Thor: Ragnarok (2017): An all-around hilarious, action-packed, well-directed and written, stylish, entertaining addition to Marvel's ever-expanding universe!

Thor: Ragnarok is the 17th film in the MCU and 3rd standalone film revolving around the character of Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth). In this movie, Thor is trapped on a far away planet of Sakaar where he is forced into gladiator matches with his old friend, The Incredible Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo). However, Thor is trying to get back to his homeland of Asgard where the ancient goddess Hela (played by Cate Blanchett) has returned to destroy Asgard through the event of Ragnarok. In the process, Thor has to team up with the Hulk, his mischievous brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), and the mysterious Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson) to stop Hela.

Before going in, I was excited by what I saw from the trailers but also nervous since the previous Thor films (Thor and Thor: The Dark World) were kind of bland + uninteresting from the minimal stakes + overtly dark tone, and are often considered the low points of the MCU. After seeing Ragnarok, this not only the best installment of the Thor trilogy, it's one of the best films of the MCU and of 2017!

There is a lot to love about Thor: Ragnarok. Every actor/actress does a phenomenal job at portraying their characters. 
Chris Hemsworth once again is great as Thor; he lends a nice human, witty personality through his interactions with the Hulk and Loki but also shows his determination to protect his people of Asgard. 

Ruffalo was really good as Bruce Banner/Hulk and compared to the previous MCU films, this may best and most personal incarnation of the Hulk that i've seen. In this film, the Hulk does have his tough "HULK SMASH" personality, but the audience is able to see his inner struggle as he wants to be treated more than just a fighter/monster; that's where Thor and Hulk's relationship builds properly. 

Loki, as always, is still at his mischievous antics again as he continues to trick the audience on whether or not to trust him,  but Hiddleston is great at also displaying Loki's chemistry/love-hate relationship with Thor that has built throughout the trilogy and The Avengers along with a humorously terrified mood when having to deal with the Hulk (after the Avengers).

The supporting characters were just as (if not more) captivating than the leads. Jeff Goldblum plays the Grandmaster, the leader on Sakaar, and he is simply just perfect at displaying his character's weird, eccentric nature (partly due to the film's setting and Goldblum's excellent charisma). 

Tessa Thompson gave a nice performance as Valkyrie by showing a flawed individual who is just trying to survive by profiting off capturing contenders for the gladiator matches, but also struggling with her past involving Hela.

Now, Cate Blanchett is awesome as Hela. She looked and acted very menacing, her motivations for Ragnarok made sense regarding her past. She truly embraces the atmosphere of the film since there is a lot of mythology surrounding Asgard and despite her plan to take over/end a civilization (which has been explored numerous times before in other superhero films), she's able to separate herself from other Marvel villains through her unique actions and powers, along with her charm thanks to her previous work in Lord of the Rings.

My favorite character, however, and one that many people are going to be talking about is a rocky creature named Korg (played through motion-capture by the director Taika Waititi) who befriends Thor. Every scene that Korg was in had me laughing extremely hard because although he is supposed to be menacing and intimidating, he has a very benevolent + polite personality through his dialogues with the characters (especially due to his thick New Zealand accent). He was great in every scene that he's in and I hope to see him in next year's Avengers: Infinity War. 

This movie is also very funny. A lot of the film is actually improvised which is great since it lends wonderful back-and-forth dialogues between the characters, allowing for a more natural + real feel as the audience remains invested. I liked how the movie was written to incorporate more comedy than the previous Thor + MCU films, and truly embraced its crazy atmosphere to deliver a fun adventure; there are even a few celebrity cameos that add to the humor. 

The movie also has some dramatic elements when showing Hela's treatment towards the people of Asgard + Thor's relationship with Loki and the Hulk, and how these factors manifest towards a thrilling finale. The balance of drama + comedy, along with the groovy musical score + use of Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song", made the movie a lot of fun to watch and proves that Marvel knows how to engage its audience.

Like almost all of the Marvel films, Ragnarok has a lot of exciting action sequences. The gladiator match with Thor vs Hulk is not only intense + loud, but is also funny as it contains little callbacks to the previous Marvel films. 
A lot of the action, however, involves Hela and her extreme force as she battles the people of Asgard and the climax involving Thor, Loki, the Hulk, and Valkyrie. The action felt like a mash-up of Guardians of the Galaxy + Star Wars, with a portion of Lord of the Rings (seriously, how can I resist this?). 

In terms of flaws/content issues, there is not a whole lot to worry about. The jokes while almost 95% consistently great, sometimes do fall flat or may not be as funny as previous ones. Also, there are a few heavy exposition scenes that can slightly confuse some audiences if they have not seen previous MCU films (namely The Avengers, Age of Ultron, or the previous Thor films). 

In the end, Thor: Ragnarok is a lot of fun. It has great comedic + dramatic moments, it's action packed, it has a nice visual/groovy style, and is another great installment in the MCU! If you're a Marvel comic-book fan, Thor fan, or just someone looking for a fun time, I definitely recommend watching this movie! 
(Of course, be sure to stay through the credits for the 2 post-credits scenes) :)
My Rating: 4.7/5 stars