Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Tessa Thompson, Matt Damon, Chris Pratt
Language: English
The last time we saw Thor the thunder god (Chris Hemsworth) was when he was sporting a beer belly and trying to make sense of the universe after the Endgame (pun intended). In Thor: Love and Thunder, we see the lovable God get back to his good old shape in typical Taika Waititi fashion.
Gorr (Christian Bale), the god-killing super villain is on a spree. As he creates havoc around all the universes, he also visits new Asgard and tries to get his hold on a weapon that will help him destroy all gods. Meanwhile Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is diagnosed with stage-4 cancer and travels to new Asgard pinning her hopes on Thor’s broken hammer Mjolnir. So, Thor and the female Thor pair up with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and steal Zeus’s (Russell Crowe) thunderbolt, and then with the help of hostage kids (again, Taika Waititi at his best), save the universe and also bring redemption to Gorr. Dr. Jane Foster reaches the gates of Valhalla. And yet again we get to see another version of Thor that we thought we never would : a godfather/uncle to Gorr’s daughter Love who now wields his Mjolnir.
Of all the Marvel heroes, Thor has always been the most stable character. With his quirky yet honest sense of purpose, Thor has stayed with us through Marvel’s ups and downs. But that doesn’t happen in Thor: Love and Thunder. The ‘saving the universe’ bit is feeble and flimsy to say the least and the deliberate comedy in otherwise serious scenes are a serious turn-off. For example, I loved Russell Crowe as Zeus, the brash yet fun-loving God with the Greek accent. But I also did not understand the comic value of having two huge goats in a battle. Slapstick or not, witty scenes are one thing, but disjointed comedy is quite another.
We do not feel anything at all for Gorr, not the terror like we had for Thanos or the fear that we experienced for Ultron. Christian Bale is wasted as Gorr and he looks more like a zombie than a terrorizing super villain who is floating around killing gods. Natalie Portman as the other Thor stood out to me like a sore thumb. I never did understand how she landed in new Asgard, let alone the ‘logic’ behind her being able to wield Mjolnir.
Waititi’s claim to fame is his slapstick comedy and his ability to glean humour in mundane scenarios. This ability loses significance in Thor: Love and Thunder as the supposedly important plot points are watered down for laughs. Jane’s sudden appearance as Thor became disorienting to say the least. There were too many plot holes and ultimately the reason we all show up for a Marvel film seems to be lost.
Chris Hemswoth does his part. The scenes where he struggles between Mjoknir and Stormbreaker are one for the books, and also leave us with a smile. But the spark of Thor is surely missing in Love and Thunder. Maybe Love has softened Thor, but it is sad to see the thunder god with just a tiny spark and nothing more.
Rating: 1.5/5
