Marvel’s newest movie, the third installment of the Thor trilogy, is thoroughly pleasing and whimsical. Titled Thor: Ragnarok, it follows the story of the Asgardian Avenger, a character who is loosely based on the Norse God Thor. To describe the plot without any backstory or spoilers would be entirely impossible, so I will just say this: if you are familiar with Marvel or enjoy superhero or sci-fi movies, this flick is a must-see.

Marvel’s newest movie, the third installment of the Thor trilogy, is thoroughly pleasing and whimsical. Titled Thor: Ragnarok, it follows the story of the Asgardian Avenger, a character who is loosely based on the Norse God Thor. To describe the plot without any backstory or spoilers would be entirely impossible, so I will just say this: if you are familiar with Marvel or enjoy superhero or sci-fi movies, this flick is a must-see.  Directed by Taika Waititi, Ragnarok is a fun play on the typical superhero movie. While its humor can be goofy, it reminds me of Guardians of The Galaxy. It has a modern soundtrack, interesting villain, and isn’t afraid to be humorous even in the most serious of scenes. Thor even gets his signature hair snipped in order to fight the Hulk in a gladiator-style battle, a fight that Marvel fans have been waiting to see for years. After the opening scene, the title flashes across the screen in an 80’s arcade style font. The villain was great, too, and while she was a little stereotypical, Cate Blanchett’s slender swagger made her completely believable.

When the movie ended, I sat in the theatre for a few minutes and asked myself what in the world I had just watched for two hours. It was weird. It was dramatic. It had some scenes that blew my mind away with beautiful cinematography and others that made me laugh with their clever humor. Ragnarok was a mish-mash of every subcategory of superhero movies, but I can’t say that it was bad. It was very enjoyable.

I have noticed a trend among superhero movies – producers are realizing that there hasn’t been an amazing serious superhero movie since The Dark Knight. To me, funny superhero movies are far more enjoyable. It’s hard to take extremely muscular people running around in little suits seriously. Ragnarok takes advantage of this and dramatizes every moment, making it seem extremely ridiculous – but that’s what superheroes are, aren’t they?