2017 has been a great year for the superhero genre. Various movies came out this year which have breathed new life into what has been slowly becoming a tired genre. The latest is THOR: RAGNAROK, a relentlessly entertaining space adventure reminiscent of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and its sequel (which was released earlier this year). By injecting abundant humor into the storyline, the makers of this film have made this third installment the best of the Thor movies. 

The Norse Gods' realm of Asgard has fallen victim to a usurper, the very powerful goddess of death Hela (Cate Blanchett). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds out that Hela is actually his older sister, which his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) had considered so dangerous that he had had her imprisoned and concealed her existence. Thor soon realizes that he is no match for Hela, who crushes his mystical hammer Mjolnir to pieces. She then banishes Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to die on some distant world, a planet that seems to be covered by a landfill, Sakaar. On this planet are held gladiatorial games, presided over by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Thor is pitted in the arena against the ultimate bruiser, The Hulk, who has been living in exile on Sakaar for years. It isn't long before Thor and his old buddy from the Avengers team up, however, and embark on a quest to retake Asgard from Hela, who has been resurrecting the dead into a zombie army which controls the populace of Asgard.

THOR: RAGNAROK, with its spirit of fun and adventure, is disarmingly charming. It is proof that the superhero genre isn't dead quite yet----maybe not for a long time still. It reminds me of some of the sci-fi B-movies from the 70s and early 80s, during a simpler time when I was growing up. This movie has been deliberately made to replicate the innocent tone of that era. It's an all-around winner.  THREE TRIBBLES AND-A-HALF out of four.