A fun and high energy ride.

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2017)

"Thor Ragnarok" is the newest addition to the MCU and the third installment of the Thor franchise. Being one of the closest lead ups to Infinity Wars, a lot is riding on the success of this film. With recent MCU films coming in to deliver a joke rather than a compelling story with somewhere to go, "Thor Ragnarok" falls into similar territory by sacrificing some drama with jokes. The biggest difference in this film is the joke is actually good.
Director Taika Waititi has said more than half the film's dialogue is improvised which makes some genuinely hilarious moments where you wouldn't expect them. In many cases, this gives the movie the most energy and laughs, in other spots, it makes for some nonsensical and outrageous dialogue. This can make character progression feel inconsistent but the movie's pacing never allows you to revel in the mistakes. It's wonderfully paced and edited with no moment of drag or boredom.
Visual effects were astonishingly better than what the trailer had to offer. Props should be given to the crew for creating an impressive visual presentation with CGI, production design, and costumes with makeup. None of those feel out of place.
What felt fresh about "Thor Ragnarok" was the plot and character story of Thor himself. This is the first time, since the first Thor, that we see a real story and change for the character. While side characters didn't get worthy enough treatment, Thor himself was at least taken care of. Cate Blanchet as Hella did a solid job given her small role and lack of depth. Tom Hiddleston continues to nail it as Loki even though is flat character may feel stagnant and uninteresting and frankly, unnecessary to the plot.
The biggest problems with "Thor Ragnarok" are tonal. When powerful and emotional notes could be hit, the filmmakers tend to shove jokes in which kill the emotional impact and just don't land well. This could get tiring for some audience members and for others, it could be the lifeline of the film entirely.
Overall, "Thor Ragnarok" may be the best MCU film this year, It's fun, energetic, and quite intense. While it doesn't tap new ground or really shake the world of comic book filmmaking, it's undeniably fun and enjoyable to watch from start to finish.