Thor: Ragnarok

You probably already know this . . .

2008's Iron Man was the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a linked series of  superhero films that has now reached 17 in number. Had Iron Man failed, it might have ended the MCU right there, as its immediate follow up, The Incredible Hulk, which came out six weeks later, was not as successful. But with the huge box office and critical success of Iron Man, the MCU was launched and is still going strong. In just eight years, Marvel has created one of the greatest film franchises of all time, both popularly and critically.

One of the things that makes Iron Man a great film is the tone. It's a comic-book movie but takes itself pretty seriously. There is some humor; Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., is witty, scathing and funny, but the movie plays it pretty straight. Iron Man's world is higher tech than ours, but it's a recognizable place. Had the film been played campy or for laughs, I don't think it would have been as popular. Iron Man established a formula followed by the Marvel movies that came after.

That is, up until 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. By the time Guardians was made, Marvel Studios had a record of nine movies, all good, some great, and they obviously felt they could stretch their legs a bit. Guardians, which takes place in a trippy outer space setting, is much less realistic than its predecessors - it's funny, fantastical and just plain fun.

Which brings us to the 17th MCU film, the third Thor solo movie, which opened last week, Thor: Ragnarok. The first two Thor movies are in the bottom tier of the MCU movies. They have their moments, a fantastic villain in Tom Hiddleston's Loki, and I enjoyed both of them, but they're not great films. They share the Iron Man formula of some humor, but mostly play it straight.

Thor: Ragnarok is a great film. Clearly taking its cue from Guardians of the Galaxy, Ragnarok basically puts Thor into the Guardians' weird, outer space world. They also cranked up the humor; this is undoubtedly the funniest Marvel movie, thanks in no small part to Chris Hemsworth's awesome comic timing. He already showed his comedy chops in hosting SNL and in the recent Ghostbusters, and he let's it all out in Ragnarok. Clearly he's having a ball and so does the audience.

I loved it. I am really looking forward to seeing it again.

The next MCU movie is Black Panther and based on the trailers, it will be more of a return to the old formula. Given the serious nature of the character, that's undoubtedly a good thing. It looks awesome.