Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Review

118min

Genre:       Comic-book, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Director:     Taika Waititi

Cast:         Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale…and more

Writers:     Taika Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

-Synopsis-

Fresh from helping the Avengers resurrect half the universe, a newly in-shape God of Thunder’s misadventures with the Asgardians of the Galaxy are cut short by an identity crisis and his determination to put his superheroing days behind him, only to be pulled back into the fray by a reunion with a newly mighty old flame and getting into the crosshairs of a rampaging butcher intent on wiping out the Gods.

Five years after witnessing the re-invention of the “God of Thunder” and experiencing a unique injection of quirkiness and mirth into the MCU, Marvel and its fans are once again plunged back into Taika Waititi world with gusto, as the singularly silly Kiwi writer/director wrangles together a team of familiar faces and a couple of recognisable new additions for a madcap Asgardian adventure of self-discovery and spreading love across the stars—by hammer and axe.

Chris Hemsworth returns as a once again buff God of Thunder, going it almost alone but for his buddy ‘Korg’ (Taika Waititi) after putting their adventures with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ behind them to find his way, only to be drawn back into the superhero life by a menacing ‘Gorr the God Butcher’ (Christian Bale) with his murderous sights set on the previously untouchable Gods of the universe. But his path is turned upside down by the unexpected return of a mightily worthy ‘Jane Foster’ (Natalie Portman), rekindling a romance with an old flame who burns briefly as they team up with ‘King Valkyrie’ (Tessa Thompson) of New Asgard for an awkward madcap mission to save their loved ones . . . ruffling a few feathers along the way.

When Disney took a chance on a whimsical Kiwi with quirky sensibilities and a distinct cinematic voice to re-invent one of their MCU franchises—injecting a new energy into the whole cinematic universe with 2017’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’—the result would contribute to an epic and historically successful end of an era of Marvel on the big screen. But five years, one pandemic, and a major streaming service launch later and the MCU itself is a different proposition, with ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ feeling like an attempt to re-invent a frenzied formula while simultaneously rehashing it, resulting in distinctly mixed results which just don’t live up to the high standards set by the masterfully planned and interconnected first decade of the MCU, nor meet the resulting audience expectations.

Make no mistake though ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is still a solid and enjoyable piece of wacky blockbuster entertainment and spectacle, packed with plenty of colourful and vivid visuals combined with relentless zany action all captured by Kiwi cameraman and emerging cinematographer Barry Baz Idoine, not to mention being stuffed with Waititi’s signature brand of quirky self-aware humour—albeit not nearly as effectively or well-executed as in his first crack at the God of Thunder. And if the synth was the musical driving force behind its predecessor then the amped-up electric guitar is the lead instrument here, as Marvel goes for psychedelic metal vibes with a score from Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad combined with so much rock that the film sometimes feels like an extended ‘Guns N’ Roses’ music video, all driving a soundscape to match and even turbocharge the energy of the visuals.

Always fan of subverting fan expectations by his own admission, backed or even led by Marvel Taika Waititi makes his intent clear here—inject (or crowbar if necessary) plenty of love and emotion into a genre not normally associated with feelings and discussing them—essentially trying to create a romantic comedy dressed in zany superhero adventure clothing. But the balance is off, as just passable attempts to inject pathos and heart into the narrative are crammed between increasingly ludicrous comedy and spectacle, as if a bunch of premises and set-pieces were thrown onto the screen to see what sticks with far less cohesion than we’ve become used to from Marvel.

There is however some promise in the story here in the form of new narrative angles and points of conflict, which promise a future for the MCU which may look to the heavens and a superhero take on the Prometheus myth. But it’s nowhere near the level we’ve come to expect from a Marvel movie, and that’s the major problem here and going forward as they become a victim of their own success, underdelivering and failing to re-create the quality but still hitting the high notes at the box office . . . for now.

When it comes to ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ specifically, gone are the novelty and delight of discovering Taika Waititi’s unique vision and distinct Kiwi comedy sensibilities applied to the largest cinematic canvas. For better or worse expectations are set and the fourth Thor film just doesn’t meet them, choosing to peer lovingly into the past rather than determinedly into the future and introducing few new characters of consequence—apart from Christian Bale’s expertly creepy but underserved villain and a certain Aussie superstar as a hilariously scene-stealing, scenery-chewing Godly Greek.

By the time you get to the customary post credit scenes which lead you into the future for Marvel on the screens big and small, you’d be forgiven for not caring as much as you used to. After a decade of extraordinary crowd-delighting, industry-transforming success it feels like the MCU has lost some of its magic as it forges its way into a new era, to some extent thanks to its own choices of course but also as a consequence of high expectations, overexposure, and jaded audiences who’ve seen it all.

In the end ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ amounts to a perfectly good silly escapist blockbuster spectacle, sprinkled with more than enough thrills and laughs to entertain for a couple of hours, and were it not a part of a greater tradition would probably make for a more memorable standalone superhero romp. But it comes uncomfortably close to a collection of disjointed premises, jokes and action sequences set to music and delivered with as much flash as possible, a scattershot hot mess trying to replicate the unexpectedly successful formula of ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ only to find that it wasn’t really a formula in the first place. Proving that it’s hard to catch lightning (or thunder) in a bottle twice, and that too much creative freedom is not always a good thing, leaving room for unhelpful self-indulgence.

The Bottom Line…

Whilst it may prove a perfectly entertaining couple of frenzied hours of comedically over-the-top big screen spectacle, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ fizzles without ever catching fire or capturing the imagination, falling well short of the expectations set by its makers trying to strike lightning twice. Only time will tell if this is another blip in the MCU’s phase 4 trajectory, or another sign of things to come from what has been the standard-bearer of integrated blockbuster filmmaking for over a decade.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

When Asgard is ravaged by the powerful ‘goddess of death’, the mighty ‘god of thunder’ is relegated to slave gladiator on a decadent distant planet, only to form unlikely alliances with some familiar faces and some new ones to save his civilisation from annihilation, in the third instalment of the ‘Thor’ series and latest chapter in the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ (MCU).

Directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett and Mark Ruffalo among others.

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