Thor: Love and Thunder

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: Watch out, Thor, because this review is gonna bring the lightning-- KA-CHOW!

Score: 7/10

 

          Marvel needs to be careful. In terms of the quantity vs quality debate, they have undeniably overwhelmed DC by churning out multiple movies every year while mostly still entertaining audiences more than the DC films have been able to. While Marvel ventured into the TV realm way back with shows coming out on many different networks and multiple shows on Netflix, there has been a more concerted effort to integrate both mediums into the Cinematic Universe with the emergence of the Disney+ shows. They have been largely successful—both overcoming the obstacle of filming over the pandemic as well as taking advantage of butts in couches the last couple of years. So with all the success—across both TV and film, why does Marvel have to be careful? Well, after the incredible buildup to Avengers: Endgame back in 2019, Marvel has ventured further and further into the cosmos and are broadening the breadth of characters and worlds travelled to. The expansion of scope is necessary, but with it is the possibility of fatigue. Multiple TV shows, 3 Spider-Man related movies, and the Doctor Strange sequel have all come out just in 2022. It almost feels like they’re taking the business strategy of Netflix that promised a new original film every 2 weeks to ensure constant content. Marvel can survive some hiccups like Morbius, but the fanbase—especially those that have been around since the beginning in 2008—can be weary of the oversaturation.

          I think that fatigue leaked through to this movie which is why there’s been a split reaction to Thor: Love and Thunder. Following up from the huge success of embracing a goofier side to the character in Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi returns as director and co-writer for this 4^th Thor film. They double down on the humor and pushed the boundaries even further with improvised moments. The end result is everything but the kitchen sink of humor, and while I found myself laughing consistently throughout with some clever recurring gags, there’s plenty of stuff that are like half-jokes that make you smile but not really laugh. This is where Love and Thunder lives and dies. Some of the rehash works, but it doesn’t have the same shine that the previous movie had. Personally, I really liked this movie! But the reactions weren’t all the same even among the friends I went with.

          For those that remember how things were left with Thor from Endgame, he’s fat, single, and forced his way into the Guardians of the Galaxy and proclaiming them as the Asguardians. Despite this being Thor’s 4^th solo film—the first in the MCU to do so—this is actually one of the most accessible of the MCU films. Early on we get a recap of the previous films and where Thor left off in quick and humorous fashion. They have some “classic Thor adventures,” but it quickly makes way for the real heart of the story.

          The film starts off with a dying Christian Bale and his young daughter. Pleading to the gods for help, not only is he shunned away, but he also loses his daughter. A cursed sword with the capability of slaughtering gods whispers out to Bale, and he makes it his mission to eliminate all gods so that people aren’t misplacing their hope. Outside of the hilarious Christian vs Atheist Bale meme, honestly, this is one of the strongest villains. The backstory is intriguing, his ability to summon shadow creatures is unique and way different than the MCU villains just copying the heroes’ abilities, and it’s Christian Bale.

          While I’m a huge fan of Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher, the issues I also hold with his character is a microcosm of my main issue with the film. There’s powerful themes of dealing with loss and cancer… and love and thunder… but the film suffers from the cardinal sin of telling, not showing. In the opening scene, Gorr is brought in front of his god and talks about how his daughter sacrificed herself in the god’s name. Like yes, I just saw that happen two minutes ago. That instance is easily forgivable, but he talks about how he lost his daughter due to the gods at least two more times in the film, and he’s not in all that many scenes. Bale’s performance is also certainly not nuanced, but it provides a great foil to Thor and adds a much-needed darkness to the light tone. We also don’t actually get to witness too much god-butchering happen, but Bale being Bale and losing all that weight to commit to the role still leaves him as a memorable villain.

          This movie also marks the return of Natalie Portman’s scientist Jane Foster from the first two films. Now, I love me some Portman. And my understanding is that all that beautiful beefing up she did to be Mighty Thor is all her. So well done on that. How’s she integrated into the story is proper enough. But if we’re being honest here, I think she struggled the most to adapt to Waititi’s style. She does this little like head bob as if saying, “tee-hee look at me, I’m a silly little scientist!”

          I think I’ve said this now for a couple Marvel films, but I’d describe the action as fine. While teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, there’s so much happening on screen that it’s a little dizzying. There’s some great spectacle, but it’s hard to focus your eyes when so much is happening and the action cuts every second because we’re trying to hide the fact that there aren’t all that many stunts and this is green screen. Plus, with all the gods and different worlds and the only real explanation of Gorr’s powers being that he can summon shadow creatures and can kill gods, there’s never much weight to the stakes of the action simply because I don’t know what anyone is capable of. The shadow creatures are mostly just fodder for Thor and Jane to swing some hammers at. Also, I don’t want to misspeak because the visuals are dazzling and really well done, but there’s still times that I can clearly tell are filmed on green screen, and the physics of superheroes still looks a little rubbery.

          Don’t hate me in the comments for it, but I wasn’t stoked for the Guns N’ Roses songs. There’s an undeniable 80s vibe with the soundtrack and the outfits and poses Thor strikes, and the end credits fonts are some of the hardest names to ever read. I really enjoyed the fact that overall, this film kept to the core group of Thor characters to focus on. Waititi has such a distinct style, and even if it wasn’t perfect, I still had a blast. There’s so much to enjoy. The whole black and white sequence in the film is visually stunning. I’m a sucker for those Sin City type aesthetics where you highlight certain actions by mixing in small amounts of colors in an otherwise black and white environment. Also major props to the climax. I think I’m being clever here when I saw one of the characters wearing a Phantom of the Opera shirt, and the visual from that shirt tied into the climactic setting. The climax is fun, heartfelt, and the way it ended was great.

          There’s still a couple surprise cameo appearances to be had, and Love and Thunder might not rise to what Ragnarok accomplished, but it’s still so much fun. I enjoyed this more than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The story could’ve had some powerful material, but it was a bit ham-fisted in its delivery, and Gorr could’ve been utilized a bit more. But even that critique is a bit of a double-edged hammer, right? Because this was a brisk 2-hour movie. If it was longer and developed more content, maybe the pacing would’ve suffered a bit. But I digress. I still prefer real stunts and long action shots like from Top Gun: Maverick and The Northman respectively, but the action here is fine enough. The core characters are all endearing, and with Waititi at the helm, you know you’ll laugh and enjoy your time. This isn’t a perfect film, but it should hold us over until Jordan Peele’s Nope comes out later this month.