'Thor: Love and Thunder' is hilarious and heartfelt, but isn't better than 'Ragnarok'
- Warning: There are some mild spoilers ahead for "Thor: Love and Thunder."
- The fourth "Thor" film is hilarious and inclusive with a focus on love, but it has its shortcomings.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is like watching a wild fever dream inside director Taika Waititi's mind.
It's vibrant, weird, and quirky; filled with screaming goat sidekicks, a small animated dumpling god, and a scene-stealing personified weapon. At times, the fourth "Thor" film feels like a small child made random requests of Marvel and the studio gave permission to go wild.
And, for the most part, it works.
Taking place some vague amount of time after "Avengers: Endgame," Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself traveling through space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, bringing their own distinctive brand of peace, justice, and zen to the universe as Thor still struggles to find his purpose in life.
Sure he's great at pummeling bad guys and pretending he's OK, but much like a friend who has overstayed their welcome, Thor's been lulled into complacency and codependency with the ragtag crew and needs a shove to get back on his feet.
Motivation comes in the form of a new threat named Gorr the God Butcher (an unrecognizable Christian Bale), who, as his name suggests, is on a one-man mission to purge all gods from existence (it's a trite deeper than that). When Thor learns his people are on Gorr's radar, the God of Thunder splits off and heads back to New Asgard, now on Earth, where a lot of changes have taken place since he last visited.
Among those changes? His ex Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is now wielding Mjolnir, Thor's hammer. (It's a spoiler to reveal how she winds up with it and is better to discover for yourself. If you're familiar with the comics, you won't be too surprised.)
Together with Jane and New Asgard's king, Valkryie (Tessa Thompson), the trio seeks out Zeus (a hilarious Russell Crowe) and remaining gods to help put a stop to Gorr. Unfortunately, it turns out the universe's other gods aren't as altruistic as Thor.
Overall, "Love and Thunder" is a big crowd pleaser and a very funny film. Hemsworth gets plenty of one-liners and quips here.
If you liked 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok," you'll enjoy this, even if it does follow a few beats from the previous film a bit closely (an early fight could be swapped for "Ragnarok's" fight with Surtur) and delivers one too many fake-outs.
Still, Waititi ramps up the rock music and weirdness level here. Part rom-com, part action-adventure, and part horror (there's at least one jump scare), "Love and Thunder" is one of the best efforts of Marvel Studios' Phase Four.
Natalie Portman finally gets her due as a superhero
Awkwardly disappearing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after 2013's "Thor: The Dark World," a film often referred to as one of Marvel's weakest efforts, Portman returns as much more than just a brainy love interest who needs saving.
Jane participates in four of the film's five very enjoyable action-packed fights. And if you're thinking this is just a one-off for Portman, it seems like Marvel may have further plans for her still. (Hint: Stay through the credits.)
Some may be a little upset with the story that leads to her newfound superpowers, thinking it's a convenient plot device, but it's comic accurate.
Jane doesn't solely return to fill a need for more female heroes. After nearly a decade, fans finally receive a satisfactory explanation for why she and Thor never worked out, complete with a very rom-com style montage.
"Love and Thunder" succeeds where previous installments failed Jane by giving her a complete emotional arc. Through Jane and Thor, Waititi perfectly captures the awkwardness of running into an ex and not knowing how to interact when you still harbor feelings for them.
Christian Bale is a top-tier Marvel villain, but he could've used another scene
Bale is phenomenally menacing as Gorr the God Butcher, one of the creepiest villains Marvel has put on screen. He thrives in the shadows and can create terrifying creatures that crawl out from the darkness.
If you bring little ones with you to theaters, he may be a little too scary for them, especially during one scene as he kidnaps a bunch of kids.
Gorr may sound like a one-note villain, but his motives are rooted in the belief that those in power only care about themselves rather than helping those who seek guidance and protection from them. (There's an obvious real-world parallel here for those searching for a deeper meaning.)
Bale thrives in the film's most visually stunning scene when the screen unexpectedly goes black and white for a stretch, reminding us that Marvel is allowing its directors to inject more of their individual voices into these Phase Four films. Its led to mixed results so far (Horror fans more or less enjoyed "Multiverse of Madness." "Eternals?" Not so much).
In "Love and Thunder," Bale gets to show off his acting chops in a scene-stealing monologue and the scene plays artfully with muted colors that dance on-screen during a thrilling battle.
It's a sequence so beautiful you'll instantly want to view it again.
The only complaint? There's not enough of Bale in the movie.
For a character called "the God Butcher," we never get to see Gorr unleash vengeance on any god other than a random character at the film's start. Perhaps a pandemic limitation, but we hear more about Gorr's butchering than see it.
Jaimie Alexander's return as Sif is wasted. 'Love and Thunder' largely ignores previous franchise characters.
If you were expecting to see Jaimie Alexander return as Thor's pal Sif after sitting "Ragnarok" out due to a scheduling conflict, hold your breath. Alexander is barely in the film as an overblown cameo in two brief scenes.
Perhaps there's a deleted scene on the cutting room floor, but Marvel would've been better off leaving her out here for a bigger return elsewhere.
In fact, it seems like Waititi would rather have you forget that the earlier "Thor" movies existed. He's largely dismissive of any characters from Kenneth Branagh's first two entries in the franchise.
Shockingly, Kat Dennings' Darcy and Stellan Skarsgard's Erik Selvig, two staples in Jane's life, are footnotes in "Love and Thunder."
While the Valkyrie and Jane relationship is one of the film's highlights, it's absolutely bizarre — and a bit heartbreaking — that Jane's original partners-in-crime don't receive more screen time with Foster, especially after she becomes the Mighty Thor.
Additionally, a brief mention of Thor's friends, The Warriors Three, in which Korg forgets the name of the Asian character Hogun the Grim is meant to play as a joke, but it feels disrespectful and dismissive of their legacy.
They aren't the only characters who are oddly handled in "Love and Thunder."
The Guardians aren't given much to do here, either. All of them except Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) feel like shells of themselves. Their appearance feels purely contractual after the ending of "Avengers Endgame" where Thor flew off with them.
'Love and Thunder' is Marvel's most inclusive movie, refusing to shy away from characters' sexualities
Late in "Love and Thunder," it's mentioned that love is all that any of us want. Despite a somewhat predictable third act, the sequel delivers one of the most unexpected and heartwarming fight sequences in the MCU.
And that's what's at the heart of the movie: love in its many forms.
Waititi isn't afraid to show Thor give bromantic googly eyes to Star-Lord and have Valkyrie blow a kiss toward a woman while playfully proclaiming she's #TeamJane. There are open discussions in the film about another character's same-sex parents. There aren't any questions that Valkyrie is bisexual and that another character is confirmed as gay by the film's end.
It's surprising Marvel didn't release "Love and Thunder" in June for Pride month because this is easily Marvel's most inclusive movie yet.
And all of it is handled authentically. Nothing is in your face or fleeting. There isn't a "gay moment" in the film for the sake of there being one, something that has become a media focus of previous Marvel and Disney releases.
The film's underlying emphasis on love in its different forms (be it familial, compassionate, or romantic) is one of its largest takeaways that will stay with you long after leaving the theater.
Bring tissues along as you'll probably go back and forth between laughing and tearing up. Overall, it's, as the God of Thunder would say, another classic Thor adventure.
PS — As always, stay after the film ends. "Love and Thunder" has two end-credits scenes you won't want to miss.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is in theaters on Friday.