All of the MCU’s movies have their fair share of humor, but a few of them are more overtly comedic than the others. Ant-Man would be a run-of-the-mill Paul Rudd comedy if it wasn’t for the shrinking tech. Jon Watts’ Spider-Man movies have been heavily influenced by John Hughes’ high school comedy classics.
Arguably, the funniest movie in the MCU is Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, which revitalized the dreary Thor franchise with bright colors and zany humor, and a close second is James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which arrived as a breath of fresh air when Marvel risked getting stale.
Ragnarok Is The Funniest: The Comic Sensibility Is Uniquely Taika Waititi’s
One of Kevin Feige’s greatest strengths is giving the directors he hires plenty of creative freedom. Black Panther is as much a Ryan Coogler movie as it is a Marvel movie.
While the humor in the Ant-Man and Spider-Man movies is pretty evergreen, sitcom-light material, the comedic sensibility in Thor: Ragnarok is uniquely Taika Waititi’s. James Gunn’s personality can also be seen all over Guardians, but Waititi’s voice is more idiosyncratic.
Guardians Is A Close Second: Its Sense Of Humor Made It Feel Like A Breath Of Fresh Air
In a sense, Thor: Ragnarok rode the coattails of Guardians of the Galaxy, because Guardians was the movie to introduce a weird, out-there comedic angle to the franchise.
When the Marvel formula risked getting stale post-Avengers and the comedy genre had fallen completely off the radar, Guardians came along with superhero spectacle and a healthy dose of humor that proved Marvel had plenty of surprises up its sleeve.
Ragnarok Is The Funniest: It Renewed Chris Hemsworth’s Interest In Playing Thor
Chris Hemsworth has confessed that the double whammy of Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron giving him increasingly dry, uninteresting material had made him feel disillusioned with playing the God of Thunder.
The exciting creative direction Taika Waititi took with Ragnarok renewed Hemsworth’s interest in the role — and it shows in how much fun the actor has with his performance.
Guardians Is A Close Second: The Hilarious Interplay Between The Team Carries The Movie
What makes Guardians stand out from other movies of its ilk is the comic interplay between the characters. This snappy back-and-forth defines the Guardians both as individuals and as a team.
Their constant bickering makes the movie feel like It’s Always Sunny in space (in fact, Glenn Howerton and Danny DeVito were on the casting shortlists for Quill and Rocket, respectively).
Ragnarok Is The Funniest: It Has A Loose, Improvisational Quality
While Taika Waititi writes scripts rigorously, there’s always room for improvisation on his sets. Led by Chris Hemsworth, the cast of Thor: Ragnarok brought some hysterical ad-libs to the movie that gave it a loose, improvisational quality that’s hard to find in the world of committee-designed big-budget blockbusters.
There’s some great improv in Guardians of the Galaxy, courtesy of Chris Pratt, but nowhere near as much as Ragnarok — and the movie itself doesn’t have the same looseness.
Guardians Is A Close Second: Quill Is A Wannabe Han Solo
It was inevitable that Guardians of the Galaxy would draw parallels with Star Wars, but Peter Quill isn’t just a shallow rip-off of Han Solo; he’s an ‘80s kid who grew up idolizing characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones and Flash Gordon and got abducted and raised by aliens, which allowed him to live the space mercenary life.
But he’s nothing like Solo or Indy; he’s an inept version of them who relies mostly on dumb luck. Chris Pratt did a great job of providing a postmodern take on this archetype. Quill isn’t a Han Solo type; he’s an Andy Dwyer type who wants to be a Han Solo type.
Ragnarok Is The Funniest: It Even Has A Funny Villain
The “villain problem” that the MCU is often accused of was definitely a low point of Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie is dragged down by Ronan the Accuser: yet another generic, humorless baddie with a vaguely defined evil plan. Lee Pace makes a great foil for Chris Pratt in the final battle sequence, but the character is ultimately pretty forgettable.
While Ragnarok has Hela and Surtur for the intimidation factor, it also has a funny villain in the form of the Grandmaster. Jeff Goldblum’s deadpan line deliveries in this role are brilliant.
Guardians Is A Close Second: The Comedic Moments Help The Dramatic Moments Land
In a lot of superhero movies, and even in the MCU itself, the dramatic moments fall flat. Some recent Marvel movies, like Doctor Strange, have done away with emotion entirely and replaced it with “bathos.” The first Guardians movie is refreshingly emotional. The comedy is laugh-out-loud funny, but the drama works just as well.
The humor helps the drama in Guardians. The fact that the characters make us laugh endears us to them, so moments like Quill risking his life to save Gamora in space resonate much more than the average superhero drama.
Ragnarok Is The Funniest: The Whole Movie Is Wall-To-Wall Fun
Inspired by Flash Gordon and Big Trouble in Little China, Thor: Ragnarok is wall-to-wall fun. After two Vikings-in-space movies with a dull, pseudo-Shakespearean tone, Taika Waititi mercifully came along to finally inject some fun into the Thor franchise.
While the jokes in Guardians are a little hit-and-miss, every joke in Ragnarok lands, like Thor calling the Hulk “a friend from work” (reportedly suggested by a Make-a-Wish kid during a set visit) or the Willy Wonka-inspired tunnel illusion.
Guardians Is A Close Second: The Cast Shares Incredible Chemistry
The actors in Thor: Ragnarok share terrific chemistry, but the Guardians of the Galaxy cast takes tangible chemistry to another level. The Guardians feel like a real family who find comfort in each other’s company.
James Gunn and Marvel’s casting guru Sarah Finn didn’t just find the perfect actors for each individual role; they found actors who are all perfectly matched as an ensemble, too.