Churning out its fourth major release of the year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on a roll adding its newest installment to their Thor series: “Thor: Ragnarok.” For dedicated fans of the franchise, they can appreciate the film as it stays true to what we have come to expect from a Marvel movie. For anyone new to this world of superheroes, you may have a long way to go if you want to thoroughly appreciate the detail the film has to offer. While “Thor: Ragnarok” dazzles in its showy, comedic and epic splendor, it doesn’t quite reach the pinnacle of cinema.

With a budget of $180 million, according to IMDb, this blockbuster had all the glitz and glam of a major motion picture. The plot of this adventure follows Thor as he tries to save his home of Asgard from certain destruction.  Through some misadventures along the way, Thor encounters an extensive cast of characters all culminating in the epic battle sequence.  Reprising his role of God of Thunder, Chris Hemsworth takes the lead in a cleverer iteration of his character. He is accompanied by a plethora of A-list actors including Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum and altogether each character seemed to find their place and a decent story arc. The acting in this film was up to par with the caliber of its actors and everyone fit their character perfectly.

 In a world befitting these beloved characters, costuming, set design, visual effects, and sound effects all rose to the high expectations of one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises.  The final battle sequence especially showcased the talents of everyone working on the film as each piece of the puzzle meshed to bring forth a mind-blowing experience that left audience members gaping at the glory of battle. 

Having revolutionized the comic book movie genre, Marvel has been able to dominate and take control of what aspects of a comic book movie is successful and refine it.  Taking a lead over DC, Marvel has been able to grow its fan base over the years.  With the success of movies like “The Avengers” which DC is trying to replicate in their own way with “Justice League”, Marvel has taken what made that crucial film successful, and proliferated that magic and reaped the benefits.  Heavily relying on an iconic cast, stunning production value, and its trademark action mixed with humor, “Thor: Ragnarok” hit each of the points that Marvel equates the meaning of a good film.

As appreciated as these aspects are in the making of a great motion picture, the audience saw a true to form Marvel movie that, like a comic book, catered to those who have seen and loved previous stories. As a Marvel, this was a slam dunk.  As a standalone movie, it has become that one cannot fully enjoy the movie and all of its inside jokes unless you have seen the rest of, not just the series, but the franchise.  Marvel knows what it’s doing when it comes to serving their fans what they want.  It would be a shame if they lost themselves and what their movies are supposed to be in the money grabbing nature of it all.