**SPOILER WARNING**
“Are you excited?” is the question my son always asks me as we are heading out the door to opening night of a movie we’ve been waiting for. Our outing for Thor: Love and Thunder was no different except my answer surprised both of us. “I guess…” It was a realization that my usual excitement and anticipation for the next Marvel Studios project to release has waned and it was also evident in the theater that months ago sat jam packed for No Way Home now had plenty of empty seats for Love and Thunder. Lots of varying opinions on the latest installments. I think if you know ahead of time or can accept that this is just a no frills comedy you will enjoy yourself. If you’re looking for a solid entry to the overall plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe you may be disappointed. It’s hard for me to critique this one because I genuinely enjoyed all of the individual pieces of the film just not what they collectively made as a whole. I was slightly disappointed yet solidly entertained.
Thor 4 reunites Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson with Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and sees Natalie Portman returning in a rock ‘n roll space romp that’s full of color and fun characters but lacks depth or ramifications to the MCU as whole. And while that’s okay it may disappoint those hoping for an entry in the episodic serialization the MCU is known for. On the flip side some may welcome the departure and the stand-alone no strings attached adventure. I enjoyed my time with the characters and the world they inhabit but the story itself wasn’t much to write home about. It wasn’t bad but it was lacking. The plot is rather simple. We’ve seen it before. Bad guy wants revenge and takes innocent hostages as leverage for what he wants and chaos ensues. No multiverse to worry about here.
Natalie Portman’s fresh return as Jane Foster comes with a heavy storyline. Those familiar with the Mighty Thor comic run know Jane is dying from stage 4 cancer and by the powers bestowed upon her by Mjolnir is able to sustain her life and in addition, as legend goes, posses the powers of Thor. If you’ve ever known anyone who has dealt with cancer Jane’s story will resonate. Natalie looked as though she was really enjoying herself this time out and the Mighty Thor does kick ass. I was shocked to see her reintroduced so heroically and then sacrifice herself… heroically. However, the post credits scene showed perhaps we’re not done with her (or Heimdall) yet.
Christian Bale was delightfully creepy as Gorr and showed a side of his range I hadn’t seen before. I do wish the character had a little more screen time for development but I enjoyed what time he did. As a parent, I understand the pain and motivation for Gorr’s revenge though generic as it maybe for a movie in 2022. Gorr’s appearance was altered from his comic book origins as to not appear too similar to Voldemort and while completely understandable I still would’ve liked to have seen his original design come to life. The execution of the character’s use of shadows for movement and creating monsters was done brilliantly to some rather nightmarish outcomes.
I’ve really grown to like Tessa’s Thompson’s Valkyrie and I could probably watch an entire movie of her and Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor bantering about on adventures and kicking ass together. Russell Crowe’s sex crazed Zeus, while amusing, was forgettable though he appeared to be having fun. The Guardians of the Galaxy with their scenes all pretty much shown in the trailer are essentially a cameo. I was hoping to see more banter between Thor and Quill akin to Infinity War and Endgame. They add nothing to the story other than picking up with where we last saw Thor before they depart on their own adventure. I’m trying to remember if Mantis even had a line.
Cameos galore with the likes of Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, and Melissa McCarthy joining the Guardians in populating the world of Love and Thunder. Surprisingly absent is Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. A funny side note I love Matt Damon’s actor character from these movies and when attempting to watch The Last Duel all I could see was this character and it ruined that movie for me.
Now while I’m sounding very critical of the movie I did have a lot of fun watching it. I was grinning for most of its duration. The Guns n Roses soundtrack with over the top magic space action was fantastic and rousing at times. Some amazing visuals and the usage or non-usage of color brought a vivid diversity to the screen. I love the rock and roll space world Taika has created. It has easily become one of my favorite worlds to visit. The third act was visually compelling being mostly devoid of color with its use to punctuate moments. Thor empowering the children, while fun to watch, was a little cheesy and felt like it was taken right out of Shazam’s third act when Billy similarly grants his friends powers. The running gag of Stormbreaker being jealous of Mjolnir kept me chuckling and I love that Korg is gay with a rock dude named Dwayne. Overall I, personally, would’ve preferred a bit more weight to an overarching storyline but I believe that is an issue not isolated to this film but the phase and/or current MCU as a whole. In the end, for me, this feels like a movie that doesn’t really need to exist but it’s okay that it does. Cause as member of the cast once asked “Are you not entertained?”
As many others have stated the MCU seems all over the place right now and while we are impassioned to defend the things we love I’m starting to agree. I’ve been reading Marvel since my childhood with boxes of comic books in my closet and even I’m a bit meh on the MCU of late. I still haven’t finished my review for Multiverse of Madness cause I just can’t decide how I feel about that movie. I get that phase four is similar to phase one introducing characters but it does feel a bit hollow and directionless lately. Like we’re treading water waiting for something bigger to arrive. Multiverse. Secret Wars. I get it but still not feeling it. Marvel Studios is said to have a presence at San Diego Comic Con and D23 this year to showcase what is to come. We’ve got big hitters like X-Men, Fantastic 4, Doctor Doom, Deadpool, & Galactus waiting in the wings. Let’s get at it.
0
0