Third time’s a charm for Thor

more and more with each film, but is now the perfect conduit for pure heroism; handsome, physically imposing, no stranger to a damaged look and hilariously funny.

Thor undergoes a dramatic transformation here, and the Australian throws everything into his career-best performance.

Ruffalo is tremendous too and it’s nice to see The Hulk himself continue to blossom on the big screen after a rocky start.

Blanchett revels in her destructive role and Hela delivers where so many others have failed in the MCU; portraying an interesting antagonist who you genuinely feel could defeat our heroes.

It’s wonderful seeing Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster) get to embrace his kookiness on such a grand scale, Creed’s Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) is so good you’re longing to see more of her and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Anthony Hopkins’ Odin make welcome returns.

There are two or three characters too many, however, as the story struggles to juggle the weight of its expansive worlds.

Waititi inevitably makes concessions to his new blockbuster playground, but it’s reassuring to see he keeps an eccentric, outlandish motif across the board.

The visuals are breathtaking and peak with an aweinspiring, fiery finale that comfortably slots in among the MCU’s top three climaxes.

Thor returns next year for Infinity War, but after the soaring success of his third standalone flick, let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of Waititi in the blockbuster world.