Fun and enjoyable but shallow

Rating: 7/10 (29 October 2017)

Have to say right away that this was good. The third solo outing for Thor sees him stranded on an alien planet and forced to fight in a contest of champions organised by The Grand Master (Jeff Goldblum - kooky and funny as ever). With Asgard in danger of being conquered by his older sister Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett), Thor must find a way to escape and rescue his fellow Asgardians. This might prove a bit difficult as his opponent in his first contest is....The Incredible Hulk.
I've skipped a lot of plot here to avoid too many spoilers. Quite frankly the story is all over the place, being mainly an excuse for a string of jokes and wise-cracking. Some of these don't work, but most do. Chris Hemsworth has never been better as Thor, and he's well supported by the usual suspects. No Lady Sif, though. No mention of her at all.
Standouts for me were Goldblum and Tessa Thompson, who adds a bit of spice as a drunken ex-Valkyrie. Blanchett is a very good villain, but somewhat underused. Still better than Malekith any day, though.
Basically Marvel have delivered three out and out comedies this year. Hopefully Black Panther and Infinity War will restore some semblance of depth, as the movie is very shallow. This does have some serious plot points, but it's glossed over in favour of the next one-liner.
Sleek, entertaining; check your brain in. Now it's time for Marvel to get serious.