Thor: Ragnarok Review - 9 Ups & 4 Downs

Ups

9. Chris Hemsworth's Performance

As Waititi's Civil War short films proved, Chris Hemsworth has been hiding some wonderfully honed comedy chops under that Asgardian beard secretly. He was already leaning into a comedic role in his Avengers appearances (mostly because of the culture clash element of his story) and he's taken fully off the leash here to brilliant effect.

His timing - from the very first scene - is precise and can be devastatingly effective, and he's obviously benefited massively from working with Waititi. It's not an entirely frivolous comedy performance either, though, as Thor goes on a well-defined evolutionary arc - similar to a war-time rebel leader, basically - as we finally get an answer to what it means to be worthy. And none of the laughs distract from that.

To be fair, it feels a little unfair to single him out - Mark Ruffalo is brilliant too, Tom Hiddleston is his usual self (with a little more fun thrown in), Cate Blanchett is an irresistible marvel and Taika Waititi is a scene-stealer. And of course, Jeff Goldblum is on great form, as you'd expect.