Movie: Thor: Love and Thunder
Production Company: Marvel Studios
Director: Taika Waititi
Producers: Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum
Scriptwriters: Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Main Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Russell Crowe, Jaimie Alexander
Release Date: July 8th 2022 (US)
Running Time: 119 minutes
Certificate: 12A
Introduction
So we’ve all had some time to reflect on Thor: Love and Thunder and unfortunately like the vast majority of phase 4 it’s just fine. Despite excellent performances from Christian Bale and Natalie Portman (I will touch on this later…), the film’s writing wasn’t anywhere near the quality of Ragnarok. This isn’t for a lack of trying but it ended up being just fine which is a waste of the promise and potential it showed. So with Thor: Love and Thunder having just dropped on Disney+, what better time to look back on the most recent Thor outing? So let’s get into the review of the film.
Synopsis
Thor: Love and Thunder picks up in the aftermath of Ragnarok and Endgame with Thor (Hemsworth) at a crossroads in his life. This all changes when he hears about Gorr The God Butcher (Bale) who intends to wipe out all the gods in the universe. Obviously realising he’s outgunned Thor recruits a team to take down Gorr for good. This team includes a returning Valkyrie (Thompson), the cameos of the Guardians of the Galaxy, everyone’s favourite rock person Korg (Waititi). Oh and a certain returning Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor (Portman). Other notable appearances are Russell Crowe’s interesting take on Zeus and a debuting Hercules in the end credits. So without further ado here is my review of the film.
Analysis
Christian Bale’s Performance in Thor: Love and Thunder
To begin my analysis of Thor Love and Thunder, I’m going to discuss something I alluded to in the introduction: Christian Bale’s performance as Gorr. Now in a fairly mediocre film Bale’s performance as the God Butcher is a massive positive. For example, take the first scene where Gorr is introduced. Here we see Gorr maiming himself in an attempt to remove his scars. And yet all that Gorr accomplishes is that he ruins himself even worse than before.
And all throughout this scene Bale is putting in a terrific performance which Thor Love and Thunder doesn’t really deserve. Also, this scene really adds some serious emotional depth to Gorr which in theory underlines his arc throughout the film. However, the film seemingly forgets this agency halfway through and turns him into a more generic villain. Not that stops Bale putting in a great performance as usual because he’s fantastic.
Story Writing in Thor: Love and Thunder
Continuing my analysis of Thor Love and Thunder I’m going to discuss the writing of the film and how it’s all over the place tonally. Now initially the film starts out quite serious because of the whole Gorr wanting to kill the Gods thing. But then Waititi suddenly lurches the film back into Ragnarok’s more jovial tone as Thor confronts Zeus. And yes I am referring to that scene where Zeus magics Thor’s clothes away for some reason that I can barely comprehend. Well I can think of one reason but I’m probably not supposed to say it.
Anyway, the story then suddenly jerks back into a more serious tone as Thor and his team are back to trying to find Gorr again. Now all these shifts in tone mess with the audience as it constantly changes how the audience receives the film. Because are the audience supposed to see this as a whimsical silly film about Thor and his team or a serious film about Gorr’s vendetta against the Gods? No wonder people hated the writing……
Comedy in Thor: Love and Thunder
To conclude my review of Thor Love and Thunder I’m going to discuss the comedic aspects of the film and how they fail to actually deliver consistent laughs. Now when compared to the brilliant Thor: Ragnarok, Love and Thunder often feels quite cringey. And that’s a word that I don’t really like using….. So what changed between Ragnarok and Love and Thunder? Well, firstly the fact that often the film tries to force jokes when they aren’t really necessary. A perfect example of this is the scene where Zeus melts away Thor’s clothes.
Here, it’s clear that the scene is designed as a form of shock comedy done for the sheer purpose of trying to force a laugh. Compare this to other scenes in Ragnarok where the humour of the script and the actors are allowed to naturally shine though. This makes for far less cringey comedy. Also, Love and Thunder seems like it’s fallen into a recent film trap of trying to appeal to a younger audience through shock and cringe humour. And as seen through the film it often misses the mark a lot.
Summary
To summarise the film, Thor Love and Thunder is a decent enough follow up to Ragnarok which unfortunately fails to live up to the promise and hype the trailers promised. This is in spite of great performances from Christian Bale and Natalie Portman as well as fun cameos from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Overall Rating: 6/10 – Reasonable
Target Audience: 12+
Content Warning: Mild Sex and Nudity, Moderate Violence and Gore, Mild Profanity, Mild Frightening and Intense Scenes
Recommendation: No
