A blast from start to finish

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2017)

Fun! That is one of the many ways to describe Thor: Ragnarok, the third installment of the Thor series and the first one directed by Taika Waititi. Coincidentally, it just so happens to be not only the funniest, but one of the very best Marvel movies to date.
Ragnarok is a simple, yet interesting story. It begins with Thor imprisoned by the fire demon Surtur. Surtur informs Thor that his father, Odin, is no longer on Asgard and that Asgard will soon be destroyed by the Ragnarok catastrophe. Thor quickly escapes and defeats Surtur, believing that he has stopped Ragnarok. However, this is not the case, as the Goddess of Death, Hela, arrives on Asgard to fulfill the Ragnarok prophecy. Outmatched, Thor must now create a team to stop Hela from destroying his beloved homeland. It's a pretty straightforward plot, and even though it doesn't take itself too seriously, there's just the right amount of darkness to make it believable.
What makes Ragnarok work so well as a movie is its vision and approach. It knows what it is and what it wants to do. It's essentially a comedy and an action movie, and as both, it succeeds. The jokes are funny, clever, and never forced, unlike Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming", which I felt had too many forced jokes that a lot of the times were not very funny and didn't fit. While "Spider-Man: Homecoming" seemed unsure of itself and what it wanted to be, Ragnarok knows exactly what it wants to be, a comedy with some great action, and it succeeds as just that. The movie never bores you. When there's no comedy, there's action and when there's no action, there's comedy. As a result, I found myself consistently entertained throughout the whole movie.
As for the cast, everyone is solid, and, seemingly much more relaxed in their roles. Hemsworth in particular seems much more relaxed and comfortable playing the God of Thunder. Hiddleston and Ruffalo as Loki and Hulk/Bruce Banner, respectively, are solid yet again in their roles. Newcomer Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie adds a nice spark to the group. But perhaps the most interesting performance in the film is Cate Blanchett as the villain Hela. It's not often we see female villains in comic-book movies and Blanchett has just the right amount of feistiness to make Hela an intimidating villain.
All in all, "Thor: Ragnarok", is an entertaining thrill ride of a movie. It combines action and comedy to create a movie that is not only consistently entertaining, but that's also a breath of fresh air for a Thor series that desperately needed it. A lot of credit for that can go to director Taika Waititi's clear-cut vision for the film. Sure, the movie may be a bit too long and as a whole its very formulaic, but those are relatively minor complaints. No matter how you slice it, Thor: Ragnarok is simply a blast.