Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

A sequel to “Thor: Ragnarok,” Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor as he tries to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) from eliminating all gods. Our JP gives his thoughts on “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

Thor: Love and Thunder
(Walt Disney Pictures)

• Directed by Taika Waititi
• Written by Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
• Based on Marvel Comics
• Produced by Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum
• Starring Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman

Studio Synopsis:

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the God of Thunder embarks on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced — one of self-discovery. But his efforts are interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who — to Thor’s surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together they venture out on a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

JP’s Take:

The Norse God of Thunder has come a long way from his understated beginnings with “The Avengers,” eventually venturing into his solo outings.

We’ve journeyed through various stages in his forging: going from arrogant fish out of water to humble hero in “Thor,” the challenges of being a loyal hero in “Thor: The Dark World,” to coping with tragedy and loss in “Thor: Ragnarok.” You’d think Thor would become embittered and angrier in his quest for justice. NOPE! We’ve arrived at yet another stage in the fourth installment of “Thor: Love & Thunder,” where we discover the zenned side of Thor.

Given the heavy subject matter of “Ragnarok,” the filmmakers have wrapped it in beautifully rich environments with a Monty Python-esque sense of humor, which leans on the sentiments of Eric Idle’s song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” This outing appropriately set to the classic 70’s rock track “Immigrant Song,” belted by legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin. As a result, the third outing was an unequivocal success.

That motif carries over to “Thor 4” for what I consider Marvel’s most unconventional action-oriented romantic comedies. What we see here is a hero film with the aesthetics of 70’s/80’s sci-fi (a la “Flash Gordon”) paired with the sensibilities of a John Hughes teen-angst classic. We’re brought up to speed on Thor’s road to recovery through the narration from his loyal rock-bodied sidekick Korg (voiced by Taika Waititi). Korg’s wry British wit is placed over a montage of Thor whipping himself back into shape after letting himself go in “Avengers: Endgame.” He meditates and uses gentle persuasion to end deadly conflicts … to no avail.

Director/writer/actor Taika Waititi and writer Jennifer Kaytin-Robinson maintain the delightfully goofy teenage antics that flow into self-mockery while it wears its God-sized heart on its sleeve. During the battle between the shadow creatures, which have attacked New Asgard, Thor receives reinforcements from a mysterious crusader who appears dressed like him. Upon a closer look, he realizes it’s his ex Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and she’s wielding his ex-hammer called Mjolnir. Talk about AWKWARD. Long story short they exchange the obligatory “what are you doing here?” and “you look great” while bashing ugly monsters. We’re presented with sitcom-like flashbacks that Korg narrates once again.

Those are rib-tickling scenes as you realize Thor has been living a life of solitude until called upon to save the world once again, and it’s been several years since he and Jane have parted ways. Just as tickling is the fact that New Asgard had become a tourist destination regarding the Disneyland atmosphere. It’s complete with a stage play about Asgardian history performed by (surprisingly) Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Neill as Loki, Thor, and Odin. Even Melissa McCarthy joins the production pretending to be Hela within the play. It’s unexpectedly chuckle some and cheesy good fun. Other comedic moments find Thor consoling his new weapon, an ax called Stormbreaker, after he is seen reminiscing with his old weapon Mjolnir about old times. You’d think these tools of battle were actual beings as they move on their own and even seem to have emotions.

“Love & Thunder” is not without tragedy as we learn Jane has stage 4 cancer; it is imparted to viewers that she resorts to unconventional methods to save her own life. When summoned by the once fragmented hammer Mjolnir, she, too, becomes Thor, In this case, the MIGHTY THOR, who has yet to earn her superheroine patches. Still, she’s mighty enough to join the original Thor and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) in stopping a new sinister baddie by the name of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). Original Thor discovers he and Gorr have something in common: they’ve lost loved ones and both their worlds have been destroyed.

Bale always squeezes the best performance out of every character he’s called to perform. Here, his menacing spooky appearance is haunting with glowing eyes and creepy mannerisms. I can see the wheels of diabolism turning in his head. Portman puts on a multitasked performance as she has to appear both worn and sickly in the character of Jane and valiant in Mighty Thor form. She executes them both wonderfully. Thompson, again doing a fantastic job, also reprises her role as King Valkyrie. Waititi has quite the quirky jests when voicing Korg that are well-timed and zippy. Joining the cast this time is a husky Russell Crowe as Zeus as he pours on the egotistical idiosyncrasies pretty thick. Crowe pokes a few good laughs out of viewers with his ill-fitted Italian accent as the Greek King of the Gods of Olympus.

The cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy” also appear in the film: Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Alexandra Klementieff (Mantis), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), and Sean Gunn (Kraglin Obfonteri). Additionally, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, and Idris Elba show up to the party reprising their roles of Darcy Lewis, Eric Selvig, and Heimdall.

The action is pervasive and typical of MCU flicks, yet enjoyable. The jokes are somewhat esoteric and sometimes buried within scenes, with one meme that stands out the most. The screaming goats that follow the characters everywhere are one I’m sure meme hunters will recognize. A fascinating moment involves Thor, Mighty Thor, King Valkyrie, and Korg chasing after Gorr into the shadow world. The scene drained of its color, while changing bright hues to a grayed-out monochromatic scheme to suit the mood. I felt it was a nice touch.

I applauded as “Thor: Love & Thunder” ended at such a wild, messy, hilarious adventure.