Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

 

This one is a hoot. No seriously, it is. It is vastly different from the previous outings into the 'Thor'-franchise, though, so be warned.

Thor returns home to find Loki has taken the place of Odin. He is not too happy about this, so they set out to find their father, who now lives on Earth. But when they find him, he dies. This is a signal to their long lost sister Hela to return and to claim the throne of Asgard, but Hela is the goddess of death and she's not really keen on how Asgard has been behaving these past few millennia. She wants conquest and thirsts for slaughter. Thor and Loki meanwhile get blasted onto the planet of Sakaar, a junkyard where all the refuse of the galaxy ends up. It is ruled by the Grandmaster, who organizes gladiatorial games and is very fond of his champion. This turns out to be the Hulk, who has been lost for two years at least. Now Thor has to escape Sakaar and return home to stop his sister before she becomes too powerful. 

The story in itself is simple and straightforward. Stop your long lost sibling from being a total douche before the world ends, that sort of thing. But that is not what makes this film so entertaining. First off, it is very colourful. In stark contrast perhaps to the grimy and dull looking 'The Dark World', this blasts your eyes with a plethora of colours. 

Not only that, but director Taika Waititi chose to focus on comedy more than anything else, and strangely, it works. It is off-beat and you would never expect it from something that is known to be rather serious, but it actually fits the mythology very well. Waititi plays to the strengths of his characters and actors and he himself is hilarious as the Kronan Korg. (check the rock-paper-scissors jokes he makes. You might miss it the first time, but trust me, they're there and they're sidesplitting.) The action is here, but it does take a backseat at times. 

Cate Blanchett as Hela is clearly having a ball at being evil. She also plays it with that hint of "I know this is silly, but darn it: I'm going to have fun with it!". The only character that feels a little shoehorned in, is Karl Urban's Skurge, who doesn't get that much to do and feels a little off. Bizarrely enough, he's the only one who is obviously aiming for comedy and that falls a little flat. 

Oh, and using Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song' for two action scenes with Thor is inspired and awesome. Not just because it's a great song, but it might be the oldest known Viking Metal-song there is. It surely gets the blood pumping every time. 

'Thor: Ragnarok' is a bloody great time, just be aware that the tonal shift between the last one and this one is massive. If you're not ready for that, this will come as a shock. Also: if you don't like your superheroes to be funny, you're not going to get as much entertainment out of this one. Nevertheless, to me at least, this is by far the best of all three Thor-films. Highly recommended!