Thor: Ragnarok

Doomsday: T-Minus 22 Weeks

Welcome to week 17 of the 39 week countdown to Avengers: Doomsday. I’m watching the MCU films in order of release, one per week, in the buildup to December 17, when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters. This countdown will culminate the following day, with my thoughts on that film.

Thor’s first two films are a mixed bag. The first was good, but not great, and the second is among the weakest entries in the franchise. It is fortunate that they came after the wildly successful Iron Man films. I don’t think the MCU would have gained the traction it did had two of the first three films been Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Luckily, the Iron Man films built up a lot of audience good will, and paved the way for the successes to follow. And then it was time for a third Thor movie.

Shockingly, Marvel gave us one of their finest films, outdoing even the Iron Man movies. Chris Hemsworth is finally given a version of Thor he can lean into, exercising both his serious acting chops as well as his comedic abilities, and Tom Hiddleston is in peak Loki form. They are assisted by Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, and Tessa Thompson, all under the direction of Taika Waititi. I knew him only from his vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, and he brings that same brand of humor to this film.

At this point, Marvel was reinventing itself with every film. They served up an espionage thriller, a comedic space romp, and a high school coming-of-age story, each one totally different from the other, yet unified by some indefinable thread of Marvel-ness that runs through the entire franchise. With Thor: Ragnarok they went for dry, absurdist humor. If Spider-Man: Homecoming was John Hughes meets Wes Anderson, Thor: Ragnarok shares its DNA with Monty Python’s Flying Circus. If you dig that sort of slow-burning, intellectual wit, you will love this film.

Jeff Goldblum steals every scene he’s in. His reactions at times seem almost ad-libbed, and fit with the absurdity of the character he plays. Here’s one such moment.

Cate Blanchett is the primary adversary here, at least in terms of her level of threat, if not her time on screen. She plays Thor’s heretofore unmentioned older sister, Hela, the Goddess of Death. Long imprisoned by Odin, she’s freed when the All-Father dies. Her first action is to crush mighty Mjölnir between her fingers. Clearly she’s a force to be reckoned with! While Thor and Loki are trapped on Goldblum’s crazy planet, she’s busy conquering Asgard. Blanchett handles her role with aplomb, and never veers into camp territory, and is suitably terrifying as the goddess of death.

When Ruffalo’s Hulk shows up, things kick into high gear. Thor’s gladiatorial duel with the green monster is a thing of beauty, and we finally learn just who is “the strongest Avenger,” despite some meddling on the part of Goldblum’s Grandmaster. Waititi’s handling of the Hulk is pitch perfect, and the character’s evolution since we last saw him is believable. He’s gone from being a monosyllabic rage monster to a creature with the demeanor of a petulant toddler. I wish the MCU had done more with him after this.

How Good Is It?

It’s excellent, and surely one of the very best MCU films. It perfectly blends humor and whimsy with ferocious action. People are dying. An entire race is in jeopardy. Thor no long wields Mjölnir. In short, things are terrible. But Thor has been trapped on a comical planet, and must deal with Jeff Goldblum’s zaniness in order to return to Asgard and try to save his people. While it appears effortless due to Waititi’s deft handling, it’s incredibly difficult to balance such disparate plots without faltering. The film pulls it off perfectly. There is never even one moment where it feels imbalanced, or “cringe.” The seesaw perfectly teeters between serious and comedic.

What Did Giacomo Think?

“The overall story was cool. When Thor realized Mjölnir wasn’t his source of power, he became even stronger. But when he learned Mjölnir originally belonged to Hela, he knew he couldn’t beat her, and had to give up Asgard. But he saved the people, with the help of friends who sacrificed themselves.”

My Watch History

I watched this at its Thursday night opening, on November 2, 2017. Letterboxd tells me I watched on July 8, 2024, and again this past Monday night. I watched one or two times between 2017 and 2024, butI couldn’t tell you when. I know I’ve watched it at least four times.

How Did I Watch?

I own this on a Blu-ray, but not a 4k UHD Blu-ray. If you have been following along with the entire countdown, you know this is the first MCU film I don’t own on 4k. That’s strange, as it’s one of my favorites, but it’s because I bought it long ago, before 4k was all the rage. You can click the image below to buy a copy, but the link will take you to the 4k version. You can always click to the cheaper, regular Blu-ray if you want the same one I have. (I get nothing if you do, so this isn’t a ploy to make money.)

Best Scene in the Movie

This movie is one “best scene” after another. The opening sequence, Thor’s conversation with Surtur, sets the stage for the mix of humor and action to come, and could easily be my choice, as could the Asgardian play featuring Matt Damon (the original Loki?), as Loki, Luke Hemsworth as Thor, and Sam Neill as Odin. However, I had to go with the real Thor and Loki. The brothers. The scene starts with a tender, bonding moment, then quickly switches gears into humor. Get help!

Will This Tie Into Doomsday?

There are some elements of mysticism, and a brief peek into the Asgardian afterlife, which could maybe, somehow, possibly be relevant to Avengers: Doomsday, but I doubt very much that will be the case. Beyond that, it seems that little, if anything, that transpires herein will tie into the upcoming Avengers film.

How May Stars Does It Get?

While contemplating this project my biggest question was whether or not I should rate the films. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m terrible at assigning films a score. I either like ‘em or I don’t. However, I know readers like ratings, so I’ve come up with something close. I’m going to rank the films as I go along. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, and with each week it grows more difficult.

The Updated Ranking

1. The Avengers

2. Spider-Man: Homecoming

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

4. Thor: Ragnarok

5. Guardians of the Galaxy

6. Captain America: Civil War

7. Ant-Man

8. Iron Man 2

9. Iron Man

10. Avengers: Age of Ultron

11. Iron Man 3

12. Thor

13. Doctor Strange

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

15. The Incredible Hulk

16. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

17. Thor: The Dark World

What’s Next

Next week I’ll write about the 18th installment in the MCU, Black Panther.