SPOILER ALERT: Most of the following…
BY RICHARD SUPLEE GEEK SPACE CORRESPONDENT All good Marvel Cinematic Universe fans agree that the god of thunder’s solo films — Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) — rank near at the bottom of the Marvel franchise. So I am happy to report that Thor: Ragnarok (2017)’s is one of Marvel’s best to date. Director Taika Waititi finally utilizes the franchise’s talented cast who, in previous outings, were largely treated as glorified greenscreen placeholders for the CGI. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is handsome, hirsute and hilariously cocky, as per usual. Tim Hiddleston’s Loki is handsome, hirsute and wily, as per usual. Anthony Hopkins’ Odin finally gives a performance that feels important to the plot. Speaking of which, it goes something like this: Odin, the king of Asgard, tells his sons Thor and Loki about their older sister, Hela, aka the Goddess Of Death, played by the always-awesome Cate Blanchett. We learn that Odin’s empire was gained through war with the Goddess of Death by his side. But once Odin conquered the universe’s nine realms, Hela was imprisoned by the Allfather’s life force for safekeeping. But when Odin dies of old age, Hela is unleashed and proceeds to kick Loki and Thor’s collective ass, destroy the hammer Mjölnir and take over Asgard in a matter of hours. Idris Elba’s Heimdall single handedly leads Asgard’s rebellion to take the kingdom back from Hela, using his omniscience to camouflage Asgardian rebels from Hela’s undead army. The entire film builds towards the final epic battle on Asgard. The cataclysmic CGI-rific fight scene at the end brings in Lord of the Rings epic-ness as Hela’s forces clash apocalypticly with Thor’s team. Hulk fights the giant wolf Fenris in the middle of a waterfall while Thor finally knocks down Hela after having his eye ripped out. But Thor and Loki soon realize that they will have to destroy Asgard in order to save the universe from the Goddess of Death. So buckle up, it’s gonna be a Hela good ride.