When it was revealed that the third Thor movie would become more of a comedy, and yet also talk about Asgard in deep trouble, fans wondered how that would happen.

They aren’t wondering anymore. The third Thor movie is an entertaining movie with great action and humor and a very classic villain. The Guardians of the Galaxy should take note.

SPOILERS BELOW

While Guardians is still the Marvel comedy, Thor Ragnarok is a perfect mix of action and comedy, thanks to a great cast and a sharp and funny script by Taika Waititi. He’s even funnier as the voice of Korg, the rock monster who made an impression in this movie.

However, the breakout character is really Hela, played by Cate Blanchett. She is every inch a goddess of death and an impressive fighting machine. Oh, and she’s Thor’s sister, busy conquering realms with her dad Odin until he decided to stop and lock her away. When Loki exiled Odin and took over as him at the end of the second Thor movie, it gave Hela the chance to escape, and plan the arrival of Ragnarok, the End of Days.

Seeing her take a look around the place is also interesting, especially how she calls Odin Infinity Gauntlet a fake and the Tesseract “not bad”. She’s more interested in an eternal flame that will revive her new army and a faithful and very large pet.

The movie starts with Thor chained up in a cage in Muspelheim, talking about what he was doing during Civil War to a silent audience. Then he meets Surtur (Clancy Brown) an Asgardian hell-beast who tells Thor thatRagnarok has begun, but he suggests Surtur not explain his plan while Thor’s rotating away from him. Thor takes care of the demon thanks to his hammer. However, Heimdall isn’t at his post. Some guy named Skurge (Karl Urban) has taken over, trying to impress some girls about what he’s stolen from Earth including some guns from Texas (pronounced in a very interesting way). Heimdall (Idris Elba) is really on the run after Hela has marked him for death, and is doing his best to save as many as the ordinary folk as possible.

It’s not long before Thor gets back home and sees “Odin” enjoying cheesy live drama (with Sam Neill as one of the actors) that makes Loki look a little too good. After Loki is exposed, he and Thor do find Odin in Norway. However he says his time is over, and sadly Hela’s has resumed in a big way. This is made clear when she breaks Thor’s hammer, reducing his power. It’s a big deal, but forces him to fight in different ways. Medusa would sympathize with this guy.

Eventually, Thor is captured as a gladiator on the planet Sakaar, ruled by the Grandmaster. Jeff Goldblum plays this role to the hilt as a quirky dictator who is also quite intimidating only because he’s got the right staff. Then again, seeing him pardon someone…from existence…is scary.

What’s also creepy is how Thor is introduced to his new life, while “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka is played.

He soon meets his first opponent, and (thanks to trailers), it’s none other than the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The result of this battle isn’t important, but seeing Thor try to understand why Hulk’s in Sakaar is pretty funny. It’s also interesting he can carry a conversation. It’s revealed Bruce Banner has been the Hulk for two years, and it takes a familiar face to snap him out of it.

Then there’s the girl who captured Thor, played by Tessa Thompson. She’s from Asgard, and has been trying to forget (through booze mostly) a tragic battle that claimed a loved one. It’s not easy, but Thor convinces her to come home.

Thus, Thor has an unlikely team to try to defeat Hela and save Asgard. It’s even more unlikely because Loki actually makes an effort. What’s even more surprising is how this is resolved, but it sets up what will be coming when the Infinity War starts next year.

Of course, there is the Stan Lee cameo, and let’s just say it leads to a new look for someone.

Also, Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is back, which was expected because a post-credit scene from his movie did include Thor and the always-full beer stein. Seeing him keep Thor off-balance with his magic is very funny.

Thor Ragnarok is a successful end to Marvel’s impressive movie year. It will lead to a very intense year in 2018 with the arrival of Black Panther and Avengers:  Infinity War.