I had never really fully bought into the Thor movies. Sure, the first one and Dark World (occasionally) were fun enough, but they’re the Marvel films I’ve watched the least. Then Ragnarök happened, and it all clicked. Whether it was the magic that Taika Waititi brought or the fun and humor that were spliced into its DNA, I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see what Love and Thunder had in store for us. I wish I could say that it lived up to my expectations, but it suffers from some of the common trappings and tropes found in a lot of Marvel films and fails to catch lightning in a bottle a second time.
It’s been some time since the events of Endgame, and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been getting back in shape and trying to get his mojo back as he saves worlds with the Guardians of the Galaxy. When New Asgard comes under attack by monstrous creatures led by the enigmatic Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), he and Korg (Taika Waititi) return to earth to attempt to prevent the decimation of the village and the abduction of the Asgardian children. Amid the chaos, he is joined in battle by The Mighty Thor – Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who has been found worthy to hold Mjolnir and receive its powers. With little time to reconnect, the heroes must try to assemble a group of warriors to rescue the Asgardian children and stop Gorr from completing his ultimate quest to destroy all the gods.
Anyone who has watched the trailers knows that Love and Thunder was leaning hard into a comedic take on the character. This actually works well as Thor can be kind of ridiculous, and Taika Waititi is a genius not only in this genre but also in big budget action flicks. And it is funny! In fact, one scene had me and those around me laughing so hard we missed the next five minutes of the movie.
If only all of it were that entertaining.
The easiest summation is to compare it to watching a kid learning how to swear – it’s amusing about 1/5 of the time but the rest is just kind of annoying. I would have loved to say that the laugh out loud moments hit hard and fast, but they were few and far between, and it was obvious they were trying too hard which can almost be as bad as not trying hard enough.
Marvel has a villain problem again as Gorr’s quest for revenge is understandable and even relatable, but he’s just not as interesting as say, Thanos, or The Mandarin in Shang-Chi. He and the MacGuffin are serviceable but ultimately forgettable as we won’t be looking back fondly on his antics or the impact he had on the universe at large.
Which isn’t to say this is a wholly bad film as I actually enjoyed most of it, and the last third is everything you could want in this kind of movie. I just wish the rest of it lived up to that level of quality. It’s also absolutely magical seeing Jane as The Mighty Thor kicking ass and trying to figure out her catch phrase. Her hero’s journey ends up being the most tragic and moving of all, and I want to see much more of her portrayal of the character.
Oh, and there’s Chris Hemsworth’s ass. That alone is worth at least one star.
I’ve said before that Phase Four movies have been up and down with only every other one being good, but this one breaks the pattern and manages to fall somewhere in the middle. It is fun and has a lot going for it, but anyone expecting another Ragnarök is going to be let down. Had the first hour and a half been as entertaining and interesting as the last bit, you would have had something that put the other Thor films to shame, but that just isn’t how it played out. We were promised thunder, but in the end, we only got a mild rumble.