(The following review contains no spoilers!)
Even though the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Iron Man back in 2008, which was 14 years ago, we have only had sets of trilogies of films within the universe with no characters making it as far as a fourth film. With the number of characters currently in the MCU it isn’t that surprising. Iron Man has sadly passed on, someone else has the mantle of Captain America, but Thor, well, he’s still Thor. Out of the original trifecta, Thor is the only one who got out of the battle with Thanos unscathed back in Avengers: Endgame. Although saying that he has battled grief a lot in between with the loss of his parents, his half-brother Loki and now his friends too. This puts Thor in a position where he’s alone and unsure of what to do with his life.
Thor: Love and Thunder is about Thor finding out what he loves, who he loves and it isn’t just Thor either who is looking for love. Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster, Thor’s ex-partner, who has become a version of Thor herself, with the mantle of the Mighty Thor. Also returning are Valkyrie, who is the current King of Asgard, Korg, who is Thor’s newest bestie and also the Guardians of the Galaxy. As you can imagine there is a lot going on. You have Jane’s storyline with her newfound abilities, Thor’s quest for peace, Valkyrie’s ongoing political struggles of New Asgard and that’s without mentioning the big baddie Gorr the God Butcher, played with charisma and menace by Christian Bale.
Christian Bale is absolutely excellent as the villain, as he digs deep into the role and explores a character who worships his own God, only to discover the God he worships doesn’t care about him at all which sends him on a path of vengeance against all Gods. All in all though, the film is a rollicking space adventure where Thor, Valkyrie and Jane travel across the cosmos in order to take down Gorr. Along the way they find giant Space Goats, come face-to-face with Russell Crowe’s Zeus and end up on a planet which sucks all colour in the world and is also where one of the most visually striking battle sequences of the MCU takes place. It feels very 70’s, the music gives the film a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe, who are not in the film for long either, and that is a good thing as it makes the film feel fresh, unique and stands above the rest in the pantheon of Marvel films.
There are some issues though. It’s not an overly long film but the plot has a lot of moving parts, and it can feel like there’s not enough time between each section of the film for us to go deeper into these characters. There are a lot of effects too, as you can imagine for a superhero film, and sadly some of it doesn’t quite feel to the standard of the Avengers films. The cinematography is beautiful though and Taika Waititi knows how to balance the levity with his trademark humour with ease. Thor however is feeling less relevant now, with his role in the future of the MCU uncertain, and it begs the question as to whether we needed this film at all. Saying that it is a great standalone effort but it’s hard to see what will happen next. This is an MCU film after all!
★★★☆☆
3/5
Despite the wonky plot, the abundance of characters and some undesired effects, Thor: Love and Thunder is a step up from previous Marvel films. The music, style, humour and tone all manage to make the film stand out, especially with some of the visuals! One of the biggest highlights is Christian Bale who knocks it out the park with a moving but yet terrifying performance as Gorr the God Butcher. It is a great episode in the long list of Marvel films, but as we’re roughly half-way through this phase of Marvel movies you can’t help but wonder what their next big plan is. Saying that, Thor: Love and Thunder is a worthy addition to their legacy.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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