A Fun Romp to End the 'Thor Series

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2017)

Ah the true 'Thor' film that audiences had hungered for. While the prior two films were good in their factors, director Taika Waititi really tapped into Marvel's trademark humor and themes for this third outing of the Norse God of Thunder. Drawing from two storylines (the 'Ragnarok' story arc and 'Planet Hulk'), the viewer follows Thor, his mischievous brother Loki, Valkyrie and Bruce Banner/Hulk as they must join forces to combat the wicked goddess of death, Hela, who happens to Thor and Loki's sister, before she destroys Asgard and the rest of the world.
The cast really expands their connection as alliances are forged and at times broken while the protagonists must come together in the end to defeat Hela. 1. Chris Hemsworth really changes his portrayal of Thor from his introduction to the MCU in 2011 . Thor has seen much collateral and carnage from his brother's reign of terror and brief banishment in the first film and 'The Avengers', battling the evil dwarf Malekith in 'Thor: the Dark World' and the battle against the robotic villain Ultron in the 2nd Avengers outing. However facing off against his evil sister forces Thor to trust his scheming half-brother to save their people despite Loki's usual double-crossing. Hemsworth even sheds his long locks in the film and dons a new short haircut (courtesy of Stan Lee himself). Thor even finds himself learning to bond with the moody Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) though the two have never gotten along much. 2. Tom Hiddleston brings his usual lovable charisma to the scheming Loki who has hardly changed his ways since we last saw in 2013. Loki faked his death in 'The Dark World' in order to oust his aging adopted father, Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) from the throne. However when Thor returns and Odin warns both sons that their sister is coming upon Odin's passing, Loki temporarily puts aside his dislike for Thor and helps Thor try to combat Hela but this truce wasn't meant to last. Hiddleston quickly digs into his bag of tricks as Loki ingratiates himself with the enemy when Thor is captured by Valkyrie and sold to the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum in his usual awkward glory) to save his own hide. The God of Mischief's most hilarious moment is his relishing in Thor's thrashing by Hulk in the arena; a callback to Loki's own humiliation in 'The Avengers' when Hulk tossed him around like a ragdoll. Despite his backstabbing ways, Loki does come through for his brother when leading all the former workers of the Grandmaster's planet to Asgard in order to take down Hela and her undead army. 3. Tessa Thompson joins the ragtag bunch as Valkyrie, a former warrior of the same name, who makes her living as a scavenger due to bitterness at losing to Hela many moons before the film's events. While the character isn't as fleshed out as the other heroes, Thompson brings a somewhat gritty attitude, but tough persona that shows her ability to fight her battles without being rescued by the male heroes. While initially distrustful of Thor and Loki, Valkyrie's sense of duty does pull out in the film's midpoint as she heads back to Asgard with Thor and Hulk to avenge her long-ago fallen comrades. 4. The lovely and talented Cate Blanchett brings all her skills to her first true villain role as Hela. Imbuing the goddess with a swift cruelty, Blanchett lets her inner bad girl out as she struts around the set like a queen who has already won. Hela quickly establishes her power when she destroys Thor's hammer and sends her brothers packing. Her justice for decenters is equally cruel, having the foolish Skurge (Karl Urban) serve as her executioner. Even nastier is Thor losing his eye to her during their duel to the death; talk about serious family drama.
The film's humor is sharp as ever especially in callbacks to earlier Marvel films such as the "Avengers" films. Loki and Hulk have some of the funniest jabs to throw at the title hero like Hulk's fire comparison or Loki's disdain of being used as a battering ram in the 'Get Help' plan. The visuals are impressive with thunder blasts, the fiery Surtur and his underworld plus destruction near the end of the film and the new worlds like the Grandmaster's planet. The story is well crafted and gripping as we watch the characters band together and help build the groundwork for 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity Wars".