"Thor: Ragnarok” was a vast improvement over the first two Thor installments, much of it thanks to director Taika Waititi (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and “What We Do in the Shadows”) who infused the proceedings with a healthy dose of wacky meta-humor. This latest “Thor” followed in the footsteps of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Deadpool,” Ant-Man” and, more recently, “Spider-Man: Homecomin g,” by not taking itself so damn seriously.
The game-changing 2014 “Guardians of the Galaxy” sparked a new attitude in Marvel movies — why be so serious about a movie essentially based on a comic book? The DCEU seems to have gotten the memo as well with last year’s entertaining, highly successful and dour-free “Wonder Woman.” Waititi's "Ragnarok," a colorful, entertaining and not-so-serious work, was the kind of film that could build his career and future in droves. Marvel isn't done with him either, especially with James Gunn now out of the picture.
The artistic success of 'Ragnarok' has to be commended because, well, the first two 'Thor' films were nothing-burgers, average Marvel flicks that barely broke ground. Now, in a new interview with GQ, Thor himself Chris Hemsworth is giving an honest assessment of those forst few films, and explains why he knew they needed to change things for ‘Ragnarok.’ “The first one is good, the second one is meh,” Hemsworth says. “What masculinity was, the classic archetype—it just all starts to feel very familiar. I was so aware that we were right on the edge.”
Doesn't that say it all?