"Thor: Love and Thunder - Film Review
Taika Waititi’s first outing with the God of Thunder, Thor: Ragnarok, is widely considered to be a rejuvenating jolt to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was unabashedly weird and genuinely funny, playing to the strengths of Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, and Tessa Thompson. In a collection of films so drab and dreary in their color palettes, Ragnarok was Technicolor. The finale fight scene set to Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” was electrifying (no pun intended). Waititi brought new life to the MCU and fans were excited to see what adventure he’d take Thor (Hemsworth) on in Thor: Love and Thunder.
After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor is looking for a purpose in life. He craves a sense of community and teams up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to answer distress calls from different planets. Entire societies are being decimated in the wake of Gorr the God Butcher’s (Christian Bale) revenge quest to kill every god. The Guardians leave Thor to handle Gorr while they continue helping various planets. Luckily, Thor won’t have to save the galaxy alone. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) are along for the ride.
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All of the goodwill Waititi accumulated from Ragnarok is extinguished within mere minutes of this new film. Love and Thunder is standard MCU-fare. The film has an excruciating number of poorly written jokes squeezed into every scene, zero regard for actual character development, and exudes the feeling that the audience is watching the film on fast forward. Instead of taking the time to let these actors do their job and actually act, Love and Thunder relies on narrated montages for emotional journeys. The development and reconciliation of Jane and Thor is truncated in favor of a romp through Omnipotent City (essentially the MCU’s Mount Olympus) which seemingly only exists to provide context for a mid-credits scene.
Sure, when you boil down all action movies, they share the same exact plot. The heroes have to go to this place to get this important thing, then go to another place, and finally, all hope is lost…until it’s not. This critique is not asking Waititi to reinvent the beats of an action movie, but it’s a problem when the film is so obviously following the same plodding format. Part of what Ragnarok so compelling was that it shirked the confines of the superhero movies before it and wanted to relish in its oddity.
The problem appears to be that Waititi’s vision only worked the first time. Old jokes are trotted out time and again for the easy laugh. There’s not one joke or plot point that the audience can’t see coming from a mile away. These tiring attempts at humor and stakeless plot give off the impression that the film is just treading water. It’s a feeling that’s not unique to Love and Thunder and speaks to a much larger problem in the MCU. Each film exists for the mid-credits scene which stands to grow the universe even bigger. More planets, more galaxies, more heroes, more villains. There’s no end in sight.
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On the one hand, it’s easy to understand how fans can be swept up in the immensity of the MCU. How they wait with baited breath to see which obscure or favorite character will make an appearance and they can theorize how this new character can impact the larger story. Any reader who loves a book, comic, or graphic novel knows the feeling of excitement that comes with seeing words interpreted onto the big screen. On the other hand, when a collection of films is structured like this, the individual films hold less weight. It’s the difference of looking at the larger picture the MCU is painting and zooming in to the brushstrokes.
Make no mistake, Love and Thunder had potential. Waititi spoke about being inspired by 80s action romance movies and that much is evidenced by the soundtrack and the visuals. The film could have been the superhero version of The Princess Bride, but for as much as the script wanted to talk about love, Love and Thunder was missing a heart. It was a shameless attempt at recreating the magic of Ragnarok which is why the film felt so one dimensional. It’s impossible to have heart when knowingly trying to replicate lightning in a bottle for the sake of monetary success.
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Had the characterizations been stronger, Love and Thunder could’ve left a more positive taste in the mouth. It seems the MCU has decided to turn Thor into a doofus, but not a lovable one. The art of being a “himbo” is a nuanced craft that Hemsworth has proven capable of channeling in the original Thor, Ragnarok, and Ghostbusters (2016). In Love and Thunder, Thor’s just plain irritating and dopey without the sincere earnestness. The chemistry between Thor and Jane was nowhere to be found and Valkyrie was totally sidelined. Not to mention the unwelcome addition of two screaming goats whose presence grows more grating with every scene.
The film’s final scene explains the rationale for the film’s title. Without spoiling it, this last scene shows a glimpse of a different path Love and Thunder could’ve taken. A path that would have been more fit for Waititi’s vision of an 80s romance adventure hijinks-filled movie. Only time will tell if the MCU will choose to venture down that pathway.
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