THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
2022 | Dir. Taika Waititi | 119 Minutes
"You seek love, because it's all any of us want."
A grieving father driven to kill all the gods of the universe kidnaps the children of New Asgard. To save the young Asgardians, Thor and Korg reunite with Valkyrie and, to Thor’s surprise, his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster - now a Thor in her own right wielding a reconstituted Mjolnir, though she secretly suffers from terminal cancer. As Thor begins to rekindle his relationship with Jane, as well as with his trusty old hammer, he must come to terms with his fear of loss and with Jane's imminent mortality.
With all the heart and irreverent humor one would expect from director Taika Waititi, underscored with numerous Guns N' Roses needle-drops, Thor: Love and Thunder ffurther grounds the titular hero by exploring his flaws through his relationship with his ex while it only touches upon other intriguing ideas with mixed results. Though Thor's fear of loss was portrayed with a surprising level of poignancy in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Love and Thunder leans into it to contextualize why Thor and Jane didn't work out as a couple. This is humorously illustrated through a true-to-life montage of the pair gradually drifting apart featuring brief scenes presumably set between the events of Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. Thor's journey as a character throughout the Marvel Studios films takes a startling turn by the epilogue of this story, positing that Thor was never meant to be King of Asgard, Jane's boyfriend, or a Guardian of the Galaxy - he was meant to be a father all along. It's an odd character turn that feels somewhat underdeveloped. The way Jane deals with her cancer is perhaps a potentially more captivating story than Thor’s continuing self-discovery, though the film doesn’t really take time to elaborate on it. Love and Thunder also examines the questionable role that gods play in the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disturbingly, most of the gods are portrayed as distant and uncaring, willfully deaf to the pleas of the mortals who worship them, perhaps reflecting Waititi's own views on religion. However, the film only dares to scratch the surface of this notion, mostly utilizing it as the motivation for Thor's compelling new adversary.
The visual style of the film is bold and vibrant, doing its very best to capture the aesthetic of rock album covers from a bygone era. The special effects are some of the most impressive and varied featured in a Marvel Studios film to date. It’s a feast for the eyes, from the fantastically colorful alien worlds Thor defends with the Guardians of the Galaxy to the incredible scale of Omnipotent City. The monochrome Shadow Realm sequence is a striking stand-out set piece. Though Gorr's shadow creatures are somewhat uninspired and the fight choreography can be a bit messy at times, the moments that shine really shine, such as Jane's neat Mjolnir break-out trick and the Asgardian children wielding makeshift Thor-power-imbued weapons during the finale.
Chris Hemsworth looks like he's having the time of his life playing the role of Thor for the eighth time, funnier than he's ever been as he fawns over Jane and Mjolnir (amusingly making Stormbreaker jealous). More captivating than ever reprising the now significantly more complex role of Jane Foster, Natalie Portman really sells the action and the drama of the stubborn astrophysicist on the verge of death, putting on a brave face for her comrades in arms. As Gorr, Christian Bale is moving, terrifying, and actually also very funny, doing a superb job of turning the so-called "God Butcher" into a sympathetic villain. In a much bigger role this time around, director Taika Waititi's rock monster Korg narrates much of the picture, naturally giving himself some of the best lines. Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is mostly underserved this time around, a glorified sidekick that doesn't have too much to do despite her new role as King of Asgard, though she makes Valkyrie's friendship with Jane believable. The film also features screen legend Russell Crowe as the haughty Zeus, speaking in a ridiculously exaggerated Greek accent while hilariously flaunting his thunderbolt weapon. In what amounts to extended cameos, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn briefly reprise the roles of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the picture's first act. Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård also briefly reprise their respective parts as Jane's colleagues Darcy and Dr. Selvig.
A flawed meandering adventure continuing the story of Marvel Studios' slightly forlorn meathead God of Thunder, director Taika Waititi's second Thor film doubles down on goofy comedy and emotional earnestness while subverting expectations in dubious ways, leaving some interesting ideas severely underdeveloped. Despite its narrative shortcomings, Thor: Love and Thunder is ultimately an entertaining ride with a rocking soundtrack and an appealing antagonist.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Angered that he was defeated by Thor, Zeus sends a powerful warrior after the God of Thunder, his son Hercules (Brett Goldstein).
POST-CREDITS STINGER
A hero arrives in Valhalla.
FRAGMENTS
- Gorr's daughter, and subsequently Thor's adoptive daughter, is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth's real life daughter, while Hemsworth's son plays young Thor in one quick scene
- Michael Giacchino's rock version of his Marvel Studios Fanfare is simply fantastic
- Nice to see Jaimie Alexander return as Sif, though her absence since the events of Thor: The Dark World isn't addressed
- Chris Hemsworth's brother Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon, and Sam Neill reprise the roles of the Asgardian actors respectively portraying Thor, Loki, and Odin, now joined by Melissa McCarthy as an actor playing Hela hilariously hamming it up reenacting the passing of Odin and the return of Hela as seen in Thor: Ragnarok
- I was totally blown away by the film's depiction of the cosmic entity Eternity
- So thrilled that Brett Goldstein, best known as the foul-tempered foul-mouthed Roy Kent on Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso, is the MCU's Hercules
