I’m not exactly sure what direction Marvel is deciding to head in, but let me tell you, I LOVE it. The third Thor movie hit the theaters this weekend, and as a huge superhero movie fan, there was no way I wasn’t going to see it as soon as possible. Thor: Ragnarok was a little bit different to the previous two Thor movies in that it was far more of a comedy than anything else. Since Guardians of the Galaxy came out in 2014, Marvel has started leaning very heavily on their comedic side. Guardians was such a big hit with all the big (and sometimes extremely stupid or inappropriate) jokes. Since then, we’ve had movies like Ant-Man, Deadpool and Guardians 2, which have all shown a deep and different sense of humor. Everyone’s always joked that Deadpool was a Marvel movie for people who don’t like Marvel and I’m going to throw this third installment of Thor into that grouping as well.
I thought the movie was fantastic. It was nice to not have a constantly dark and brooding Thor, and one that knew how to truly crack a joke. It was also nice getting a bit of the gang together and seeing some other familiar Marvel faces. Doctor Strange and The Hulk both make an appearance (though if you’re expecting a whole bunch of Benedict Cumberbatch, you’ve come to the wrong place as he’s literally only there for about 5 minutes to throw Loki around, which is always fun). We also see a reappearance by non-other than the God of Mischief himself: Loki. Loki is always fun and someone you just can’t help but love to hate, or hate to love, it goes both ways depending what mood he’s in.
Now, to keep the spoilers to a minimum, here’s a very short plot summary. Thor starts out the movie being locked up in some weird hell dimension, but seems to be getting a kick out of it. He’s soon learning about a prophecy to destroy his home, Asgard. He’s then quick to stop what he’s doing (looking for infinity stones, this is explained in earlier Marvel movies and would take way too long to do so here) to head back to Asgard to talk to his dad. He finds not his father ruling in Asgard, but his insane adoptive brother, Loki (who he thought was dead). Turns out Loki trapped their dad on Earth so they both go down to find him. Long story short, Odin (dad) is dying and when he dies Thor’s long-lost sister; Hela the Goddess of Death will be unleashed from her prison and will probably try to kill everyone and take over Asgard. Then, Odin dies and, well that’s exactly what happens.
Hela fights both Loki and Thor and ends up losing them, thinking she’s killed them. She goes off to Asgard and kills a bunch of people and decides she’s the new queen. Thor finds himself on some strange new planet and is soon thrown into a fighting ring. Who does he end up fighting? Non-other than fellow Avenger: The Hulk! This fight scene is truly hilarious and a must watch. It is probably one of the best parts of the film with Thor, Loki, and Hulk all being incredibly ridiculous. The rest of the movie includes Thor kind of figuring out who he is and how he can save Asgard (without his hammer, which Hela crushed into itty-bitty pieces).
Anyway, the movie was amazing and I already want to see it again. There was lots of action as is necessary in any good superhero film. The fight scenes were great, the special effects were incredible and getting to see some whole new worlds was a lot of fun. The two new strong female characters (Hela and Valkyrie, Thor’s new warrior partner) are absolutely insane and I loved them both a lot. Lovely seeing some females take such a huge lead in a big Marvel movie. Overall, I for sure recommend giving it a try. Whether you’re into Marvel or not, it’s still a really good film, though I personally do like all the others as well. Thor is quickly becoming one of my favorite Avengers (and of course it helps that he got a REALLY nice haircut from a very special guest in the beginning of the film, that was a cool cameo too). I hope you get a chance to see it soon if you haven’t already and you’ll love it as much as I do. Thanks, Marvel can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store next!