The god of Thunder has returned for his fourth solo adventure and ninth appearance overall in the MCU. But is it worthy? Let’s take a look. Warning, this review contains some spoilers.
The Story and the Cast
The film opens with Gorr (Christian Bale) and his daughter Love on what appears to be a dessert planet. When Gorr’s pleas for help for his dying daughter to his god, Rapu go unanswered, Gorr uses the god-killing weapon called the Necrosword to kill Rapu. Alone, he vows to kill all gods. All this leads us to the god of Thunder, Thor who is still a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He soon parts ways with them when a distress signal from Sif is received. Sif warns Thor that Gorr is going to target New Asgard.
Meanwhile, a terminally ill Jane Foster arrives at New Asgard in search of medical treatment. Instead of finding treatment, Mjolnir, Thor’s destroyed hammer, calls to Jane and forges a bond with her. Just as Thor arrives so does Gorr as he attacks the town with the use of shadow creatures. Thor, Valkyrie and Korg protect the town as the Mighty Thor aka Jane Foster joins the fight much to surprise of Thor. Gorr escapes but not before kidnapping the children of New Asgard.
Knowing all other gods are now in danger and that Thor needs help to save the children, the team seek the help of the god of gods, Zeus (Russell Crowe). Zeus is unwilling to help and instead captures Thor forcing the others to fight off Zeus’ men. Thor injures Zeus with his own thunderbolt, and they escape to the Shadow Realm where the children are thought to be. This turns out to be a trap set by Gorr who steals Stormbreaker from Thor as it is the key to open a portal to Eternity. There, Gorr would ask for the destruction of all gods. Think of it as the ultimate wishing well.
With Valkyrie injured and Jane’s health worsening, Thor goes alone. He finds the missing children and empowers them (temporarily) with his own power to fight Gorr and destroy the Necrosword. With the help of the children and an ailing Jane/Mighty Thor, Thor convinces a defeated Gorr that destroying the gods would not bring his daughter back. Gorr request Eternity to revive his daughter instead which is granted. He then ask Thor to take care of her. With Jane succumbing to her illness, Thor returns with the children to New Asgard where Valkyrie and Sif begin to train.
Meanwhile, Thor reunited with Mjolnir, continues his adventures of helping people but this time with Love by his side who now wields Stormbreaker.
Cast
By far the films greatest strength is in the casting led by of course Chris Hemsworth. He’s just a delight to watch. A big kid having fun. It was nice seeing both Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson return. Thompson’s role I thought could have been stronger. It’s a great character and wasn’t utilized as much as she should. Veteran actors Bale and Crowe were also fun to see in their respective roles. Although, I do wish Crowe’s role would have been more prominent and not as corny. I can however see that changing soon (wink, wink).
Overall Thoughts
While Love & Thunder is better than Dark World (which hasn’t held up over the years as I had remembered), it falls short of Ragnarok. Director Taika Waititi obviously has a sense of humor that more times than not creates a welcome balance in between action scenes. And his selection of music rivals that of James Gunn. This time around though I thought Waititi went a little overboard with the humor. Forced humor is never good humor and unfortunately there was a little too much of it here. Hemsworth as mentioned before is always a delight. There is always a fear when playing a character as many times as he has, to develop character fatigue. That is as far from the truth as you can get. Hemsworth enjoys playing Thor and it shows with every outing.
So far Phase Four of the MCU has been lackluster at best. It’s not that they’ve been bad films. Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and the latest Dr. Strange has for the most part been entertaining. The Eternals with all its potential was by far the weakest entry with Spider-Man: No Way Home probably being the strongest. This phase is missing the wonder and anticipation that the previous phases provided. Each film hinted at the big bad that would threaten humanity and the universe. Mid and post credit scenes furthered the big picture narrative that separated the MCU from the competition.
This current phase since Avengers: Endgame, it’s not as obvious and a sense of direction isn’t clear. That could end up being a good thing when it does finally get revealed. However, it could also end up being a major disappointment if it doesn’t deliver. Granted, Thanos is a hard act to follow but there are some very intriguing choices for Marvel to explore. So, only time will tell.
Thor: Love & Thunder Movie Review Verdict:
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
