‘Thor: Love And Thunder’ Review: Taika Waititi’s World Is Fun Until You Realise, There’s Nothing More. Only Gorr!
I enjoy Taika Waititi’s work (on that note, did you watch Reservation Dogs Season 2 trailer?). The man runs wild with his imagination and that makes him bring out an unseen side to commonplace situations and emotions. Plus, he’s been aptly put in charge of telling the story of Thor, Chris Hemsworth’s Norse God character who can let loose like none of the others on the superhero pantheon can. While Taika was initially tiptoeing his way around the very definitive superhero formula-driven treatment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with bold strokes of his own style, MCU Phase Four has allowed him to go all out, like in Thor: Love And Thunder. In fact, Phase Four has been appreciated for bringing in distinct directorial voices to break the clutter. But, why does it all still feel so aimless, so frivolous, so low stakes?
View this post on Instagram
Or maybe, we should be looking inward and wondering if our expectations from comic book superhero movies are so one-track that we constantly need to see the bigger picture, the grander saga that it is all boiling down to. Thor: Love And Thunder confuses me so much in this regard. Because the same franchise that taught us to constantly look for high stakes, big picture and never miss an Easter egg is suddenly asking is to take a chill pill, take a detour, and have some fun times to talk about a God-Avenger’s feelings. With a filmmaker who has a completely bonkers imagination and nothing to reign it back at the wheel.
Bro, I don’t know how to feel!
Thor: Love And Thunder begins with a quick origin story for Gorr, the God Butcher, our chief antagonist, a man with broken faith in Gods who wants to kill them all because personal vendetta. It’s born when a that can empower him to do it the Necrosword, which the comics tell us is a pretty big deal, finds him. Gorr is played by Christian Bale, the character chameleon, who I kid you not, embodies the ‘chameleon’ bit so hard in this film. His Gorr transformation is scary in the way only Bale can make it. And he pretty much emerges from the shadows when you’re least expecting it. The Voldemort resemblance is evident but Gorr is, let’s just say, gorier, black goo staining his teeth and giving you the urge to shove toothpaste at his face. One character actually suggests it.
Meanwhile, our hero, Thor, is gallivanting across the galaxy with the Guardians of the Galaxy, his BFF Korg, and his new weapon, the Stormbreaker, saving people and leaving collateral damage in his wake. But the real damage, amigos, is inside him, having lost his father, mother, his brother Loki, his home Asgard, and his OG ‘found family’, the Avengers, having disbanded. There’s something broken inside him, but do we address it? Not seriously, at least.
In fact, in true ‘that girl’ style, Thor whips himself out of the dad bod into his old ripped God bod, does meditation, and surrounds himself with a fun gang and lots to do so he doesn’t have to deal with his feelings. The only thing left is for him to drunk dial an ex for a romp, except the ex is already heading towards him, much to the jealousy of his new axe.
Jane Foster, the mortal human astrophysicist who broke the Norse God’s heart, has cancer. When science fails, she taps the space Viking magic card. She goes to New Asgard, finds the broken pieces of old Mjolnir, and viola, you have Mighty Thor! Just in time for Gorr, whose next target is New Asgard. And so, Thors will unite, Valkyrie will fly again, newer space worlds where Gods gather for sport will be explored, and love will be rekindled. Quite literally.
Oh, and there are screaming goats. Don’t ask, just watch.
Also Read: What To Watch This Week Of July 3 – July 10: Thor: Love And Thunder, Modern Love Hyderabad, Koffee With Karan
Thor: Love And Thunder Is A Fun Ride, But Once It Stops, Your Brain Throws Up Doubt
The visuals are great, with the same flamboyant and bold colour palette that we’ve seen in Thor: Ragnarok. And some of the set pieces are particularly fantastic. Though I will admit, while the background music is good, I did miss the score of Ragnarok. When I heard the screaming goats, I almost wished for them to break into ‘The Immigrant Song’ because that was one incomparable piece of entry music if there ever was.
Thor: Love And Thunder, while you’re watching it, is fun, almost like your favourite Bollywood slapstick comedy. In some parts, it’s like a rom-com (with a love quadrilateral, if you will), except there are superheroes and you’re told the stakes are cosmic. But because everything is treated with humour, the stakes don’t register. And because nobody, absolutely nobody other than Thor & Co., seems to care about Gorr incoming. Okay then! And this right here is my biggest issue with MCU right now. How is a group of heroes, who could communicate so efficiently that they managed to Assemble a force within minutes of returning from a five-year-blip, so bad and checking in with each other? How is nobody else coming to help Thor?
Speaking of Gods, yes you already know Russell Crowe is Zeus. But he has an accent that I can’t quite place. Is he Greek? Italian? Why is he a joke? It was one of the annoying bits that I just couldn’t get past. I wanted that scene to be over, even though the spectacle looked grand. And mostly, I was just pissed off that a promise was broken. We didn’t get to see what we should’ve gotten to see. Not fair. #IYKYK
Everything in Thor: Love And Thunder is just way too convenient. There’s a smash-and-grab of a powerful weapon? Easy? Rescuing someone from a scary place that’s guarded by THE bad guy? Not easy, but communicating with them? So easy. Even the ending was way too Bollywood for my taste. Except for the part where they reveal a whole different meaning of the film’s name. That was a neat, and very heartwarming bit, I’ll give y’all that. Especially when you know that Hemsworth, Portman, Bale, and Waititi’s kids are in the movie.
Also Read: Chris Hemsworth Reveals His Kids Have Cameos In ‘Thor: Love And Thunder’. They’re Not The Only Celeb Kids In It!
But once it is over, and you have those moments between spotting Indian names in the credits and waiting for the mid and post-credits scenes, I couldn’t help but wonder where the MCU was going with this detour. Could this film have been done differently? Where does Thor’s story go from here? And why are we still avoiding talking about the God’s feelings, and giving him every distraction possible to not think about it? How does it play into the larger scheme of things? And OMG, what’s the mid-credits scene going to spin into?
I wanted more for Mighty Thor and Valkyrie
Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor is fantastic. I love the muscles. I love the stature when she stands next to Hemsworth. I love the idea that she gets to save Thor’s ass. Hell, I’m even sold on the Mjolnir’s shift in allegiance. But I just feel like we got so little of her! And all, once again, in the service of a male hero’s journey. Same with Valkyrie. I really need to know how lonely being a king is for her. She, like Thor, lost her family too. So can we talk about the aftermath of her grief and how she is dealing with balancing that and running New Asgard, which might I add, has been transformed into a theme park of sorts? Wow.
Chris Hemsworth has Thor down pat but Christian Bale as Gorr steals his thunder
This being his ninth outing as Thor, Chris Hemsworth has such a nice grasp on the character and its comic timing. You’re sold on his OTT Thor and on board with whatever he’s selling you. In the hands of Taika Waititi, Hemsworth’s Thor is a free-reigning space Viking whose adventures are the stuff of kids’ favourite bedtime stories. And it feels like that most of the time because the stakes don’t have a sense of urgency or even danger. You just know this is a movie where the ending will be wholesome. Hemsworth gets competent supporting comic acts in Waititi’s Korg, but Thompson is wasted, just as the dynamic between Jane and Thor is wasted. The film being so short, everything transpires way too fast for the two to even properly rekindle their conversation, let alone Jane getting time to help Thor heal or even figure out her superhero catchphrase.
Besides, I just wanted to see more of Valkyrie + Mighty Thor, you know? That was some amazing chemistry!
But hands down, Christian Bale as Gorr is excellent. I just wish he was on screen more. His character’s origin is heartbreaking, his villainy and descent into madness spine-chilling. The Voldemort resemblance I totally get. But it’s Bale, and like Jim Carrey, there’s something Bale can do with his physical acting that no one can, it’s so unique to him. His Gorr the God Butcher is terrifying when he creeps in from the shadows and moves like a ghost nun moves in horror movies—one minute he’s there, then he isn’t.
If anything, come to watch Bale steal everyone’s thunder.
Also Read: From Ms Marvel To Thor: Love And Thunder, Female Superhero Films And Series To Watch For An Ass-Kicking Time!
Verdict
Only Taika Waititi could and would do this film. And it’s mostly fun; I don’t mind our heroes stopping on their way to the next MCU grand event to have some fun, do some soul searching, find some love, and pet some goats. What Thor: Love And Thunder has actually done though is confuse me about what I want from this superhero franchise. Do I want to continue having fun in these little adventures or do I want a larger overarching story to be clearly visible in every instalment? I found myself so utterly unconcerned about looking for easter eggs in this one, and it was great because I was enjoying myself. But is that empty enjoyment? Is this existential crisis superhero movie fatigue that everyone’s talking about?
All in all, watch Thor: Love And Thunder if you’re a fan of Taika Waititi’s brand of slapstick fun. The film does have heart and humour. Some love and thunder. And ooh, the kids are going to love it. But other than that, there’s nothing more. Only Gorr!
Thor: Love And Thunder is currently in theatres.
