Director: Taika Waititi
Writer/s: Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Stan Lee, Jason Aaron
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, and more.

The Intro:
ROCK N ROLL, BABY!!! Thor’s back, Taika’s back, Valk is back, Jane…Jane is back? Eh screw it! WHO CARES! IT’S TIME FOR SOME FUN! RIGHT? Right? … right? Oh, please be good. Oh, and by the way. Per usual, the meat and core of this review will be spoiler-free, but get allllll the way down past the fun moving pictures and I’ll get into some spoiler fun regarding plot, moments, and just straight up reveals.

IMDb Summary:
“Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.”

The Oberrating:
OH YEAH, BABY! THIS WAS A BLAST!!! For real though, “Thor: Love and Thunder” was such an entertaining trip that by the time I entered the final act, I had a moment of realization thinking, “oh shit, wait a minute. This is almost over!” Such a damn good time! It’s absolutely hilarious (in most parts). Largely to the efforts of returning director Taika Waititi. The action is killer. Bringing back plenty of the style from Ragnarok and adding in some shadowy bad guys to slaughter. Lastly, it’s a romance movie, baby! No, but for real. It’s basically a romance movie. With whom… I’ll never telllllll. I’m a liar, I will tell down in the spoiler section.

Alright so performance wise. We have a pretty good showing from just about everyone. The whole lot shows out for a great comedic outing, again, for the most part. Some jokes fall flat, but most hit their mark for me… The romance is there, as it was before. I find Hemsworth and Portman a great couple within the MCU. At least far better than most of MCU’s couples. By film’s end, we leave off on a very heartfelt finale and I gotta admit. I was vibing with it… OKAY LET’S GET TO THE PART WE ALL WANT TO TALK ABOUT – CHRISTIAN BALE AS GORR THE GOD BUTCHER!!! My lordy lord, people. I know I don’t have to inform you of this, but obviously it must be said. Christian Bale is just on another plane of existence. He is an acting God and his performance as Gorr is just downright sinister and evil. A backstory I could get behind, a performance I ABSOLUTELY got behind, and a vibe that I won’t soon forget. I actually have been hearing frequently how there was plenty more Gorr to see, but it was either cut out in favor of a shorter runtime or it didn’t “match” the vibe. However, let’s be real here, to me, Gorr does not match the Taika characters that are present in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” With our trio of Thor, Jane, and Valk, they’re so silly and whimsical as well as being badasses that the very straightforward and evil Gorr just doesn’t exactly fit. Again, I absolutely love him here, but he almost feels like he’s someone else’s villain. While on this topic, why in the hell did we get a Morbius movie, but not a Gorr movie? C’MON!!!

The Wrap-Up:
“Thor: Love and Thunder” is a killer fun time, overall. As I said, absolutely hilarious and entertaining to the point that you don’t even realize how far into the movie you are until it’s too late. Christian Bale is BY FAR a top tier villain for me. He had no business being this incredible in the MCU. Yet, despite my glowing remarks, there are plenty of true criticisms to pick out. Tonal shifts, missed comedic moments, underutilization of some characters, a possibly sloppy genre blend. Pick what you will. For me, the entertainment factor far exceeds criticism, and I had a damn good time here.

Additional Notes

• Tessa Thompson remains BADASS! Loved the blue in her hair too.
• Screaming goats are goated
• Relax, the big bad guy is coming. We’re early in the phase, you plebs. Just enjoy the movie.

Rating: 4/5

References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10648342/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10648342/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm

Edited by Abby McNatt




No copyright infringement is intended

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What didn’t work? The Guardians. I understand we pick up where Thor left off which was literally with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but this was so sloppy and felt quite out of place aside from serving as the kickstarter of the movie. I don’t know, I just could have used more fluidity here.

The writing felt a tad shoddy at times. One part that especially felt off to me was Chris Pratt delivering a small speech to Hemsworth during the intro. It didn’t feel like Pratt/Star-Lord at all. These mismatched dialogue bits are spread throughout the film and for me, it is Thor Love and Thunder’s biggest downfall.

And now let’s flip it back to the fun side, the positives. IT’S A ROMANCE MOVIE, BABY! With Jane Foster!… Wrong… With Korg!… Half right… With MJOLNIR!!!! Ok, that’s at least my desired romance movie, but the flick plays back and forth with the comedic point of Thor wanting Mjolnir back and Stormbreaker getting jealous. Which was absolutely hilarious. However, the true romantic plot line carries well between Thor and Jane, especially down to the last moment where Jane takes her final breath. Loved it.

Back to Gorr… Gorr’s story is tragic. Right from the start, they hit you with the feels of who and why Gorr is who he is. I heard/read there’s so much Gorr content that was cut, including a blood curdling scream when his daughter died, but it was “too much” for the movie. ARE YOU KIDDING?! GIVE ME PERFORMANCE BALE! Gorr is hands down one of my favorite villains of the MCU now.