2017's the Infinity Saga in general. Taika Waititi was brought on to direct and injected a generous dose of his vibrant personality and humor into the film from both sides of the camera, mostly to the delight of the fans.
It was a huge hit and broadened the potential of the MCU. But the more comedic and improvisational style also took a lot of creative liberties, some logic lines were crossed in the name of comedy, and the overall tone didn't jive with the direction the saga was headed.
The Humor: Better
The decision to make Ragnarok a comedy and let the director improvise with the actors made for a unique and refreshing milestone on the sometimes brilliant, sometimes arduous journey through The Infinity Saga.
The franchise's light-hearted PG13 comic-book style - chosen over the gritty realistic style seen in DC's better films such as Joker - makes for world-class superhero movies, but doesn't leave much room for sincerity, especially when it comes to the villains, so it makes sense to approach the writing from a more comedic angle. This style brought us a laugh-riot of a movie, and it was a joy to see Jeff Goldblum let off the leash.
The Humor: Worse
The humor may have been well-executed, and it brought us some hilarious moments, such as Hulk's spectacular entrance into the film's climax. But it wasn't the correct kind of humor. There's plenty of comedy dotted throughout the other MCU movies, but this humor is usually character-driven, like in Thor's first outing when he marched into the pet shop and demanded a horse. This style of humor is derived from a character being in unfamiliar surroundings.
Going full comedy with the dialogue and performances turns all your characters into comedians, and though this leaves more scope for hilarity, it isn't as natural or realistic and the movie becomes more difficult to immerse yourself in. The emphasis on comedy was too strong for the film to be taken seriously on any other level.
The Visuals: Better
Ragnarok also had awesome cinematography going for it, that still stands out even among it's MCU peers. The Thor effects went up a notch to match his superpowers, and C.G.I Hulk looked better than ever.
The bold uses of color and shot composition gave the film a distinctive look and unique atmosphere, which adds personality. The effect-heavy action scenes with the likes of Hulk and Hela were seamless, and the battle between Hela and The Valkyries was stunning. The less comedic movies on the MCU slate could learn from this one.
Thor's Character: Worse
The most jarring thing about Ragnarok has to be the sudden shift in Thor's character. In the first movie in particular, the story and the humor were driven by him being the straight man in a world that was alien to him. Chris Hemsworth played it well, bringing some depth and charm to the iconic character.
Ragnarok suddenly presented not just Chris Hemsworth the comedian, but Thor the comedian. It's way out of character for him, especially considering the severity of what happens in the movie, and Hemsworth would have been much better utilized if he played it dramatically, and the humor would've come from his misery juxtaposed with the likes of Jeff Goldblum's Grand Master.
Taika Waititi: Better
Before Ragnarok, Taika Waititi was primarily known for he nailed it.
The film sky-rocketed Waititi's fame, and quite rightly, as he proved to be such a strong screen personality that even an MCU movie couldn't contain him. And his voice work as Korg was one of the most memorable things about the movie.
New Characters: Worse
Ragnarok also brought some colorful new characters into the mix, including Cate Blanchett's Hela, Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, Taika Waititi's Korg and Karl Urban's Skurge. The new actors enjoyed themselves, but considering the stellar cast the writers really could have stepped it up a notch.
Cate Blanchett as Hela in particular was wasted since the entire film derails from the main conflict for most of its runtime and we barely spend any time with her. Once they found the tone of the film, they should have saved Blanchett and the Goddess of Death for a sequel that takes death more seriously.
Thor's New Powers: Better
One of the lasting side-effects of Ragnarok is that Thor can do Raiden stuff now. The movie muddies the lore of how important Thor and his hammer are, but in the process, his power to harness lightning reaches new heights as he forgoes Mjölnir entirely (thanks to Cate Blanchett destroying it) and absorbs lightning straight into his body. He is now one with the lightning.
This elevates him into a new tier of badassery, to the necessary level where he can believably throw down with an Infinity Stone wielding Thanos.
Family Drama: Worse
The volatile relationship between Odin and his 2 sons is one of the strongest and most consistent relationships shown in the saga. Odin's wise but arrogant, Thor's strong but naive, and Loki's intelligent but jealous and dishonorable. They play off each other perfectly, in no small part due to the skill and chemistry of the cast. It was this relationship that drove the plot of Thor and The Avengers, 2 of the objectively strongest films in the series.
Throwing Cate Blanchett into the mix as Anthony Hopkin's estranged daughter/the goddess of death should've made for the juiciest family drama ever seen on screen, and could've raised some strong questions about family and honor. Plus last we saw Loki he had done away with Odin and was posing as him on the throne. But the comedic tone of the movie destroyed all of this potential, not quite to Batman v Superman levels but it's still a waste.
Action Scenes: Better
Every superhero movie needs to be fundamentally satisfying on a superficial level, especially in the modern MCU. All Endgame's depth and subversion would be for nothing if it didn't tick this box. This may also be why audiences allowed Nolan's Batman Trilogy more creative leeway than Todd Philips' Joker.
Ragnarok was all over the place in of storytelling, character, and tone; but if you need a popcorn movie the action set-pieces, the anachronistic soundtrack, the visual effects, and the comedy are all glorious, and meld together into cinematic dynamite.
Knowing Its Place: Worse
As a movie in its own right, Thor: Ragnarok is Hela fun and stands on its own 2 feet no problem. But as a small cog in a larger machine, it's so ineffective you could get rid of it completely and the machine would function a lot smoother. As well as taking a sharp turn into comedy just in time for the Russo brothers to veer the opposite direction entirely into thoughtful, gritty, existential territory, it took Thor's character in a direction he couldn't come back from.
Hemsworth does fine with the comedy, but making Thor the go-to comic relief is ill-advised. Thor also discovered that he never needed his hammer and the power was inside him all along, only to go to near-suicidal lengths to have a new one made in Infinity War because all of a sudden a hammer's important again.
