Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
The latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Thor: Love and Thunder, also signifies the fourth stand-alone film for the character (the most for any character). While it proves wildly entertaining and engaging for most of its running time, the film finds itself caught a bit too much in the whimsical nature of its subject and ends up a little too light on the story side of the ledger.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) embarks on an epic journey for inner peace. However, his retirement is halted when Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) arrives seeking to extinguish all of the gods from the universe. In an effort to defeat this new foe, Thor joins forces with King Valkryie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and his former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now possesses the magical hammer Mjolnir.
Working from a script by himself and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (who previously served the MCU as consulting producer on the Hawkeye television series) Taika Waititi infuses the film with enough mirth and frivolity to engage even the most casual of comic book fans, but that same quality often leaves the film lacking in other more tangible areas that made other films in the MCU far more successful. Even Waititi’s previous entry in the series, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), felt a bit more focused and tied to the overall MCU as a whole than this latest film.
Similarly, the editing work provided by Maryann Brandon moves the film along at a remarkably crisp pace, showcasing the work of production designer Nigel Phelps and cinematographer Barry Baz Idoine.
Fun and energetic, yet occasionally hollow, Thor: Love and Thunder again showcases Chris Hemsworth as one of the indispensable stars of the MCU. But that draw, as well as the welcome return of Natalie Portman to the fold, does not succeed in elevating the film to anything more than simply another entertaining entry in the series.
Mike Tyrkus
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