REVIEW:

Thor: Hela, the goddess of death, has invaded Asgard! And you and I had a fight.

Bruce Banner: Did I win?

Thor: No, I won! Easily!

Bruce Banner: That doesn't sound right...

Thor: Well, it's true! Marvel truly is a marvel! Their success in movie making is practically unmatched and cannot be duplicated, I think. Other franchises have had amazing runs as well, James Bond, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, maybe even Rocky, but they don't have the vastness and range of characters that Marvel has displayed on the big screen. Granted some of their films have been a lot more successful than others, not all of them have been that great by public opinion as well as in the box office, but as a whole, what a dominating force in the theater! I must admit, at least for me personally, I don't get tired of it. I love them all, just about, and this third Thor film is no exception. I will give you fair warning, this might rub some of you the wrong way. Priscilla, my favorite cinema cohort, was almost turned off by the film. How could that be you ask? She said the movie was like a joke. Not that the movie itself was a joke but that a lot of humor was integrated into this installment and thus made the film seem like a parody. As for me, I LOVED IT! I can almost say that this is the funniest Marvel film yet and it was great. Off the top of my head, only Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy series can match the hilariousness of this movie. What kept it from being a total "joke" is that you still get plenty of action and drama. It is action packed, fun and funny, light hearted and yet deadly serious too. It has it all. It's pretty amazing actually. After the humor and action, the next best aspect is the special effects and overall visuals throughout the film . . . eye-opening. Even the opening titles and closing titles and end credits have an interesting electronic techno feel to them.

The story we get in this episode is interesting. However, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy 2, I was hoping to see a stride toward the ultimate MCU conclusion, Infinity War, and was left wanting. There were no obvious ties to the final end game. I'll just keep on waiting. Probably the best part of this story is the introduction of new characters, none more amazing than Hela played masterfully by Cate Blanchett. Wow, she is cold, menacing, and heartless. Another stand out new character is Tessa Thompson's performance of Valkyrie, a Secret Service soldier of sorts in the Asgardian ranks. She was sharp. We also get Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster who is a very off beat ruler of this outskirt world. This is right up Jeff's ally. Casting in this film was a job well done, no doubt. We still have all of the usual suspects reprising their respective roles and keeping the story strong. The bonus, icing on the cake, syrup on the pancakes, salt on the fries, are the various cameos and you'll probably get a kick out of them as we did when you see them. Another noticeably good aspect of the movie is the great use of music, almost as good as Guardians. Actor and Director Taika Waititi did a great job with both in this film. His role in this movie was one of my favorites and yet I didn't realize it was him until I started writing this review (pleasantly surprised). Also, for not having directed many big time films, he did a big time job with this one (also pleasantly surprised). As I mentioned before, this movie might not sit well with you if the humor in a Marvel film turns you off. Otherwise, you are in for a real treat.