Thor: Love and Thunder — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
Being a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I must say that the first two instalments of the Thor franchise haven’t been anywhere near my favourites. When Taiki Waititi was brought in to direct Thor: Ragnarok, he injected some much-needed life. Since then, Thor has been a much more enjoyable character to follow and I now look forward to seeing him every time. Hearing that Waititi would once again be back for the fourth film excited me a great deal, but I also knew it would be a very hard task to top the third film. Thor: Ragnarok is one of my favourite Marvel films, and while there are more than a few moments in Thor: Love and Thunder that harken back to what made Ragnarok great, it’s not quite on the same level for me. Still, Thor: Love and Thunder is a genuine blast at the movies and here’s why I recommend checking it out.
Picking up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, while still being a sequel to the Thor films, the premise here is that Gorr (Christian Bale) who now wields a sword known as the “Necrosword”, has a mission to murder every God in existence. After having killed many already, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is next in line. With the addition of a very well-done story that brings back Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), this film has a lot going for it. The villain storyline and Jane’s storyline are both serious elements of the film, but otherwise, this is just a straight-up comedy, through and through. I liked the tonal shifts throughout the film because Taiki Waititi knows how to tread that line, even though a few moments tread a little too closely.
If you were a fan of the silliness in Thor: Ragnarok, you’d probably love watching this film, but I will say that Thor: Love and Thunder dials it up to a hundred here. From giant screaming goats to a love triangle between his axe (Stormbreaker) and his “ex-hammer” (Mjolnir), I was laughing throughout. This will absolutely be a deterrent for some viewers though. Marvel is known to have a lot of comedy sprinkled throughout their films, but this one probably takes the cake for the amount of humour. The humour landed for me about 90% of the time though, so I had an absolute blast.
Christian Bale is a fantastic addition here and is completely committed to this role, even though I wish he had a little more screen time. Where his storyline goes by the end may also leave viewers dissatisfied, but I kind of love how it concluded and I can’t wait to see where those last few story beats lead. On top of that, I will say that Natalie Portman brings her A-Game here. I wasn’t a huge fan of her in the first two Thor films, but her reason for being in this film was easily the best aspect of the movie for me. Again, like Gorr, I just wish a little more time was dedicated to her storyline. This is a film that clocks in at under two hours, but I believe an added 20 minutes or so could’ve fleshed everything out just a little more.
In the end, this is the most fun I’ve had with a Marvel film in a while. Taiki Waititi’s kinetic energy is on full display here, more than I’ve ever seen before (What We Do in the Shadows included) and Chris Hemsworth commands the screen with his portrayal of Thor, as always. The jokes fly a mile a minute, but I enjoyed that about this film, even though I was worried it would ruin my enjoyment. I do feel that it suffers a little from having multiple storylines and not quite enough time to explore them all, but I was ultimately satisfied with how everything played out. For being such a big story, I will also say that the scale of this one felt a little smaller than the rest of the Thor films. It almost felt episodic at times. Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder is absolutely a must-see if you enjoyed the silliness of Thor: Ragnarok, but some may be turned off. I personally give it a big recommendation because I had a lot of fun.
Rating: 4/5
Check out the trailer below:
