Of the Avengers cast, Thor and the Incredible Hulk are the least appealing characters to me. As superheroes, they either lack the complex moral structures of Iron Man and Captain America or the redeeming qualities of Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

from imdb.com

The proof is in the pudding. After back-to-back Thor snores and one forgotten Hulk flick, Marvel finally threw their hands up and said, let’s give the fans what they didn’t know they wanted.

Marvel presents, Thor: Ragnarok, a shockingly good third installment in the Thor series that features Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Valkyrie (the scene-stealing Tessa Thompson), Loki (a charming Hiddleston performance), a Dr. Strange cameo, and a lively cast of characters that kept my attention throughout.

What Ragnarok does best is it gets the most out of its characters without completely shilling them to a point of being incessant. In layman’s terms, the supporting roles are all fun and memorable without ever being overbearing.

The intent of Ragnarok appeared to be to create a flippant film, which is an odd way of describing a thematic element of cinema, but it’s appropriate here. Thor opens the film from the jump taking nothing seriously. The tone was ripped straight from Deadpool crossed with the animated TV show Archer. Thor only takes his hero duties seriously when it’s an absolute must (which is almost never).

Early on, Thor and Loki’s father, Odin, who was the King of Asgard, passes and Anthony Hopkins does his usual sage old man routine where he says important things that will be somewhat important later. Thor and Loki learn that Odin had a secret firstborn daughter, Hela, the Goddess of Death, who was locked away by Odin when he deemed her too dangerous. Hela returns upon Odin’s death and wrecks Thor and Loki sending them through space where they both end up on the planet of misfit toys. Meanwhile, Hela takes over Asgard and she establishes herself as evil and not to be trifled with.

Fighting scenes in Ragnarok are well-crafted and look like an extremely well-choreographed video game sequence.

Jeff Goldblum plays an eccentric version of himself, dubbed the Grandmaster, as the host of a gladiator tournament on the lawless dumpster planet Sakaar Thor and Loki are marooned on. This is where Valkyrie encounters her fellow Asgardians. We’re also introduced to Hulk here.

What Ragnarok has achieved at this point is a hurtling pace where not much dialogue or screen time is wasted. There’s numerous quips and laughs along the way, many delivered by the rock man Korg. Thor and Loki share some great moments, with the constant underlying subplot that Loki will pull a Loki at any moment.

It is also established that the Hulk has been in his Hulk form for two years, as the gladiator champion of the Grandmaster’s circus fighting attraction. When we eventually get Ruffalo’s Banner, he continues to be the meek unassuming nerd scientist we expect him to be.

The winning formula for Thor Ragnarok is director Taika Waititi (who ironically directed the disastrous Green Lantern movie) works within the confines of a script and characters to never go beyond the reaches of lighthearted fun and action. This is the lane in which Thor and Hulk exist.

It’s not even that Thor Ragnarok is a quote-unquote refreshing film in the ever-growing Marvel brand. Black Panther didn’t deviate far from the Marvel brand or style either. Black Panther’s critical success was achieved by getting the most out of an exhilarating Michael B. Jordan performance. For Thor Ragnarok, the idea was to leapfrog off the Guardians of the Galaxy tongue n’ cheek comedy with fluid action sequences.

Ragnarok is definitely one of the more rewatchable Marvel films in the anthology.