Fun, funny, with moments of aesthetically pleasing badassery (like the slow motion assault of the Valkyries on the Goddess of Death) set to classic tunes, 'Thor: Ragnarok' applies the winning formula of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to select members of the more mainstream fighting team, Avengers, with fantastic results. Handily bests all of the recent Avengers flicks.
While some may find the non-stop comedy of 'Ragnarok' to be too much humor for their super hero stories, I found it refreshing. Buried in among the laughs were also some serious gestures toward themes of family, friendship, and redemption, both personal and civilizational.
There was even some commentary, probably accidental, on Christianity as a civilizational force for good. We learn that the rather tame and benign Asgardian regime that Odin presides over was preceded by a much bloodier age of conquest and death, which Odin, having had a conversion of heart, has been attempting to redeem. This was dramatized by our villainess, Hela, demolishing a mural in Asgard's throne room depicting the peaceful age to reveal an older mural beneath it memorializing the imperialistic age. The newer mural depicted the figures as bedecked with shimmering golden halos, as in Christian iconography, which the mural beneath lacked. Perhaps I am over interpreting the symbolism, but I'd like to think that this was intended to signify that this second age is the Christendom that resulted from the barbarian hordes of Europe having been baptized into the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace, ushering in a world where peace and shared humanity is valued over war and spoils.
To it's credit, the film, while criticizing the sins of the earlier age, does not undermine the legitimacy of the peaceful Asgard, despite how it came to be, nor does it agree with Hela when she sneers at the civilizational redemption sought by Odin as insincere or false. There are many in our culture today who need to hear that message: that all civilizations, including our own, have sins in their past, but that does not make them unworthy of the virtues they may possess here and now.
All in all, an enjoyable film, eminently entertaining.
★★★ (3/3 stars)