There is no doubt that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most successful film franchises of all time. Spanning nearly 30 movies since 2008 with āIron Manā and even making their splashes on the small screen since 2013ās āAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.ā, It seems that there are no brakes on this train of profit. I would argue that their success, for the most part, is very well deserved. Disney had a perfect market: a family-friendly reputation, legions of devoted comic book fans, and people who seek spectacle. I, myself, enjoy these films despite some of them being incredibly flawed. However, since both āAvengers: Endgameā and āSpider-Man: No Way Homeā, there hasnāt been a whole lot for me to look forward to.
This is where the Thor movies come in for me. Out of every MCU character, Thor has had the weakest standalone films. I really liked his 2011 big screen debut but, I found 2013ās āDark World to be forgettable. That film, in particular, had the absolute worst villain in the entire MCU and, until āEternalsā came out last year, was regarded as the worst movie in the MCU. In 2017, we had āRagnarokā which was fine but, not as balanced with its comedy as the first film was. Itās kind of perplexing for me to call Thorās set of standalone films the least interesting because I really like him in the MCU. Chris Hemsworth does a great job portraying the god of thunder and, despite my issues with the latter installments being crammed with jokes at rapid-fire speed, heās got rock-solid comedic timing. Itās a case of me liking him better outside of his own films.
This brings us to āThor: Love & Thunderā, the fourth Thor movie and the second MCU film to be directed by Taika Waititi. Taking place after the events of 2019ās āAvengers: Endgameā, Thor is hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy while trying to find himself. As he goes on from adventure to adventure, His ex-girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. As she seeks treatment, this leads her to New Asgard, a town populated with Asgardian refugees ruled by King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Meanwhile, a new threat emerges in the form of Gorr The God Butcher (Christian Bale) who vows to kill every god on his way to eternity. With time working against him, Thor must band with Jane, Valkyrie, and Korg (Taika Waititi) in an effort to stop Gorr.
The film starts off with an introduction to Gorr that almost feels like a horror movie. We get a basic understanding of who he is and why he ends up in possession of the necrosword, a weapon made to kill gods. A pretty solid opening if you ask me, aside from some of the visuals being a bit jarring. After this, we end up picking where we left off with Thor and the Guardians, going from space battle to space battle, all while being narrated by Korg. It pleases me to say that the Guardians and Thor still have their chemistry intact from both āInfinity Warā and āEndgameā seeing these guys on screen is always a good time. However, once the Chris Pratt & Company exits the stage, the movie brings to getā¦ interesting.
The main issue involving the filmās narrative is how chaotically all over the place it is. The film, like the sum of Thorās standalone adventures, operates similarly to the way I did in my senior year of high school, having an incredibly difficult time trying to figure out what it wants to be. Does it want to be a love story about two exes rekindling their lost love? Does it want to be āGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Deluxe)ā? Does it want to be a 2 hour, 1980s MTV rock-a-thon? Both Taika Waititi and writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson choose to do all 3. Rather than weave in these elements organically, however, both Waititi and Robinsonās script takes the liberty of plopping the elements into a frustrating game of whack-a-mole. However, unlike āEverything Everywhere All At Onceā, āLove & Thunderā seems to be a collage of ideas thrown into a final product that ultimately serves no meaning.
What frustrates me greatly is that there are moments of greatness within this mixed bag of a movie. The cast here do a pretty good job overall. As Iāve mentioned before, Hemsworth remains as charming as ever and has rocksolid comedic timing. Natalie Portman gets an upgrade as Dr. Jane Foster this time around and looks like sheās having a blast kicking ass as the mighty Thor. Iāve really grown to like Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie the more I see her in the MCU. In āLove & Thunder, However, she is absolutely wasted. While she is seen having a good time once the action gets started, she is given nothing to work with and overall serves no purpose to the movie aside from playing second fiddle to Taika Waititiās tragic excuse for comedy. Easily becoming the best villain of the four standalone films, Christian Bale is both sympathetic and haunting as Gorr the God Butcher and is (thankfully) not reduced to a walking punchline. I wouldnāt be surprised if he visited the same Chiropractor that Angelina Jolie visited after last yearās āEternalsā.
It comes to no surprise that both The Guardians of the Galaxy and Russell Crowe were absolutely wasted in this movie. I understand that this is supposed to be a Thor movie and not a Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff and I do respect it for not being a two-hour cameo-fest but, that doesnāt make their lack of presence any less forced. Speaking of forced, Taika Waititi as Korg manages to overstay his welcome even more than he did in last yearās āFree Guyā. He was better utilized in āRagnorakā when he was part-time comic relief as opposed to firing off jokes like a cocaine addled mobster with a Tommy gun. In āLove & Thunderā, he reaches an unbearable limit to the point where he, along with the film itself, becomes exhausting.
As far as the visuals, even they are all over the place. While I truly dig the 1980ās campy/MTV rock aesthetic, this film makes some bafflingly poor use of its staging. This film, as well as both āThe Mandolorianā and āThe Batmanā, were shot on a brand new VFX stage called āThe Volumeā. Seeing how seamless and incredibly well used it was in āthe Batmanā, I was pretty excited to see how a movie with a $200 million budget would use such an incredible stage. However, there is all ends up being, just like the film itself, wildly inconsistent. Images of Thorās helmet made waves around social media as a punchline for bad CGI. However, thatās not even the worst aspect of the filmās use of digital effects. There are two goats introduced in the film that are not only gratingly insufferable but, look horrifically unfinished. If you have told me that this was originally an Xbox game from 20 years ago, I wouldnāt even question it.
The scenes that took place in the Omnipotent City, however, looked absolutely stunning. In actuality, that scene featured one of my two favorite battles in the entire movie. It was so much fun that it harkened back to the days of me playing āMarvel Ultimate Allianceā on my Xbox 360. I would even go as far as to say that I wish the film stayed in Omnipotent City a little bit more than it did. However, the film sort of peaks again when we get to the shadow realm. When this was teasing the second trailer, I jokingly Drew comparisons to Frank Millerās Sin City. However, it feels a lot more like a 1950s space horror film than it does a Frank Miller adaptation. As a matter of fact, this film wouldāve been better off having the finale take place here instead of another green screen hallway.
As overall disappointed as I am with āThor: Love & Thunderā, I didnāt outright hate the film. Itās nowhere near as bad as āMorbiusā or āJurassic World: Dominionā. For starters, clocking in at about 2 hours, itās mercifully short. The film goes by fairly fast as opposed to dragging its feet across the finish line. The film does have some visually engaging moments as well as some incredibly jarring ones. Christian Bale carries this movie as the main antagonist despite being completely out of place with the rest of it. However, by the time I left the theater, whatever joy I may have had during my screening took a swan dive and landed headfirst. I didnāt find āMultiverse of Madnessā to be the best MCU film ever made but, I at least left the theater invested in where Doctor Strange was going to go from that filmās conclusion. Even during the mid/post-credits scenes of āLove & Thunderā, I was both confused and checked out. āThor: Love & Thunderā doesnāt even qualify as cinematic junk food, itās more so a cinematic Wahlburgers: Sure, there are a few things on the menu that I enjoy but the overall ambiance is very much self-fellating and drowning in so much arrogance, it would make disgraced former president Donald Trump himself blush. The only difference is that this overpriced and unimpressive burger joint is run by Taika Waititi.
Final Verdict:
āThor: Love & Thunderā has a few moments of greatness but, it ultimately feels loud, inert, and derivative, making for an exercise in arrogance that is overwhelmingly underwhelming.