Thor: Ragnarök (2017)

Elevator Pitch: Thor defeats the fire demon Surtur and returns to Asgard to find that Odin is missing, Loki impersonating him. The two go in search iof Odin and with the help of Dr strange, find him. He is dying and announces that then he is gone Hela, his eldest daughter, now a force for evil will be released into the world. It happens and Hela defeats Thor and takes over Asgard. Thor ends up on the planet Sakaar, controlled by Valkyrie and forced into becoming a sort of gladiator, fighting the Hulk. In time Thor convinces Valkyrie to join him and Bruce Banner and returns to Asgard to take on Hela and save his home from “Ragnarök”.

Content:  No sex or nudity, apart from a back view of the Hulk, although Valkyrie wears prominently breast shaped armour. She also drinks quite a bit. Thor fights the fire god, interactis with Dr Srange on earth and talks with his father. On the planet Sakaar we see him captured by Valkyrie and then forced to participte in combat for the enjoyment of the inhabitants. There are numerous confrontations back at Asgard as Hela kills nearly everybody, and some gymnastics involving flying machines.

A View: I was encouraged to watch this because of the director who wrote and participated in “What We Do in the Shadows”, but despite the moments of humour it was just a bit tiring. Having said that I liked the idea of a drunken super hero (heroine), and I laughed when Valkyrie fell off the ramp of her space craft. It took a stunning $122 million on its first weekend and a worldwide total of $854 million. So what can we say? Despite the mind numbing complexity of the plot, probably worth the cost of a download if you already like Thor.

Additional info: Stan Lee was quite active in this movie, taking on the role of the barber who cuts Thor’s hair.