THOR: RAGNAROK (2017) - Finally a great Thor movie

Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 superhero movie directed by Taika Kwan Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeff Goldblum. The movie is a sequel to two pretty bad Thor movies that we can safely ignore and follows the god of thunder on his journey to break out of a gladiatorial world and save Asgard from its legendary fabled destruction--the Ragnarok.

It's a pretty commonly accepted fact that Captain America wasn't cool until Winter Soldier really showed him as the badass soldier he really was. This movie was much the same way for Thor. For the past six years, he was pretty consistently the least cool Avenger (maybe besides Hawkeye), and had no real personality besides "lightning guy with magic hammer".

This is the movie where we finally get to see the badass God of Thunder we've always wanted. Because of this one movie alone, Thor has risen up to probably the #3 position on my personal list of favorite Avengers (after Cap and Black Widow, of course).

The Characters

Chris Hemsworth, as always, does a great job as Thor, but this is easily his best performance. It's great to finally see him as the main hero in a story where he's not bogged down by his Earth buds and his "romance" with Natalie Portman.

There's been this weird notion in the past few years that superhero movies have to be realistic to be cool. Wonder Woman was the first superhero movie in a long time that really embraced the awe and wonder inherent in a SUPERhero, and this movie quickly follows suit. Thor finally gets a chance to shine in a story where he's a fully badass God of Frickin' Thunder and we get to see him fight like the warrior he is.

Revengers... ASSEMBLE!

Hulk also finally gets a chance to shine in his biggest role, and we get to see more of his struggles as Bruce Banner. Granted, it's not a lot, but the subtext sure is there when we see that Hulk is the happiest when his job is to kill as many people as he can. And I can't lie and say a certain scene when he's reminded of Black Widow wasn't a tad heartbreaking.

Tessa Thompson absolutely rocks as the Valkyrie, who joins Black Widow and Gamorra on the list of the MCU's badass femme fatales. Loki was great, but you knew that already. Cate Blanchett as Hela, the Goddess of Death, was also a pretty good antagonist, and was visually and creatively one of the most memorable. She's definitely one of, if not the most violent of the villains we've seen so far.

The Story

Honestly, nothing too interesting here, but it's an MCU movie so you can pretty much expect that by now. The movie is named after a six-issue comic arc from the early 2000s in which Thor destroys Asgard in order to end its cycle of suffering and allow it to die with honor (it was weird and boring), but takes primary influence from Planet Hulk to make the Hulk a really cool secondary character and God of Thunder to make Thor a really cool hero.

A noticeable change in this movie is just how fun it is compared to the past Thor movies. The first one was just boring, and the second one decided to go all grimdark and STILL managed to be pretty boring. Thor: Ragnarok--likely taking a cue from Guardians of the Galaxy--decided to be cool and fun to watch. Unlike the previous movies, this one barely takes place on Earth at all, save for two small scenes.

But at the same time, this movie does do justice to the past movies by finishing Thor's character arc; while Iron Man's was about him embracing what truly matters in his life and Cap's was about him adapting to the modern world and its complexities, Thor's character arc was of him growing into a leader--one which he fully completes by finally taking his place in the circle of life as king of Asgard.

There is no shortage of "poster-worthy" shots in this movie.

Cinematography, Music, and Choreography

Visually, this movie is probably the second prettiest after Guardians 2. The costume design and makeup is fantastic and I utterly love the whole design of the battle on the Bifrost Bridge (say that five times fast). The music is noticeably better too, and I'm sure it's physically impossible NOT to get hyped every time Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song starts playing.

The fighting choreography is also a great improvement compared to other MCU movies, with Marvel finally giving us badass sword action from both the heroes and the villain. And like I said before, Hela doesn't hold back with the violence.

Final Verdict

Thor: Ragnarok is easily one of the top five Marvel movies and an absolutely great time. You never get bored and the characters are all so badass you barely get time to catch a break. Marvel movies sometimes feels the need to add jokes and quips that can ruin some movies (lookin' at you, Doctor Strange), and thankfully this movie has fewer while still being incredibly funny. 

The fighting is awesome, the visuals are awesome, Led Zeppelin is awesome, Valkyrie is awesome, Hulk is awesome, Thor is awesome. What more could you ask for?

Grade: A-

Valkyrie is best girl, don't @ me