Readers let me tell you about the space Viking Thor aka Chris Hemsworth aka the strongest Avenger in his latest adventure Thor: Love and Thunder. Starring Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson this newest outing puts Thor up against a god-killing monster.
It has been years since we last saw Thor and since then the 1500-year-old god has been trying to find himself since the events of Endgame. He’s been traversing the galaxy with the Guardians of the Galaxy saving countless planets. Then one day he learns that gods across multiple planets have been killed by a being known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) who wields a weapon capable of killing gods. Along the journey with him as King Valkyrie, Korg and Jane Foster who now wields a reformed Mjolnir.
Thor: Love and Thunder – let’s get loving and thundering
Thor: Love and Thunder is fun and that is really it. There are far too many stories going on to give any of them any real time to connect to the audience. For example, you have Thor’s story trying to save the gods from Gorr all the while dealing with the return of Jane. Then there is Jane who has now become a “Thor” which basically means she can wield Mjolnir. She has a deep and tragic event occurring in the film but it is brought up barely a handful of times.
The worst offender comes in the shape of the God Butcher himself though. Gorr’s whole motivation stems from a betrayal from his god and how he wants to wreak havoc on the rest of the universe because of this trauma. Unfortunately, there is never enough time dedicated to him to actually care about him. This to me is an ungodly mistake. You have Christian Bale and honestly, he felt like a leaner uncle Fester that pops in and out of the film to remind the audience there’s a villain.
This is my vow, all gods will die
Thor: Love and Thunder does have some elements going for it. The establishing scene showcasing Gorr’s tragic origin is genuinely moving. Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jane has never been better. Her back and forth with Chris is lovingly familiar even if it doesn’t quite feel convincing. She did deserve far better though than she got. There are several moments of visual flair that give the film an impressive character. Most of it stems from how Gorr utilises the power of his god-killing weapon.
There are also a lot of comedic moments throughout the film so much so that this could easily be classified as a comedy. There are so many missed opportunities for a real sense of danger that this feels more like a He-Man knockoff than the next epic chapter in Thor’s life.
Ultimately Thor: Love and Thunder is a fun, candy floss film but it has a pantheon of problems that would take me from here to eternity to fully explore.
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