So there’s been some clamor that Thor: Ragnarok may be too funny. This sounds a lot like being too rich, too pretty, or having too much fun. But let’s spend a second to think about it. Did it stray too far into the comedy realm?
Are you thinking about it?
Well, I’m done thinking and my answer is simply: No. It’s not too funny.
Does it subvert some most of the more emotional moments of the movie? Yes. But that’s really not a problem. The tone of the previous Thor films were rather… Oh, what’s the technical term? I’ll go with “up their own butts.”
Marvel really needed to let the air out of the Thor (sub-)franchise. Taika Waititi, the director, did an aggressively awesome job at this.
But that’s not to say that I think all Marvel films should adopt this tone and make every movie they produce a straight-out comedy. Quite the opposite. My favorite Marvel film to date is Captain America: The Winter Solder… Not much comedy in that movie.
What I’m saying is that for this film, this Marvel character, outright comedy was a breath of fresh air.
The best thing is that they let the director leave his mark on the movie. Hopefully that’s the trend that will continue forward. The lesson to learn isn’t “make more comedies!” it’s “hire directors with a voice and let them speak.”