Tonight's Movie: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

I feel like a bit of a broken record as I begin writing my 17th Marvel review since July 2015, but Marvel Studios has yet another winner with THOR: RAGNAROK (2017).

I admit I was more than a little dubious about this new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), based on the trailers. The appeal of the first two THOR movies for me has centered on things like the "fish out of water" humor of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on earth (aka Midgard), his romance with the lovely scientist Jane (Natalie Portman), and the visuals of Thor's home realm of Asgard, with its beautiful Bifrost rainbow bridge. The new THOR movie, as seen in the trailers, was...not that. The God of Thunder even got a haircut!

'Tis true there is no Jane in this film, apparently due in part to Portman's lack of interest in continuing in the series. Thor's only on earth for a couple of minutes in this one -- but since it's a visit with a favorite character, introduced to the MCU in the last year, it was entirely delightful. And as for Asgard...nope, it's not in good shape this time around. Additionally, much time is spent on an ugly planet which seems to be an intergalactic garbage dump.

All that said, I was pleased to discover none of the changes really mattered, because THOR: RAGNAROK was a rollicking good time. Thor finds himself fighting for survival on two fronts: as a prisoner on a planet where he's forced to participate in a gladiator contest...and on Asgard, where long-lost sibling Hela (Cate Blanchett), Goddess of Death, is determined to succeed their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) to the throne. There's a great deal of enjoyable humor to offset watching Thor deal with these dual crises.

In the gladiator contest Thor is delighted to discover his opponent is none other than his fellow Avenger, the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), though he's got to figure out a way to calm the "Big Guy" down and turn him back into a normal human. Thor also meets a woman (Tessa Thompson of CREED) who's a bounty hunter of sorts, but she proves to have both hidden talents and an Asgardian connection.

Best of all, Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), God of Mischief, is back and in fine form. One of the best characters in the entire MCU, the fun of Hiddleston's conflicted Loki is that no one ever knows which direction he'll go, and he's the rare villain who also manages to evoke laughter and sympathy. Like Jason Statham in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise, when Hiddleston is bad, he's good, and when he's good, he's even better. Thor and Loki joining forces against the hellacious Hela was one of the year's real pleasures at the movies for me.

Also back in a nice role is Idris Elba as Heimdall, guard of the Bifrost Bridge, who tries to protect the citizens of Asgard from Hela in Thor's absence. Thor's loyal friends, the Warriors Three (Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, and Ray Stevenson), also make a brief appearance. Missing was Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, who was filming her TV series at the time of production.

Everyone seems to be having a great time, including Blanchett. My only real disappointment was the number (two) and quality of the end credits tags, which weren't as funny or tantalizing as they often are.

THOR: RAGNAROK also stars Jeff Goldblum and Karl Urban. There are also some interesting cameos when Thor returns to Asgard and witnesses a stage production about his family history, including an unexpected appearance by an "A" list star.

The movie was directed by Taika Waititi and filmed by Javier Aguirresarobe.

Parental Advisory: THOR: RAGNAROK is rated PG-13 for intense sequences and "brief suggestive material."  I can't recall at this point what that latter issue might have been.

THOR: RAGNAROK opened to strong reviews; a sample is Mick LaSalle writing the film "has a lot of human appeal and a spirit of silliness that it never loses and yet always carefully manages, so that the silliness remains an ongoing source of delight without ever undercutting the impact of the action." At USA Today Brian Truitt calls it "by far the best" of the three THOR movies, while also joking "Who figured that the goofiest Marvel superhero movie would be the one that stars the thunder god instead of the talking raccoon?" The headline for Michael O'Sullivan's Washington Post review says the film is "a delicious blend of meaty action and sublime silliness."

I'm not sure how Marvel Studios manages to produce such consistently entertaining films, especially given how many there have been over the past decade, but it's a treat to sit down to a new Marvel film and know that I'm going to enjoy it.

Coming to the MCU next year: BLACK PANTHER (2018), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018), and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018).

Previous Marvel reviews: IRON MAN (2008), IRON MAN 2 (2010), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011), THOR (2011), THE AVENGERS (2012), IRON MAN 3 (2013), THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013), CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014), AGENT CARTER (2015), ANT-MAN (2015), AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015), CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016), DOCTOR STRANGE (2016), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017), and SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017).