Thor: Love and Thunder is a Fun Rock Concert, Sub-Par Movie

With Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Watiti captured the humorously oblivious side of Thor Odinson, added a few fresh faces, and left fans with a buddy comedy that revitalized the character's stale narrative. Following up that film five years later, Watiti appears to lean into his quirky storytelling to give the Marvel Cinematic Universe its flashiest movie ever. Full of catchy tunes, flashy colors, and fun action sets, Thor: Love and Thunder captures the energy of a rock concert at times. Not like Woodstock or Live Aid, but an old rock band with a few hits that have to use a slew of pyrotechnics and light effects to cover up their aging performance.

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

Following his departure with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of “Endgame,” Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is on a path of self-discovery that he intertwines with the occasional feel good battle. When distress signals across the universe warn of a god-killing threat, Thor and Korg make their way back to Earth and New Asgard to head off the threat, where they discover a new Thor has been making a name for herself. When Gorr (Christian Bale), wielding the all-consuming Necrosword, arrives to continue his vengeance against the gods, he kidnaps the children of New Asgard to lure Thor to the Shadow Realm. As he comes to terms with his ex, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), wielding a reforged Mjolnir, Thor, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Jane, and Korg travel through the cosmos to stop him. This synopsis, as simple as it is, may be the best version of the movie you can get, because there is just so much nonsense written between the lines that it quickly feels like a parody of itself.

This is a very odd movie on its own, let alone as it positions itself in the MCU. Even “Ragnarok,” which Watiti build a lot of comedy into, felt much more grounded in its narrative, tone, and structure. I can not fathom what this movie wanted to be, as it is accentuated by a very poor blending of comedy, horror, and romance. There are scenes immediately following each other that felt like they came from different directors entirely. The battle at New Asgard alone saw this numerous times, as the comedic elements of Thor and Jane's reunion melded poorly with the darkly captured Gorr moments. This is made worse when the Gorr's motivations and plan are what build the stakes for the story and characters, but those stakes become quickly undercut by forced one-liners and cringe dialogue. The one stake that was translated well was that of Jane and the toll that Mjolnir's power was taking on her body's ability to fight off her cancer. But Gorr, as good as Bale's portrayal was, felt out of place; a horror-fueled antagonist exemplifying a philosophical dilemma incorrectly edited into a romantic comedy.

There are a number of times, though, when the movie's ridiculous approach to the god of thunder elicits a great deal of fun. Typically, amidst strong musical numbers, there are action sets that, while not expertly choreographed, lend to an over-the-top imagination full of wild powers and screaming goats, yes, I liked the screaming goats. The fights with Gorr in the shadow realm (not enough Yu-Gi-Oh! references for this aspect) were visually amazing, with the black and white aesthetic showcasing glimpses of color as light sources erupted on screen. A lot of the movie was visually appealing as the costume and set piece designs were donned in lots of gold and glossy hues that would stand out in any crayon box. The CGI was pretty polished for most of the film as well, albeit for a few shots of Korg and the backgrounds in some scenes, especially the end credit scene. There was never a prolonged time when something related to visuals pulled me out of the movie, but it could be that distracting aspects of the story and dialogue overshadowed any visual deficits.

There is a large core of the movie's narrative that is embedded in children and the various representations they have for the main cast. Of the many interesting plot devices Watiti used, a child serves as the villain's main motivation, the primary mission of our heroes, and as Thor's final sense of self-discovery. There really is not much of this that makes sense in the overall narrative, from Gorr's kidnappings to Thor's imbuing the children with his power in the final battle, and yet they are thrust into the spotlight. Dispel all disbelief and the final battle with the untrained kids suddenly pulling off Street Fighter-level combos can come off as pretty fun. Give any thought to the kid's inclusion throughout the story and they become another throw away plot element that detracts from any sense of story cohesion. Even worse than that, though, is the absolutely terrible choice to give Stormbreaker sentience and have it act like a jealous girlfriend since Mjolnir is back around. Not only does Thor interact with the axe in such a way, but hr even goes as far as pouring beer on Stormbreaker so that it could have its first drink.

The best thread being tugged on throughout the movie is that of the love story and reconciliation of Thor and Jane. Jane's story on its own felt like the most mature narrative device and the capturing of the long history between herself and Thor was presented quite effectively. I was sold on their chemistry and on the struggle Thor was having with Jane/Mighty Thor being around. From beginning to end, the weight of this relationship was given real stakes that are realized and gives Thor the only real character development that mattered. It was not great, but it was really good when it was treated with the right emotional weight. As with much of the movie, it was forced to succumb to0 much levity in its treatment and was never allowed room to breath before interrupted with the next slew of poorly timed jokes.

At times feeling like a soap opera in dialogue and a slapstick comedy in its hijinks, this movie never takes itself seriously and never gives you much reason to do so either. There is a lot to convince you that this movie is stupid, even very stupid, and it does not seem smart enough to recognize what it wants to be. It throws a lot of concepts at the wall and not many stick. There is also a sense of disrespect for some of the material it introduces, not just in how it wastes Bale's Gorr performance, but also in the cosmic lore introduced here that is given no time to breath and treated like C-level material. I laughed a lot and I had fun when it was meant to be fun, but when it was meant to be serious, sad, or threatening, it falls so flat it was as though Watiti forgot how to hit those tonal notes. This is best viewed as an minor side mission as far as the character of Thor goes and, in regards to the breadth of the MCU, simply inconsequential.

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RATING: 🎸 🎸 🎸.25 / 5

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