Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
“If you don’t shut up, you won’t be invited to the orgy!” – Zeus.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Written by: Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi sprinkles his ridiculous fairydust on Thor once again, leading to a playful jaunt across the nine realms with a smorgasbord of sneaky-funny actors. And thank the gods, Marvel finally gave us a movie without 89 cringeworthy cameos! And no one even mentions the multiverse - hurrah!
Thor: Love and Thunder sees a lonely, heartbroken Thor (Hemsworth) trying to find meaning in a world without Loki, Asgard, or his ex Jane Foster (Portman). When Foster returns, Thor must navigate their resurgent romance while dealing with a new threat, Gorr the God Butcher (Bale).
While this feels a bit like a movie a computer would write if you asked it to combine the most ridiculous elements of Waititi’s other films – there’s a lot of Korg, there’s some nine foot tall screaming goats, Zeus is a meme, and a large portion of the movie is dedicated to a love triangle between Thor, his axe Stormbreaker, and his ex-hammer Mjolnir – what else did you expect? It’s entertaining and light-hearted, and allows it’s lead actors to bounce off one another as if they’re in an SNL skit. For the most part, Waititi knows exactly what this movie is trying to be – a fun, carefree comedy with some likeable characters. Hemsworth has never been funnier, Portman is fantastic as per usual, Thompson is a good comedic foil, and Waititi’s Korg brings plenty of stupid one-liners.
The only actor who didn’t seem to realise they were in a comedy was Christian Bale, who’s Gorr was a bit too menacing to fit the film’s mood. This was especially noticeable when compared to Cate Blanchett’s more playful Hela from Thor: Ragnarok. It’s hard to pin this on Bale – he’s doing a great job with his performance – but his scenes just felt a bit detached from the rest of the movie. And without a compelling villain to care about, the movie feels a lot less ‘superhero,’ and a lot more sitcom. Which…if I’m being honest…might be why I liked it so much.
Also, the colour grading! No more dull greys and bland cinematography, Waititi leans into wildly saturated vibrant colours for the flamboyant adventure, and then drains all the colour for the interactions with Gorr. It’s simple, sure, but at least it’s something different.
Come for the characters, stay for the screaming goats. This should appeal to all ages.
Rating: 7.5/10