Thor Ragnarok, a fun, solid time at the cinema that also shakes it up

For personal entertainment I grade superhero films on a curve. As a film for other people we grade them as most folks would determine the enjoyment of the movie. That’s important to admit, especially when you’re talking about this genre of films. Thor Ragnarok enters this arena, both literally and figuratively as an example whose predecessors were graded on such a curve. Characters won’t die, heroes don’t change and their movies have an all too familiar pattern about them. That’s a shame because the medium that brought forth these stories; comic books has given people memories-or at least the template to have stories and characters that are fun, adventurous and a joy to escape with.

That is what’s so refreshing about Thor: Ragnarok; it has a swagger, wink and nod throughout its 210 running time that makes it fly by effortlessly. This is the fun, entertaining, big spectacle movie that evokes the charm of the first Iron Man film, while pushing forward two supporting heroes into a main role that suits them both.

It’s especially gratifying to see Thor: Ragnarok after Spider-Man: Homecoming. That film had similar elements of fun, but retained a slightly more dangerous edge in its villains, while maintaining a movie that was OK for middle school kids to watch. The other end of the spectrum has Wolverine and Deadpool, both proved that superhero films didn’t have to keep it in the PG-13 realm to be entertaining.

What we have with Marvel Studios is a leveling of the pool. It’s established that some of the films will be geared to older audiences, while the majority of them will be soft or harder edged PG-13 movies. They’re also secure enough to shake up the formula, which is what they intentionally did in Thor: Ragnarok.

This is a funny film. It’s also a science-fiction film with great special effects and whip smart dialogue. This is also a Thor film that ties together a loose end from Age of Ultron in a satisfying manner that makes this the Hulk film that Hulk fans have wanted to see.

The humor in Thor: Ragnarok is not at the expense due to a lack of action. It occurs naturally through Thor’s dialogue, usually with Hulk, that will be easily understood by non-superhero movie goers. This can be your first Marvel movie and you’ll understand the vast majority of what’s happening on screen.

I saw the first Thor and forgot most of it. The second film I didn’t see. I haven’t seen Age of Ultron and was disappointed by Avengers: Civil War. You don’t need to be a fan boy or fan girl to love this film.

Having said that, uber fans of Marvel films will also love Thor: Ragnarok. You’ll catch the fine plot points about Asgard that most of us missed and relish seeing the characters from the previous films.

Everybody who sees the film will also love Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster. He’s the ruler of Sakaar and does his cavalier, scenery chewing best in every scene he’s in and more. Even the scenes that he’s not in, but have his ships, provide some of the best, most unexpected laughs of the film.

So, is Thor: Ragnarok a comedy or superhero film? Likewise, is it great because it’s the funnies Marvel film?  To the later point, that’s just a coincidence, had the rest of the film not worked the funny dialogue would’ve seemed distant and unattached. This is just the thing that Marvel needed to shake up the hammer yielding one’s films, in addition to setting up Avengers: Infinity War. In looking at the totality of the Marvel film’s to date, it’s clear that Kevin Feige had a very clear vision that shaped things leading up to Infinity War, but also was quite open to making different films that can change.

For us, Thor: Ragnarok is the first film in years that I wanted to watch again immediately after seeing it. This is a fresh piece of fun cinema that will satisfy casual film-goers and superhero fandoms alike. The violence in the film is typical of a superhero movie with large scenes of combat fighting, a couple close ups of sword play, arena fighting and bodies being thrown. There is some language, or more specifically, phrases said that you wouldn’t want most 8 year old kids saying again. We almost took our 8 year old and were glad that we didn’t. Ages 10 and up will be fine with the language, action sequences and content in Thor: Ragnarok.