The most crazy and fun Thor movie you will ever see.

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2017)

The Thor films have never really been the standouts in the MCU slate (at least by my opinion). I have always felt they have only ever existed to expand the scope of the MCU from global to cosmic but have been afraid of fully embracing the weird sci-fi/Lord of the Rings element. This Thor movie unapologetically embraces the weirdness and subverts what you would expect.
New Zealand director of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in The Shadows, Taikai Waititi and star Chris Hemsworth completely reinvent the mythology of the Asgardian god and have fun with it. The story of Ragnarok basically tears away everything that we've known about Thor and rebuilds his identity similar to what Winter Soldier did with Captain America. The way Waititi treats the mythology is that either there is a meta-type of humour to acknowledge the past two Thor films or it reveals dark secrets that questions what Odin and Asgard stand for. Some may feel bothered by how Waititi treats some characters depending if you somehow liked the past two Thor films.
Another divisive thing is the humour. I for one am a big Waititi fan and thought his sense of humour was a nice change of pace compared to some of the forced comedy in past Marvel movies. A lot of it revolves around the fun awkward moments the characters have with one another. The humour may be a bit weird and twisted, and does come unexpectedly at some serious moments in the film but I felt that Waititi still hit the mark in understanding Thor's own personal struggle. I will say there were a lot of times this felt more like Waitti made a sci-fi fantasy comedy then a Marvel movie. That could be a good or bad depending on whom you ask.
This is definitely the best Hemsworth has been in the role as Thor thanks to Waititi letting him show his comedic sense of humour rather then just rely on him seriously brooding for most of the time. Hemsworth and Waititi are aware of Thor's thick-headedness, pride and ego so they just go for it to show how flawed and insecure the character really is. And it still allows Thor to grow out from his comfort zone once his hammer gets destroyed to become a better defined character.
There are great characters that Thor interacts with that are lot more unique and well-defined compared to Jane Foster (no offense to Natalie Portman). With elements of Planet Hulk thrown in, Hulk for the first time feels like a full character rather then just a piece of Bruce Banner's personality. On Sakaar, Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo in mo-cap) now is this semi-intelligent, childish celebrity who challenges Thor's masculinity but also relates to his insecurity. Tom Hiddleston once again is great as Loki who this time is no longer scheming a master plan but just trying to make the best of the situation he is unfortunately in. The big scene-stealer in this is Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, the fallen warrior turned bounty hunter. Thompson just owns the role without resorting to being a bland female sidekick. The character can come in and challenge someone's masculinity and status of power but still have enough vulnerability where we learn that she remains on Sakaar as a form of escape from her own personal demons. Also her alcoholic drinking capabilities would be one to challenge Tony Stark. And what can I say about Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster. It's Jeff Goldblum being himself as a powerful tyrant on an alien world and it's perfect. Couldn't ask for anything more. The one character I didn't unfortunately really connect to and is a problem that Marvel still refuses to fix (If you don't count Micheal Keaton's Vutlure) is the villain Hela. She does feel more intimidating and dangerous then most MCU villains but is very one-note in her goals. Cate Blanchett's performance does elevates this one-dimensional character with some fun but most of her scenes are just giving exposition to Karl Urban's Skurge and creating another faceless army of monsters for the hero to fight. Other great hilarious performances are from Waititi himself playing a cgi rock warrior version of himself called Korg and surprisingly Urban is also pretty funny as well.
The look of the alien garbage world Sakaar is just breathtaking to look at from the oceans littered with fallen spacecrafts to the brightly coloured, abstract cities. Waititi's use of colour makes this Thor movie feel more bright and lively. With a lot of the action and the fun character banter happening on that world, when the film cuts back to Asgard I felt the pace slowing down and became less exciting. But it does make up for it in the final battle when Thor and his new team (delightfully called the Revengers) arrive and the stakes for Asgard are raised. And this leads to some big-changing events that put Thor on his path to Infinity War.
Overall Thor: Ragnarok may not be the Marvel movie for everyone but is for sure the best and most fun we have gotten out of Thor and will surely be a treat for anyone who is a fan of Taika Waititi.