Laughter at the End of the World: A Review of Thor Ragnarok

By Emmanuel Gundran

For the third film in Marvel Studio’s Thor series, independent film director Taika Waititi shakes up the Thor formula with his distinctive vision. Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017) tells the story of Thor and Loki, played respectively by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, preventing the destruction of Asgard by Hela (Cate Blanchett), goddess of death. However, Hela destroys Thor’s hammer Mjolnir and Thor is banished to a junkyard planet known as Sakaar, and is forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena against his fellow Avenger, Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Thor must escape Sakaar and assemble a team to fight against Hela and her undead forces before the destruction of Asgard.

One way in which Waititi makes this entry in the long-running series of interconnected Marvel films unique is through emphasizing the connections and emotions of each of its characters. In his own words, he “started by identifying the more human, relatable moments [of the script] and trying to create those kind of almost like [his] independent films” (McIntyre, 2017). One moment he says is an example of this is a conversation that Hulk and Thor have, sitting on a bed together and apologizing after an argument they had earlier. When just looking at this scene from a surface-level point of view, it is hilarious that Hulk and Thor, two heroes who are more brute force than intellect, would have a conversation like this, but it is also great to see them have this genuine, intimate moment in a blockbuster film. There is also the scene in which Thor and Loki discover their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) sitting near the edge of a hill in Norway, watching the sea. Without spoiling too much, the scene starts the mending of ties between Thor and Loki, who have been at each others’ throats since the first Thor (Branagh, 2011).

Thor and Loki reuniting in Sakaar

The film in general gives much more development to Hulk than in any of the previous films, since the Hulk is considered to be a separate character from his alternate personality Bruce Banner. In one scene, Thor tells the Hulk that he likes him better than Bruce Banner because Banner is an obnoxious science nerd. Then, in another scene, Thor tells Bruce Banner that he likes him better than Hulk because the Hulk is a dumb brute who smashes things all the time. The quickest way to interpret the two scenes together is that it is Thor’s comedic attempt to gain Banner/Hulk’s friendship in the moment by playing to both personalities. However, another way to see this is as Thor’s attempts to reconcile the two sides Banner/Hulk. Thor’s supposedly negative comments about each of the sides of Banner/Hulk’s personalities can be twisted around to make positive commentary on them. While Banner’s reason and intellect can be useful for situations that call for careful planning and scientific explanation, Hulk’s strength is also useful for muscling the heroes out of tough confrontations with powerful enemies. It is this conclusion, I believe, that Banner reaches by the end of the film. After transforming out of the Hulk after two years on Sakaar, he is afraid of letting the Hulk out again, fearing that he would remain Hulk forever. Yet, in the moment of fighting off Hela’s undead army, he realizes that he needs the Hulk to fight his way through.

Thor and Hulk, having a bonding moment after their gladiatorial fight

The biggest way in which Waititi changes the way the Thor films are made is the increased emphasis on humor. Of course, humor is a distinctive characteristic of many other Marvel Studios films. Some may even say that this is what makes this film less like a unique entry in the franchise. However, what I think makes this film’s humor unique is the way it uses average, friendly conversation to create humorous moments. For every bombastic, physical moment, such as Thor dragging in the head of a giant dragon and comedically startling people nearby, there is a much lighter, smaller comedic moment afterward. In addition to Thor’s aforementioned bonding scene with Hulk, another scene that comes to mind is one when Thor is talking to another gladiator named Korg, amusingly played by Waititi himself, about his hammer. What ensues is a series of double entendres and Korg comparing Thor’s relationship with Mjolnir to a lost lover.

Korg, a gladiator who lives in Sakaar and befriends Thor.

At first glance at its advertising, Thor: Ragnarok looks like typical Marvel Studios fare and to some extent it is. Yet, it is a genuinely enjoyable and even heartfelt film that is a unique entry in the continually growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Works Cited:

McIntyre, Gina. “Taika Waititi: How I Made Thor: Ragnarok.” Rolling Stones, 1 Nov 2017. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/taika-waititi-how-i-made-thor-ragnarok-w510604