Posted by Man who considers himself a God attempts to repossess a hammer from his cancer-suffering ex-girlfriend.
It’s been a while. I guess I forgot to promote the Obi-Wan Kenobi show review. But even then, it’s been a while. I can’t sleep. Usually it’s the sun rising early. Today, I just have too much on my mind. The build up to the last week has been a strange one. One of opportunity, but ultimately one of loss. Perhaps I should be using this platform to talk openly about things that frankly aren’t spoken about enough. Maybe when I’m ready. For now, I’ll do what I do best and brush it under the carpet in the form of cheap comedy.
In many ways that pretty much summarises Thor: Love and Thunder. At it’s heart there is a movie about a serious subject matter. A subject that hits hard for many people. But this is a Taika Waititi movie, and if there’s one thing you can guarantee – there’ll be laughs and comedy.
This review will probably contain spoilers.
Thor: Love and Thunder has had some pretty pants reviews. That said, I don’t always go by what other reviews say. I wasn’t expecting an Avengers-level threat story. Just a story about one of the popular MCU superheroes. But I have to admit – I think the reviews are right. Thor: Love and Thunder is a fairly mediocre movie. It seems to be the theme of the MCU’s Phase 4. Shang–Chi is probably the best movie of Phase 4 so far. Spider-Man: No Way Home was great, but that was due more to the nostalgic factor of returning Spider-Men than overall MCU story. As I’ve been sitting on the review for Thor for a while, I was going to talk about how Phase 4 needs more direction. However, in that time, MCU head honcho, Kevin Feige has announced the end of Phase 4 and what’s coming in Phase 5 and 6. Let’s see if the quality picks up.
Back to Thor: Love and Thunder. The start of this movie feels very much like a continuation of Thor: Ragnarok. Which you’d assume is a good thing. Instead, it feels like an imitation of Ragnarok.
It’s a bit of a movie of two halves – and in my opinion the second half is better when it’s not trying to be Thor: Ragnarok. Ragnarok was a hilarious movie that had me laughing throughout. Here, I have to admit I was a little bored at times.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a terrible movie. The music is spot on and I loved it. The screaming goats are actually funny – though I can see how they can be annoying for some. And it was nice to have some familiarity with Thor (and briefly the Guardians of the Galaxy) after being introduced to a whole bunch of new MCU characters on Disney+. It’s just a little disappointing given expectations were high.
Natalie Portman is in great shape playing the Mighty Thor, but it would have been nice to see her transform into Thor. Like many arcs in this movie it all seemed a little rushed. Seeing her succumb to her illness didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. Perhaps it was because we see her entering an afterlife in the post-credit scene which really takes away from death here. An issue that is once again common in the MCU.
Christian Bale plays Gorr – an interesting villain I would have liked to have seen more of. I see his point, and that beginning showing him lose his daughter certainly made me side with him a little bit in his quest to rid the world of Gods. Father-daughter relationships in movies are my soft spot after all!
Which, ironically, as I watched this movie many weeks ago, brings me to a key theme of this movie – faith. That was the most interesting aspect for me. It made me consider my own faith and beliefs. I come from a fairly traditional background. However, as time goes on I feel like I’m moving further and further away from the faith I grew up with. Even more so recently.
Still, I look forward to another Thor movie. I enjoy seeing Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, and the set up of Hercules – played by Brett Goldstein no less – is a tantalising one. And father Thor seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Finally, some attempted words of wisdom. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and carrying the burden of that can weigh you down. That’s ok. Let it hurt, talk it out, wallow in self-pity, do what you need to do to make sense of things, of life, of faith. But don’t forget those you love, and those that love you. The ones that make life worth living. Because the moment you’re ready to stand up again, the world is waiting for you to show what you’re capable of. And you’re capable of great things.
Verdict
Like the MCU, and Thor himself, Thor: Love and Thunder seems a little lost, trying too hard and not knowing what it wants to be at the moment. Hopefully the future provides some much needed direction.