Thor: Love and Thunder

There's a lot of weirdness with writing a review about Thor: Love and Thunder and I struggle to know where to start. 

It comes at a time where there's a lot of really good stories across various mediums. Examples like Stranger Things, The Boys, and even Disney/Marvel's own Ms. Marvel are completely nailing it right now (and yes, if you're sleeping on Ms. Marvel...dont!). Truly, within the last 4-ish weeks, it feels like we've been spoiled with a lot of awesome "nerd" content. 

Beyond the acute "high bar", Love and Thunder brings the expectations of 1) Ragnarok's zaniness, 2) Taika Waititi as a director and 3) an established MCU character who played a significant role in the Infinity Saga. Basically just by existing, the expectations for this one were high and (given the talent involved) fair. 

It's with some shock that Thor: Love and Thunder feels like something is off, perhaps missing, in the formula. It gets by on some things that are really good, but falls shockingly flat in several surprising ways. Even worse, in ways that make me (slightly) worried for the future of the MCU and if the creativity in certain departments is dwindling. 

Most shocking about Love and Thunder is how unfunny I found it. As a big Taika Waititi fan, I know that he's a good writer and ad-libber. Hell, even his hilarious What We Do in the Shadows was so damn funny it spawned an even-funnier TV show. I'm not sure I had many "LOL" moments in Love and Thunder, and most of my laughs were amused smiling or small chuckles. Characters like Korg (voiced by Waititi himself) fall almost completely flat while recurring jokes like the screaming goats just....aren't that funny? Self consciously I have to question if this is a fearsome side-effect of "getting old", but given how much I was laughing at a recent Marvel endeavor, I instead think it's an example of trying too hard. And it's amazing how much the film suffers because of it. The remainder of things I'll cover below range from "good" to "perfect", but they're collectively dismantled by a janky feeling of something being "off". 

Give us more Christian Bale villains!
James Bond villain, perhaps?

With several hours since my viewing, I found Love and Thunder to be at its best when it was more serious, which shouldn't be a surprise after my previous paragraph. Waititi does heart very well - it's his secret weapon among the zaniness - and Love and Thunder did have some surprising elements to its story that I wasn't expecting. Overall, the sub-2 hour film could have actually used more breathing room as the pace doesn't do the "off" feeling any favors, but it particularly could have spent extra time in the quieter moments and the drama. Unfortunately, it does feel a little disconnected from the broader MCU plan (something that's also becoming a concerning trend), despite the Guardians of the Galaxy showing up for a few minutes, but there's a worthwhile "love" story beneath its surface, in more than one way.

Waititi's creativeness is here in full force. Some, like the goats, doesn't work as well as intended, but most of his broader strokes land marvelously. New planets are inventive and colorful and there's a host of characters/species throughout, even if they only have short moments. In one of the film's "perfect" moments, there's a black-and-white battle on a small planet where color, cinematography, and action are blended together into something really memorable and special. It's easily the film's best, and most lasting scene. 

Similarly, the cast is not the problem either. Hemsworth is...well...Thor like no one else really could be. Tessa Thompson continues to be delightful as (now) King Valkyrie. And Portman takes up the mantle of Jane Foster once more with no issue. It's Bale's Gorr however that's a standout as the villain. You can tell Bale is having a blast being the villain and, to be fair, he got notes from one of the best villains of all time. So he has the goods. If anything, he feels somewhat held back from being truly evil or scary, but the stuff that's here is still enough to make you hope he comes back in some way.

Love and Thunder, for all its best efforts, is still an enjoyable MCU adventure with one of our most established heroes to date. The parts that work, do so really well while the parts that don't drag the whole thing down. As I mentioned at the top, it's a weird film to review because there's something so clearly "off" but thanks to a lot of talent otherwise, it still works. 

CONS

• Something felt off here. A few reasons:
• The humor wasn't great and largely fell flat with my theater and myself. This is downright shocking for Taika Waititi
• Pacing was too fast, with not enough moments spent in some deeper character development
• MCU has a disconnect problem right now. Each installment feels very solo and even the post credits scenes only seem to be setting up their direct sequels
• About half the action scenes are uninventive...

PROS

• Our cast is still marvelous (pun only slightly intended). Bale's Gorr is worth a shout out as one of the more memorable villains in the MCU
• Waititi and Co.'s creativity is still flourishing. New planets, characters, species, and lots of color bring vibrancy to the film
• Fun soundtrack
• Some of the humor is worth a hearty laugh
• ...while the other half the action scenes are really fun. A battle on a colorless planet feels like it's ripped straight from a graphic novel
• Entertaining from start to finish, even if you sense its lesser than what we've gotten previously

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10