The Thor films were in a pretty dire place before Taika Waititi came along and revitalised the character with Thor: Ragnarok. It gave a lease of new life to a character that many considered to be one of the weaker MCU mainstays and as a result his popularity has skyrocketed ever since. Now, Waititi returns to the director’s chair for Thor’s fourth solo film, Love and Thunder, but will he be able to replicate the same massive success he had with Ragnarok?
Having gone on a bit of soul-searching with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns of a terrifying new threat, Gorr (Christian Bale), who seeks to kill all Gods.
In desperate need of a crack team to fight the God butcher, Thor recruits the aid of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and his ex-girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) who has now become the Mighty Thor. Together they must try and assemble an army of Gods to take on Gorr and save the children of New Asgard before it is too late.
Having gone on a bit of soul-searching with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns of a terrifying new threat, Gorr (Christian Bale), who seeks to kill all Gods.
In desperate need of a crack team to fight the God butcher, Thor recruits the aid of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and his ex-girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) who has now become the Mighty Thor. Together they must try and assemble an army of Gods to take on Gorr and save the children of New Asgard before it is too late.
Love and Thunder has been getting a bad rap among critics, and I’d like to put my neck on the line and say that this might be my favourite Thor film. It’s a close contest between this and Ragnarok, but honestly Love and Thunder might just pinch it. But that doesn’t mean its without its problems, and that also includes Disney’s continuing directionless towards Phase Four of the MCU.
Love and Thunder demonstrates once again how flexible the MCU has allowed superhero films to be by being a rom-com, a first for the MCU and I think maybe a first for superhero films ever. The driving plot of Love and Thunder may be Thor’s need to stop Gorr, but the heart and soul of the film and the reason you’ll keep watching is the will they-won’t they relationship between Thor and Jane, and even manages to weave in a quirky love triangle between Thor, Stormbreaker, and Mjolnir.
Love and Thunder is funny, above all else, Waititi has put his weird and eccentric brand of humour front and centre for maximum effect, and this is arguably what will make or break the film for you. You’ll either love Waititi’s weird and somewhat immature humour and therefore be totally on board with all the gags, or you’ll hate it and therefore the film really won’t land for you.
It does feel somewhat odd to bring Jane back, considering how Thor never really mentioned her after the events of The Dark World, but her storyline surrounding her battle with stage four cancer and her transformation into Mighty Thor to keep herself alive is touching and brings about a fantastic farewell to the character which many MCU supporting cast members simply don’t get. It was great to see Portman back in the role, and the chemistry she has with Thompson is fantastic. I’d pay good money to see a Mighty Thor and Valkyrie film.
Gorr also stands tall as one of the MCU’s best villains, with a fantastic performance from Bale and a lot of time afforded to his development in the script. You really feel for this guy, and whilst he is firmly in villain territory, you can’t help but feel sorry for him and want better for him. The visual design around the character is also amazing, in what makes for one of the most stylish third acts the MCU has ever seen.
Love and Thunder demonstrates once again how flexible the MCU has allowed superhero films to be by being a rom-com, a first for the MCU and I think maybe a first for superhero films ever. The driving plot of Love and Thunder may be Thor’s need to stop Gorr, but the heart and soul of the film and the reason you’ll keep watching is the will they-won’t they relationship between Thor and Jane, and even manages to weave in a quirky love triangle between Thor, Stormbreaker, and Mjolnir.
Love and Thunder is funny, above all else, Waititi has put his weird and eccentric brand of humour front and centre for maximum effect, and this is arguably what will make or break the film for you. You’ll either love Waititi’s weird and somewhat immature humour and therefore be totally on board with all the gags, or you’ll hate it and therefore the film really won’t land for you.
It does feel somewhat odd to bring Jane back, considering how Thor never really mentioned her after the events of The Dark World, but her storyline surrounding her battle with stage four cancer and her transformation into Mighty Thor to keep herself alive is touching and brings about a fantastic farewell to the character which many MCU supporting cast members simply don’t get. It was great to see Portman back in the role, and the chemistry she has with Thompson is fantastic. I’d pay good money to see a Mighty Thor and Valkyrie film.
Gorr also stands tall as one of the MCU’s best villains, with a fantastic performance from Bale and a lot of time afforded to his development in the script. You really feel for this guy, and whilst he is firmly in villain territory, you can’t help but feel sorry for him and want better for him. The visual design around the character is also amazing, in what makes for one of the most stylish third acts the MCU has ever seen.
That being said the CGI is starting to look extremely dated. I haven’t said much about it in the last few MCU film reviews, but in Love and Thunder it’s painfully obvious how rubbery and out of place a lot of these effects are now. Disney need to invest a lot of money in improving the special effects for future MCU films in order to keep them relevant, no longer are they at the cutting edge of technological innovation for blockbuster films and are now more akin to an outdated theme park ride.
But Love and Thunder does compensate for this with a rocking Guns & Roses soundtrack that will have you dancing along to many of the film’s enjoyable action sequences.
Overall, I had a great time with Love and Thunder. Many times I was left in absolute stitches thanks to the sharp yet often bonkers humour, and I felt that what Waititi did with the characters was once again showing his strengths as a director in the same way he did for Ragnarok. However, the isolated nature from the rest of the MCU, and the tired visual effects indicate that Disney perhaps aren’t giving the franchise as much attention as they should. With Phase Four failures like Shang-Chi and Eternals, mediocre outings in Black Widow and Doctor Strange, and only two good films in Spider-Man and Thor, Disney really need to start pulling their finger out and work out what they want to do with the MCU moving forward before it’s too late.
But Love and Thunder does compensate for this with a rocking Guns & Roses soundtrack that will have you dancing along to many of the film’s enjoyable action sequences.
Overall, I had a great time with Love and Thunder. Many times I was left in absolute stitches thanks to the sharp yet often bonkers humour, and I felt that what Waititi did with the characters was once again showing his strengths as a director in the same way he did for Ragnarok. However, the isolated nature from the rest of the MCU, and the tired visual effects indicate that Disney perhaps aren’t giving the franchise as much attention as they should. With Phase Four failures like Shang-Chi and Eternals, mediocre outings in Black Widow and Doctor Strange, and only two good films in Spider-Man and Thor, Disney really need to start pulling their finger out and work out what they want to do with the MCU moving forward before it’s too late.