Five Things To Know About Thor: Ragnarok

I was lucky enough to screen Thor: Ragnarok earlier this week. It’s my favorite Thor movie yet! Ready to head to the movies this weekend? Here are five things to know before you hit the theater.

You should do your research.

I always think it’s better if you go into a Marvel Cinematic Universe film having seen the movies that came before it. More specifically, I think you should watch all of them in order. Although Thor: Ragnarok can somewhat act as a stand-alone movie, there are lots of references to previous films and jokes that won’t make total sense without seeing those films. It would be particularly helpful to watch Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange and the previous Thor movies if you haven’t already. But really, you should invest the time to see them all. It’s all connected.

It’s a different kind of Thor movies.

The differences go well beyond giving Thor a haircut. This movie is funny in a way the previous two films were not. And although they didn’t go full on Guardians of the Galaxy with the soundtrack, they did work Immigrant Song into the film. (And a little music from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for good measure.)

Jeff Goldblum steals the show.

I wouldn’t be mad if they put Jeff Goldblum in every movie. Grandmaster completely stole every scene he was in. If they ever decide to make a Grandmaster movie or a One-Shot or a ride or basically anything else, I’ll be the first in line.

I don’t think Bruce Banner was wearing a Duran Duran t-shirt.

So it’s highly possible that I’m the only one who cared about this detail, but care about this detail I did. Upon first seeing the trailer, I wondered if Mark Ruffalo was wearing a Rio cover shirt. Upon watching the movie, it doesn’t appear to have any lettering, making it most likely a generic Patrick Nagel t-shirt. Bruce Banner’s outfit is a minor plot point, however, so that kind of made up for my disappointment. Also, Rio is an awesome album. You should give it a listen this weekend.

Stay until the end. The very end.

Leaving as soon as the credits start to roll? I’m judging you. Harshly. If you don’t stay until the lights come up in any MCU film you’re doing it wrong. Thor: Ragnarok has two stingers. One mid-credit, one end-credit. Stay long enough to see both.

Thor: Ragnarok is in theaters now!

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—thedestruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk!