Thor: Ragnarok

The cast for Thor Ragnarok are all matched well, and the sibling chemistry between Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth is as natural as can be. Cate Blanchett as Hela, the goddess of death is frightening in her cruelty as well as physical perfection. But, the reason this movie stands alone is the multi talented Taika Waititi, the director of the film. His offbeat New Zealand style shows in every scene, humor throughout and a rocking 80s electronica soundtrack, the film will transport you as fast as Heimdall and the Bitfrost!

It's hilarious, choreographed well, only issue is there is no emotional bits. And nothing is serious

Greetings again from the darkness. The ultimate cinematic dilemma … how to make the next comic book movie stand out from the (many, many) others? The brilliant answer comes from director Taika Waititi and co-writers Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost – a screwball superhero action film that delivers not only the required alien war scenes, but also a campy villain for the ages in a movie that may be the funniest of the year.

For those who prefer their superheroes dark and brooding, this one will be a shock. Prepare for Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster – the most polite villain we've seen in awhile, and one who looks to be straight out of the 1960's "Batman" series. Chris Hemsworth as Thor is one of many returning actors/characters, only this time he really gets to flash his comic timing on top of his Thunder God biceps. His love- hate, trust-no trust, see-saw relationship with brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is in full force, as is the Bruce Banner banter with The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). It's certainly more in line with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY than the previous movies for Avengers.

As much fun as Goldblum brings to the party, this is really Cate Blanchett's show. She is the frightening (with a dash of camp) Goddess of Death, and long-lost sister of Thor and Loki, and daughter of Odin (Anthony Hopkins). With a headdress that puts everyone at the Kentucky Derby to shame, Hela's enormous powers are such that she crumbles Thor's mighty hammer with little effort – just to remind everyone that big sisters are renowned for messing up younger brother's toys.

Of course, with that title, we know that the story revolves around what could be the end of Asgard. Joining in the fun are: Idris Elba who is back as Heimdall, Tessa Thompson as a master of one-liners Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge - rewarded with a wonderful exit scene, Ray Stevenson returns as Volstagg, and rocky alien Korg who is voiced by director Waititi. Fans of the series will be happy to know other familiar faces pop up periodically – one especially magical sequence teaches Loki a quick lesson.

In addition to the main rescue story line, the powerful villains, and crazy aliens, there are numerous nods and tributes to previous versions (notably Planet Hulk, and Fantastic Four), and a hilarious early stage play with three cameos that make it clear, big time laughter is here to stay. It's fun to catch the reunions from such previous projects as Star Trek, JURASSIC Park and Westworld.

Special acknowledgment goes to director Taika Waititi for hilariously taking the comic book film world down a different path. He's known for his comedic projects like HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (one of my favs from 2016), WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, and his work on the brilliant but short-lived "Flight of the Conchords". It's still very much a Marvel movie, with visible fingerprints of Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. It's also a fantastic adventure film that sets the stage for next year's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, while also featuring the best use ever of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". So get ready to rock, roll and rollick in a film that is just about as much fun as you can have in a theatre.

I admit it, I'm not exactly a Thor fan. I think the first two Thor feature films were passable efforts but paled in comparison to other heroes outings. For this reason I went in expecting a whole lot of meh!

Now Ragnarok was critically acclaimed, I never heard a bad thing about it despite the fact that I wasn't blown away by the trailer at all.

So with a new Thor outing, sprinkles of Planet Hulk and more humour than usual (Especially from Thor) how'd I think it did?

From the opening moments with Thor swinging from a chain awkwardly rotating as he's trying to have a conversation I was gripped. This wasn't the dull boring stoic Thor we'd grown to accept, this guy was cracking of the wise and I was laughing by buttocks off.

Cate Blanchett delivers as Hela like I never expected she'd manage, Jeff Goldblum is excellent in a role he felt almost born for and the entire thing is one joke filled roller coaster ride that I enjoyed considerably more than I expected to.

Did all the comedy diminish the impact of the Marvel Universe? Oddly not, it fit in perfectly even when a serious moment was underlined with a goofy slapstick laugh.

Kudos to Marvel once again, so far out of every single MCU movie I've only disliked 2 and for a harsh critic like me that's really something.

So much fun, so many laughs and has freshened up a character that in this guys opinion was getting a bit stale. Damn good job.

The Good:

Cast do a great job

Genuinely funny stuff

The Bad:

Could have done more with the Planet Hulk story arc

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

This is where Hulk and Thor were during Civil War!!!!

Immigrant Song just makes any scene better

It's probably best Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif) couldn't be part of the film

Hulk talking is weird, confusing and please make it stop

Well for what it's worth, Thor Ragnarok is definitely a satisfying and suitable ending when speaking of this year's MCU movies. Despite enjoying Spider-Man Homecoming a little more overall, partially because there were things I didn't like about Thor Ragnarok but there was very little I disliked about Homecoming, all in all, this film is really, really good. It's explosive and fun and colorful and enjoyable and looks terrific and exquisite all throughout. Is it overdone? You decide whether or not they overdid some things for this one. I see lots of people comparing it to Guardians of the Galaxy and while I don't fully agree, I can definitely say that there are some things that are reminiscent of the Guardians' movies, but certainly not in a bad way.

What makes this film so good is its associates. They're not out of place and they're not really forced in; like, it fits perfectly, man. Everything comes together so nicely. Take Hulk for example. I was thinking, "Hulk may or may not work in this film. Could be great, could be straight out opposite." Well, overall, I think it's a good idea that they did include Hulk - even more so when they had him appear as Bruce, rather than Hulk himself. Mark Ruffalo's Hulk is by far the best one yet. Well, to me at least. Another thing I have to include is its humor. Some say it's either a little forced or it's just simply not all that funny. Well, the moments that were funny, were funny. Not much more can be said other than the fact that yeah, some stuff had me like, "Ehh.. okay", but for the most part, there's some solid laughs here and there.

Jeff Goldblum's role was unique, to say the least - but did kind of remind me of The Collector from Guardians of the Galaxy. I don't know, he just did. Not a bad thing, but you know. If I were to comment on his character, I would have to say he's pretty good. He's not amazing, but he's an interesting part of the film and makes an okay villain (assuming you would call him that). One thing that really stood out to me and made the film even more enjoyable was its brother scenes, aka, scenes that revolve around Loki and Thor together. That was good in this film. I actually enjoyed Loki in this more than I did The Avengers. And Hemsworth is superb in the film. Not a better guy out there that could have played Thor. He was the correct, undeniable greatest choice.

There's also a very good 'cameo' like role, if you will, which does add to the movie. The film also doesn't lose its identity, meaning that even though there are other characters and whatnot, it's first and foremost a Thor film.

Here's what I didn't like (or, who I didn't like, for that matter): Hela. My reasons for disliking her character are pretty much simplistic and generic, but they're not invalid by any means- she's annoying. She's boring. That's really all I can say. I mean, there's a scene in which I do love that includes her, but it's spoiler-ish, so maybe another time...

Overall, however, a great film. Bright, colorful, funny, loads of action, good character usage, and the third act is damn good! I think this is perhaps my sixth favorite MCU film overall, overtaking Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but it is still right behind: 5- Spider-Man Homecoming, 4-The Avengers, 3-Captain America The Winter Soldier, 2-Guardians of the Galaxy and 1-Captain America Civil War. Ragnarok is a terrific film though, and it's one of this year's best.

8.5/10