Thor: Ragnarok

The third film of the series and a complete change of tone. It opens with Thor hanging in a chain, talking to the audience about his own situation. Back in Asgard he finds a problem. His father is not there and Loki is on the throne. When they find their father he tells them something: they have a sister, and she is about to get out of where she was shut in. Hela arrives and crushes Thor's hammer at the first meeting. Both of them are thrown into space. Thor wakes on a rubbish planet. He is caught, sold and put into an arena; the fighter opposite him is familiar. From there the film is an escape plan. An arena, assembling a team, the theft of a ship, and a bridge. What the narrative is interested in is not the throne but place: what the film says at the end is that Asgard is a people rather than a location, and the finale is built on that. The tone is entirely separate from the previous two films. The comedy rests on improvisation, the actors were let loose on set, and much of the dialogue was found during shooting. The colour and music imitate the science fiction covers of the 1980s. The director appears as a rock character that he voices himself. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum and Anthony Hopkins are in the cast. Taika Waititi directed. Who it is for: anyone who wants comedy out of a superhero film. Who it is not for: anyone expecting seriousness; the narrative cuts every dramatic moment with a joke and that takes the weight off some scenes.