Thor: Ragnarok

For a corner of the Marvel Universe full of gods, Vikings, and magical worlds and beings, the Thor movies are rather…small. The first Thor seemed more like a tie-in for The Avengers than a complete picture. The sequel The Dark World gave him a proper whole film, but only just so, and seems to be regarded as one of the lesser Marvel movies. Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god gets to participate in The Avengers movies, at least, but still has yet to experience as strong a character arc as some of his fellow heroes.

Now the series is a trilogy is with Ragnarok, hardly as epic as the name suggests. Oh, it’s as still big and technically solid as the rest of the Marvel films, and as bright and colorful and full of visual delights as the Guardians of the Galaxy entries. But the stakes of the picture never seem high, even if they are a lot of fun.

The picture catches up with Thor at the onset of Ragnarok, the apocalyptic event in which his long-banished sister, the goddess of death Hela (Cate Blanchett), returns to destroy the realm of Asgard. But our hero is cast away early and spends most of the running time on the planet Sakaar, enslaved and forced to fight as a gladiator by the ruling Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). From here he must escape with the aid of his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the Asgardian exile Valkyrie (Tess Thompson), and a surprising old acquaintance: The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who made his way to the planet since we last saw him.

The best part of the Thor series has been its humor, so knowing what works, this one gives the audience what they want. The scenes on Sakaar are never too serious, making jokes out of everything from plot exposition to the (standard Marvel exciting) action scenes. The interplay between the Marvel veterans is as charming as ever, and new players—particularly Goldblum and a minor character one might described as “Drax-lite”—fit right in. Also, the cameo game is on point, one-upping the last Marvel film yet again.

Back on Asgard it’s a different story. Surprisingly, the dark storyline here and the lighter one following the title character don’t clash too starkly. But despite what the narrative tells us is happening, none of what plays out onscreen ever seems like an apocalyptic event that earns the name “Ragnarok.” It all seems much smaller, rather insignificant. And Blanchett never gets enough screen time or scenery to chew. When her plotline merges once again with Thor’s in the final act, it results in an anticlimactic final battle and denouement.

Ragnarok is still a great time, probably the most entertaining of the Thor movies. Just…still kind of small, when the title suggests something so big. And Thor is still yet to have a great, gripping emotional moment we’ve seen for Iron Man, Captain America, and even Star-Lord in the tenderer moments of the Guardians series. Hope Infinity War has room for him.