They Did Everything Right

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2017)

With "Thor: Ragnarok", Marvel Studios managed to take a mediocre franchise and complete the trilogy with one of the most thoroughly entertaining Marvel productions to date. In firing Natalie Portman (who may as well have just been whining, "Anakin, you're breaking my heart," for all her lines in the first two Thor movies), they made room for new characters, including everyone's lovable green giant, the Incredible Hulk, the alcoholic badass Valkyrie, and an iteration of Jeff Goldblum where he forces monsters to fight rather than trying to survive them (but only after living in the Hunger Games capital for a few years and then traveling to another planet).
There are several moments of genuine humor, a distinct change from "Thor: The Dark World", although it thankfully stops short of crossing into the territory of Chris Pratt and "Guardians of the Galaxy", where the plot is just a medium for jokes to exist. For an apocalyptic theme, "planet-in-danger" movie, Ragnarok delivers a constant level of entertainment and enjoyment, successfully escaping the trap of just building up to that climactic CGI battle that is supposed to justify paying to see the movie.
Just as Netflix learns from every view, binge, and pause, it is as if Marvel Studios has taken advantage of the last decade of movie making to tap in to what makes an enjoyable movie. I don't mean that just in the sense of developing a standard formula, which would more than likely produce fatigue in viewers, but in the sense of learning how to combine both past successes with innovation and creativity. Marvel Studios has learned has learned what we enjoy, and made a movie that reflected that.
The love story between Thor and Natalie Portman's mortal, Earth- residing character was never a convincing source of plot. Natalie Portman disappeared, and wasn't replaced by any other romantic entanglement. Thor is a fun character, but alone he's not quite worth the drive to the theater. In Ragnarok, he was joined by the substantial presence of an Avengers favorite, the Hulk, with the occasional cameo from other Marvel characters fitting seamlessly into the story. Tom Hiddleson's Loki arguably outshines Thor himself, and the third installment of the franchise develops his character, keeping him from becoming a Marvel universe clichÃ© who takes his cue from Trailer Park Boys, beginning and ending each story in prison.
If you're a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but wondering if you're at the point where you might just wait to see this one when it is no longer in theaters (let's face it, we all could have watched "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at home and been perfectly happy with the decision), consider that this might just be one of the additions that are actually worth going to see on the big screen, previous Thor movies notwithstanding.