The fourth Thor film, Thor: Love and Thunder, wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought it was going to be.
First of all, Thor: Love and Thunder just feels like a rehash of Thor: Ragnarok – one of the best films in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – but without the same charm. The fourth Thor, while visually stunning and humorous like Ragnarok, just doesn’t have an as-interesting plot or any significant character development like the third Thor film did.
At times, it felt like Thor: Love and Thunder wasn’t sure whether it wanted to be a rom-com or a horror; as it has elements of both genres. And sure, some films like Warm Bodies or Shaun of the Dead are hybrid horror-rom-coms and are extremely enjoyable. Unfortunately, the rom-com and horror elements present in Thor: Love and Thunder just don’t mesh well together and are distractingly jarring.
To be completely honest, I left the theatre feeling extremely shocked that I didn’t love Thor: Love and Thunder. And I think it’s because every other project that Taika Waititi – writer and director of Thor: Love and Thunder – has been involved with (like Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit and Our Flag Meets Death) has been exceptional. But I think he’s slightly (and sadly) missed the mark with Thor: Love and Thunder.
I will say, hands down, Christian Bale was the best thing about Thor: Love and Thunder. His performance as the film’s villain, Gorr the God Butcher is phenomenal. But sadly, I don’t think he got enough screen time.
To digress slightly, I think the character was slightly wasted; in the comics, Gorr the God Butcher spent over a thousand years slaying gods and amassing a dark army and I think it’s a shame that Gorr’s appearance in the MCU wasn’t more drawn out or teased like Thanos’ was over the first 18 MCU films before he turned up as a big bad in Avengers: Infinity War.
In fact, I honestly thought Moon Knight would’ve had an end-credit scene depicting one or two dead Egyptian gods, teasing Gorr’s debut in the MCU and was slightly disappointed when it didn’t. Anyway, back to Thor: Love and Thunder…
Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, as Thor Odinson and Jane Foster respectively, have undeniable chemistry and it was nice to see the two together onscreen again. However, Hemsworth is extremely skilled at comedy while Portman is not.
And as one of the best things about Thor: Ragnarok was the comedic ribbing between Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, the comedic moments between Thor and Jane in Thor: Love and Thunder pale in comparison and ultimately, make Loki’s absence very noticeable.
Tessa Thompson gave an exceptional performance as Valkyrie but she really doesn’t get to do much in Thor: Love and Thunder aside from a few combat scenes and the occasional sarcastic quip. It was honestly a shame that Thompson wasn’t given the chance to develop the character further.
With all this being said, overall Thor: Love and Thunder is enjoyable. It is funny, features some fantastic action scenes & great performances and has breathtaking cinematography & a fun score/soundtrack (who doesn’t love Sweet Child O’ Mine?!).
I think the major downfall of Thor: Love and Thunder is its sub-par semi-predictable plot that lacks substance. And because the MCU has exponentially grown since its inception in 2008, and has some films and tv shows of an extremely high calibre under its belt, Thor: Love and Thunder just falls a little flat.
Thor: Love and Thunder is still definitely worth seeing – especially if you’re a Marvel fiend like me – as it is good; it’s just not great. As for a score, Thor: Love and Thunder is a solid 5 or 6/10.
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