of a talented director, who previously has operated on small budget pictures. It can go wrong - for every Taika Waititi or, (arguably) Peter Jackson or indeed James Gunn, there is a Josh Trank (Fantastic Four) or Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) - directors who find themselves overwhelmed by the new toys at their disposal.

This isn't the case for Waititi who has merely expanded on his previous work, with literally no regression at all. He has produced the most epically 'fun' Marvel film yet, by infusing a pretty stereotypical comic book script, with the wicked humour and wry wit seen in his previous two films - the equally brilliant 'What we do in the Shadows' and 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople', as well as borrowing a handful of actors from both movies.

I tend to approach *any* film with a running time over two hours, with a sense of pessimism from the off, but it is to this film's credit, that it never drags, and there is not a wasted moment. You could argue that the 'Hela' plot line doesn't 'really' need to be in the film at all - they could have made Jeff Goldblum's wonderfully camp 'Grandmaster' the flick's main protagonist, but I'm guessing it was a compromise the director had to make to the studio, to keep the franchise rolling into another sequel.

That said, as mentioned, the film doesn't feel long. I go back to that noun again - Fun. The Thor films have pretty much always had a touch of comedy about them (certainly Branagh's 'original' film) but here everything is turned up to 11, with slapstick and innuendo commonplace throughout. It doesn't overdo either though, and there are more subtle, knowing moments in there to break it up, but I can't remember any other comic book film alluding to masturbatory humour or showing the Hulk's arse, which automatically raises the bar for any superhero film to come. The cast all seem like they are having as much fun making it, as we are watching it too, which is always a good sign. A triumph.