Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Step one of fixing Thor: pretend the first two movies never happened. Ragnarok does exactly that. Long hair, gone. Brooding, gone. The cost is that nothing gets to hurt. Every time a scene starts to feel heavy, somebody cracks a joke to let the air out, and Cate Blanchett’s Hela, a goddess of death with a headdress like a goth chandelier, ends up with way too little to do. But the rest is a blast. Jeff Goldblum plays the Grandmaster like a guy who owns a planet and a disco. Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie makes her entrance stumbling down a ship ramp and still looks like the coolest person alive. Korg, a rock monster with the gentlest voice in space, gets every other good line. The arena fight with the Hulk is pure joy. It made $855.3 million worldwide on an A CinemaScore. An 8.1 because it’s the most rewatchable Marvel movie, even if it treats grief like a speed bump. $4,837 says you introduce somebody as your friend from work and smirk like you invented it.

What works: Hemsworth finally gets to be funny full time, Goldblum is a delight, and the Hulk arena fight is pure joy.

What doesn’t: The jokes undercut nearly every serious moment, and Cate Blanchett’s Hela is a great villain with far too little to do.

Who it’s for: Anyone who bounced off the earlier Thor movies, and people who want their superhero movies loud, colorful and silly.