History YMMV / ThorRagnarok

** This gem of a line from Thor to the Hulk: "I went on a journey of self-discovery, where I found you."

** After Creator/JamesGunn was controversially fired from ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' due to the content of some of his old tweets, many fans clamored for Creator/TaikaWaititi to replace him in the director's chair, due to the tone of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' being quite similar to this film. Although he would shoot down this idea due not wanting to take ownership of Gunn's characters, Waititi would end up getting to play with the Guardians anyways in ''Thor: Love and Thunder''.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Eons ago, [[spoiler: Odin had a daughter, Hela. They conquered many worlds together until Odin either no longer found her useful or had a HeelRealization. Hela didn't agree with his newfound approach to peace, so he sealed her away. She will be freed when he dies, and she will claim her birthright in Asgard]].\\
'''You'd Expect''': Odin would have warned his sons ''way'' before [[spoiler:his death]]. They had all the time in the world to prepare for this battle.\\
'''Instead''': Odin [[spoiler:didn't, finding Hela's legacy shameful.]]\\
'''The Result''': Hela curbstomps her [[spoiler:younger brothers]] before they can even put up a decent fight. She then invades Asgard and starts slaughtering anyone who goes against her. [[spoiler:Heimdall is the OnlySaneMan who starts rescuing the Asgardian citizens and hiding them.]]
** [[spoiler:Loki has been impersonating Odin between movies.]]\\
'''You'd Expect''': He would keep his ego in check.\\
'''Instead''': [[spoiler:Loki starts up BreadAndCircuses while ordering Asgard to mourn the fallen trickster, building statues and performing dramas of his (faked) death. He also banishes Sif, who would have seen through the ruse.]]\\
'''The Result''': Thor busts him. Also, as the only positive consequence, Sif is spared [[spoiler:when Hela emerges and slaughters Thor's friends and allies, only to be wiped out by Thanos' fingersnap]].
** Hela needs to open the Bifrost so she can send her army throughout the universe. She discovers [[spoiler:Heimdall stole the key.]]\\
'''You’d Expect''': Hela, clearly knowing what the Tesseract is, would use that instead. Alternately, she could have used Gungnir, Odin's spear, which could also operate the Bifrost.\\
'''Instead''': She [[spoiler:holds everyone in Asgard hostage and threatens to kill them all until someone tells her where it is.]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Valkyrie. Although she has a tragic backstory, she also spends most of her time in Sakaar capturing innocent people to enslave them and send them to fight to the death in the arena. She never shows any remorse for her actions, and no one calls her out on it, not even the gladiators. The ensuing MoralDissonance leaves a bad taste in some viewers' mouths.

** [[RockMonster Korg]], an [[CloudCuckoolander eccentric]], [[GentleGiant good-natured]] would-be [[ManifestoMakingMalcontent revolutionary]] played by Creator/TaikaWaititi--what's not to love? His good friend Miek is also rather popular as well.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Early in the film, Skurge shows off a pair of automatic rifles and brags that he got them from Texas. The weekend of the American opening premiere, [[http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html a mass shooting occurred in San Antonio, Texas]].
* HesJustHiding: So far in the franchise, Hela is the closest thing to a physical personification of Death, and many fans have jumped on the theory that she is at least an incarnation of the entity Thanos seeks to court. Because of this, her defeat at the hands of Surtur becomes a case of NeverFoundTheBody for those who stick to the theory. Even with the eventual reveal that the MCU version of Thanos doesn't entirely share his comic counterpart's romantic obsession with Death, at least in the literal sense.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: ''Ragnarok'''s poster was acclaimed upon release, with its stylistic touches and organized structure being positively received in contrast to [[https://codesignmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1507400684_movie-posters-spider-man-homecoming-2017.jpg some of]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDRyxJ5W0AEgFHu.jpg:large the posters]] for ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''. However, it turned out to be the first of many of a very similar style, with [[Film/BlackPanther2018 with]] [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar six]] [[Film/AntManAndTheWasp of]] [[Film/AvengersEndgame the]] [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome next]] [[Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings eight]] MCU films having at least one poster structured similarly to ''Ragnarok''. This has provided additional fuel for critiques of the MCU as "formula-driven".

** This movie makes a much greater effort to ensure Thor himself actually has an engrossing story arc this time, as many people felt his previous film appearances had him overshadowed by more interesting characters like the other Avengers or Loki. In fact, Chris Hemsworth revealed that he and Waititi had been unhappy with the direction Thor had been taken in recent movies, and intentionally envisioned his storyline in ''Ragnarok'' as a course correction.

** The Grandmaster seems to have a flirtatious relationship with Loki when he tells him that on any other world, he'd probably be millions of years old, but here on Sakaar... ''blinks slowly at Loki''. Fans have pointed out that Loki is the sole person who gets to sit on the Grandmaster's couch at the arena, and Loki also knows the password for the Commodore, the Grandmaster's personal ship "for orgies and stuff", implying quite a bit of familiarity.
Creator/TomHiddleston in this [[http://collider.com/tom-hiddleston-thor-ragnarok-interview/#loki interview]] thinks of it as the Grandmaster becoming Loki's [[MealTicket sugar daddy]] after the latter arrives on Sakaar.

** Thor and Loki having a [[spoiler:secret sister actually goes to 2014, when ComicBook/{{Angela|MarvelComics}} was revealed to be Odin's older, sword-loving daughter]].

** The Grandmaster seems to have a flirtatious relationship with Loki when he tells him that on any other world, he'd probably be millions of years old, but here on Sakaar... ''blinks slowly at Loki''. Fans have pointed out that Loki is the sole person who gets to sit on the Grandmaster's couch at the arena. Creator/TomHiddleston in this [[http://collider.com/tom-hiddleston-thor-ragnarok-interview/#loki interview]] thinks of it as the Grandmaster becoming Loki's [[MealTicket sugar daddy]] after the latter arrives on Sakaar.

* WinTheCrowd:
** The first trailer showed off a kickass new villain, new characters like Valkyrie and the Grandmaster, an awesome Led Zeppelin track, the Hulk, and delivered on the promise of feeling completely different from the first two movies. It went on to become Disney's most viewed trailer ''ever'', beating out even ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' and ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. That is, until ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' came and one-upped that spot.
** The second trailer features Thor and Hulk having a rather calm and introspective conversation. Yes, the Hulk ''talks''! It also features Hulk taking on the Fenris wolf and '''Surtur''', a giant being composed of fire, as well as Thor's GodMode. The last two won people over almost ''immediately''.

* AwardSnub: The film not getting even a nomination for cinematography (widely agreed to be its strongest element) in the 2017 Oscars received a fair bit of backlash from fans. It was also snubed for Art Direction and Visual Effects.

** When Hela needs to open the Bifrost so she can send her army throughout the universe. She discovers [[spoiler:Heimdall stole the key.]]\\
'''You’d Expect''': Hela, clearly knowing what the Tesseract is, would use that instead. Alternately, she could have used Gungnir, Oden's spear which could also operate the Bifrost.\\

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: [[spoiler: Hela's scene in the palace that revealed Asgard conquered other realms and "drowned civilizations in blood and tears"]] can interpreted as an anti-imperialism message as imperialism destroys cultures and creates more enemies than benefits. Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment is in effect big time.

** WordOfGod is that the movie [[http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/thor-ragnarok-will-feature-less-earth-says-feige#axzz3y6UkvMc6 would take place primarily off Earth]], as one of the most common criticisms of the previous two films was the HumanFocusedAdaptation taking the spotlight off of more interesting otherworldly characters and settings.
** Taika Waititi has said that he and the writers made a much greater effort to ensure Thor himself actually has an engrossing story arc this time, as many people felt his previous film appearances had him overshadowed by more interesting characters like the other Avengers or Loki. At a convention appearance in Australia, Chris Hemsworth even revealed that he and Waititi had been unhappy with the direction Thor had been taken in recent movies, and intentionally envisioned his storyline in ''Ragnarok'' as a course correction.
** In previous films, fans were polarised by the fact that Thor never wore his comic counterpart's winged helmet in battle [[note]][[WhatCouldHaveBeen It was originally meant to be used more prominently]], but Creator/ChrisHemsworth allegedly found it too impractical to wear, so it hasn't been since since his coronation in the first film[[/note]]. While fighting on Sakaar in ''Ragnarok'', Thor wears a new Sakaaran helmet that's more comfortable for Hemsworth while still resembling the iconic design.

* BrokenBase: While generally well-recieved, fans are divided regarding the tone of the film. Some preferred the change to a light-hearted and comedic story compared to the more dramatic entries of the previous films, where Thor was mostly TheComicallySerious. Others felt that ''Ragnarok'' went too far in the opposite direction, with Thor changing into another interchangeable wise-cracking hero, and too many moments, even [[spoiler:the destruction of Asgard]], being played for laughs.

* BrokenBase: Regarding the tone of the film, some preferred the change from the more dramatic entries where Thor was mostly TheComicallySerious, others feel that this goes too far in the opposite direction, with Thor changing into another interchangeable wise-cracking hero, an two many moments, even [[spoiler:the destruction of Asgard]] played for laughs.

'''You’d Expect''': Hela, clearly knowing what the tesseract is, would use that instead. Alternately, she could have used Gungnir, Oden's spear which could also operate the Bifrost.\\

'''You’d Expect''': Hela, clearly knowing what the tesseract is, would use that instead.\\

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The scene where the Grandmaster casually turns his captured cousin into goo would have been horrifying if not for his and Thor's [[LargeHam over-the-top reactions]].

** When Hela needs to open the bifrost so she can send her army throughout the universe. She discovers [[spoiler:Heimdall stole the key.]]\\

** The news that the Valkyries will be appearing excited fans who were disappointed that the previous movie completely shafted the Asgardian characters in favor of more screen time for Jane and the other humans. Sadly, these fans were disappointed when they only appear in a brif flashback, and the surviving Valkyrie not actually taking the mantle up again until the film's climax.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: ''Ragnarok'''s poster was acclaimed upon release, with its stylistic touches and organized structure being positively received in contrast to [[https://codesignmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1507400684_movie-posters-spider-man-homecoming-2017.jpg some of]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDRyxJ5W0AEgFHu.jpg:large the posters]] for ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''. However, it turned out to be the first of many of a very similar style, with [[Film/BlackPanther2018 five]] [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar of]] [[Film/AntManAndTheWasp the]] [[Film/AvengersEndgame next]] [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome six]] MCU films having at least one poster structured similarly to ''Ragnarok''. This wound up providing additional fuel for critiques of the MCU as "formula-driven"; so far, none of the MCU films or series since ''Far From Home'' has used the ''Ragnarok'' style.

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/MCUHela Hela]], [[EverybodyHatesHades Goddess of Death]] and Thor's monstrous elder sister, helped Odin conquer the empire of Asgard, but when he tired of war and finally sought peace, she was sealed away when her bloodlust and cruelty grew too great. After murdering his guards, Hela was finally subdued and sealed but massacred the Valkyries until only one remained when they sought to prevent her escape. Upon returning to Asgard, Hela [[DarkActionGirl slaughters all its soldiers]] when they resist her and tries to claim the sword of Heimdall to open the gate to the other Realms. When Heimdall saves the population of Asgard, Hela attempts to have her undead soldiers slaughter all of Asgard's people while forcing Thor to watch them die--after she has blinded him in one eye. She even kills [[spoiler:her own right-hand man, Skurge, when he takes a stand to defend Asgard's civilians]]. Monstrous, sadistic and insatiable, Hela seeks to open the gate to all other Realms so she can [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen conquer everything and continue her work of drowning them in blood and tears]].