Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
The Marvel Cinematic Universe fatigue is real, there is no denying that fact. It was real before Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame but there was a clear payoff after a decade. With Phase Four of the MCU, we’re recoiling from the events of Endgame still while our heroes are trying to move on with their lives, figure out what’s going on, and just trying to live as best they can. However, fans are hitting a wall. There is simply too much content, with every month there being something new whether it comes in the form of a Film or a Television Program on Disney, there is always something Marvel down the pipeline. There is no denying that fans still are going to move in droves to see Thor: Love and Thunder upon release, but the general public who may be at their breaking point may be slowly falling away. However, Thor: Love and Thunder does truly stand on its own, isn’t completely grounded amongst several Disney+ projects and doesn’t feel like a universe-building movie and doesn’t contain a sky beam of death so the welcomed change of structure is certainly for the positive.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has finally gotten back into shape after his dubbing of “Fat Thor” and is the last resort help for when the Guardians of the Galaxy, consisting of Drax (Dave Bautista), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), need help Thor comes in, phones in his saving and takes Stormbreaker, wreaks havoc and then leaves. The love Thor once had for being a God and a protector of the world is truly gone now. This leads to a heart to heart with Star-Lord which essentially tells him it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. This makes Thor re-examine his previous relationship with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and have a new outlook on life.
When a new threat poses itself in the form of Gorr The God Butcher (Christian Bale) as he is slaying Gods left, right and center, Thor decides to recruit his team of buddies to stop Gorr before all Gods are extinct. His Team consists of Korg (Taikia Waititi), King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the newest addition, Jane Foster. Together, they devise a plan to take down Gorr, but not without their obstacles that they must overcome. For instance, they need the help of the God of Gods, Zeus (Russell Crowe), and that doesn’t pan-out the way that Thor and his team hopes.
Thor: Love and Thunder doesn’t quite reach the heights of Thor: Ragnarok, that is not to say that the newest addition to the Thor Franchise is bad, it just isn’t that campy, bright, unexpectedly hilarious joyride that Ragnarok was. Thor: Love and Thunder certainly brings some hilarity to the forefront but it seems that this latter half of Phase Four of the MCU is going in a much darker tonal shift than previously experienced. It could be argued that Thor: Love and Thunder is in fact darker than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was the darkest entry into the MCU up to that point. Director and Writer Taika Waititi crafts the Movie in his signature style with a new added flare that is sure to wow its audience. There is a solid portion of the Film that is in monochrome and derived of almost all colour, that brings forth a new element to the Film and the MCU that truly is a visual delight. It is so eye-catching and stunning and flows with the darker tone of the Movie. However, his signature levity and humour is not lost throughout the Film, as there are still plays within the Film and some genuinely hilarious moments, which brings a much needed humour to the Film overall.
The Cast in Thor: Love and Thunder have certainly grown with their characters, and it is evident in their performances. These are not the same characters we were introduced to the first time around, they’ve all seen some serious stuff, including the loss of Asgard, and they’ve all grown and developed, sometimes for the worse, and their performances certainly reflect these changes. However, it is the performance by Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher that needs to be highlighted here. It is rare for a villain, especially in the MCU to get the chance to be absolutely menacing and full-fledged terrifying, but Christian Bale got that opportunity and fully ran with it. There are genuine moments in his portrayal of Gorr that shows what he took away from the great Heath Ledger when they worked together, but there are also the passion of Alfred Molina in Bale’s inspired performance.
Thor: Love and Thunder may not be the homerun that fans or Marvel were hoping it would be, but it still knocks it out of the park, just only rounds it to third instead of a homer. To make a movie, that nonetheless is 30-odd entries into the Franchise, managing still to feel fresh, inventive and original is a feat in itself, thanks to Korg thinking of those who might need to be filled-in. It balances darkness while carefully balancing lightness in its Comedy, tying-up loose ends from previous installments, giving us a memorable villain, something that the MCU usually lacks. Thor: Love and Thunder will delight and terrify you simultaneously, as it cements itself in the higher ranks of MCU cannon but doesn’t break the barriers of God tier MCU films.
Walt Disney Studios Canada release THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Friday, July 8, 2022.
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