Thor: Love and Thunder Spoiler-free Review
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." This Lord Tennyson quote from his most celebrated poem, "In Memoriam A.H.H." (1850), has now risen to proverb status, and is often referenced in society. Who of our beloved MCU heroes have we seen love more deeply and lost more tragically than Thor himself? Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) is driven by this sentiment and we see Thor finally try to define himself through his own desires.
The film begins with the greatest Marvel Studios' opening sequence as a guitar rendition of Michael Giacchino's original fanfare plays, setting the tone for the rest of the movie. Giacchino took up the mantle for Love and Thunder's soundtrack, and has worked on the original MCU Spider-Man trilogy, as well as Doctor Strange (2016), so he clearly knows his way around a Marvel film. This film's music choices reminded me of the first two Iron Man movies, so if you're a rock fan, you'll love the soundtrack for this movie.
Waititi returns to direct Love and Thunder after his major success with Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and this time he ups the comedy, color, and grandeur, reminding me visually of the original Thor comics. Waititi's out-of-pocket style suits the Thor films much better than the gritty, dark style the MCU originally attempted for the God of Thunder. This is especially so now that Thor's stories have been relegated to space with the occasional Earth visit, allowing this film to fit many easter eggs from the Phase 4 expansion we have been seeing. Thor's journey in this film is towards discovering himself and rejecting the depression we saw him struggle with in Avengers: Endgame (2019). While the film does not show us much of those depressive tendencies (likely as it does not fit with the tone of the film), it does acknowledge it which I appreciate. Thor is one of the main Avengers whose character arc has shown the most growth and change, so to see that change recognized in this story was relieving from a consistency standpoint.
However, I cannot help but feel this story has been shoehorned into the MCU, and I struggle to recognize its significance. While it does a great job of tying up some loose ends in Thor's original trilogy, it is not a story I found particularly compelling. Waititi co-wrote the film with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, so luckily there is no disconnect from the directing and story as unfortunately Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) faced (you can read more about that here), but it is still a fairly simple story. Normal guy turns bad, does bad things, catches attention of the hero, somehow they have a connection...we've seen this plenty in the MCU now. Does this make it a bad movie? Not by any means. I personally really enjoyed the film for what is was, but for a franchise that has put out countless projects now, I expected a more inspired end product. The premise has merit, and I think they just needed to lean into the camp or the humor, but not try to do both.
I won't bore you with Chris Hemsworth's acting - we all know that man lives and breaths Thor. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor. Portman's hard work to buff up for the Mighty Thor role was very well paid off in the movie, as I simply was in awe every time she transformed from her mortal version (circumstances given), and the sheer difference there is. I wish, however, we got to see more of Jane Foster, as the scientist we know her to be. While I can understand why they took the direction of her character that they did, I do think they could've used as much of her brain as her brawn in the story. The rest of the returning cast did great in their roles, but I wish they were utilised more. For an almost two hour long movie, not very much happened.
Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher was fairly well handled, however the MCU has had a villain pattern in the Phase 4 films that was not challenged by this screenplay... so the predictability factor is high. Regardless, Bale's portrayal with Waititi's direction worked especially well to tie together the more serious moments. If it weren't for Bale, I think this film would have a major tonal dissonance issue.
Finally, while this is not a note I normally make in my reviews, I had to add here that I absolutely loved the costume design in this movie. Character design is one of my favorite things to notice, and I think the suits were very well done in this movie. Thor sports brand new armor with varying color that we have never seen before, and I believe it deserved a comment of its own. Mayes C. Rubeo returned with Waititi to design this film, and she nailed the blending of vibrant and kitschy vibes.
Overall, I thought this movie was cute and left with positive feelings. Do I think you need to go see it ASAP? Probably not. But it is a good excuse to get a Coke Icee.
