Why 'Thor: Ragnarok' Will Be the Best Film in the Franchise Yet

Based on the teaser trailer alone, 'Thor: Ragnarok' looks like it will blow the previous two 'Thor' films away.

Thor in 'Thor: Ragnarok'
Marvel

Image via Marvel

Thor in 'Thor: Ragnarok'

When it comes to Marvel films, specifically their Cinematic Universe, there's a bit of a mixed bag going on. For every Captain America: Civil War, you're bound to get a Thor: Dark World. It just comes with the territory. Thor is an awesome character and was my second favorite thing about Marvel's Avengers (after Hulk during the Battle of New York), but those standalone Thor movies? Snoozefest, and that's me being modest. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of a third Thor movie, which is called Thor: Ragnarok and will hit theaters on November 3.

That is, until I saw the teaser trailer for Thor: Ragnarok early Monday. Sure, it felt very Guardians-y, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, right? With as serious and as dark as Thor: Dark World was, this feels like the right kind of insanity. While we're still a good seven months out, I'm already feeling good about what Marvel's done with the third installment of the Thor franchise. Here's why.

It's Fun!

This is a shot of Thor's immediate reaction to finding out he has to fight the Hulk on some weird planet. He follows it up with the brilliantly-delivered "We know each other! He's a friend from work!" It has the same comedic vibe that Team Thor short did, which appears to give the movie a balance that previous Thor flicks didn't have.

Cate Blanchett's Hela

At a time when Thor needed a badass villain, I'm glad that said badass is one of the ultimate Thor badasses, Hela, the ruler of Hel. With Ragnarok being the actual destruction of Asgard, a.k.a. the gods' home, who better than Blanchett to be the all black eye makeup everything villain?!

The Promise of Tessa Thompson

Don't get me wrong: Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is seen several times throughout the trailer, but we have no clear picture on what she's actually doing. She's on the planet that Thor appears to have been sent (banished?) to, but it's in her glances...like she knows something. In the comics, she's an Asgardian warrior who can stand toe-to-toe with Thor, and it looks like she's set to be his equal in Ragnarok. It'll be interesting to see why she's seemingly not rocking with Asgard and appears to be pitted against Thor in some way.

All Hulk Everything

We've not seen hide nor hair of the Hulk since he took off in a space pod at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, so it'll be dope to see if we catch a glimpse of this Planet Hulk-based story regarding him being dejected on Earth to now being a fierce warrior. Does he recognize Thor? If so, why's he still trying to battle? Will they ever link up and see Hulk helping Thor battle Hela and/or whomever's here to destroy Asgard?

Jeff Goldblum, Though?!

While I can't imagine the role of Grandmaster, who is said to be the ruler of the planet they are on, will be weighty, it's dope to read that Goldblum was told to "improvise and make it my own." That can only add to what appears to be an awesome cast, and it will be interesting to see what he adds to the MCU as a whole.

Again, this is only a teaser, but Thor: Ragnarok already feels like the kind of winner Marvel needs. They appear to have learned from their past wins (and mistakes) and could be applying that knowledge to their next banger. Color me infinitely more excited for this film than I was three months back.

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