Ryan Shoots First: Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor wins!! Of all the major pillars of the MCU he is the only one to make it to four solo films. With Thor: Love and Thunder Chris Hemsworth once again takes up his hammer (or axe) to defeat the forces of evil. Behind the camera we see the return of Taika Waititi who can largely be thanked for the resurgence of Thor after his last MCU film Thor: Ragnarok reinvented the character to the more comedic but also relatable hero. He took the reins off Chris and really let him bring himself and his charm to the role. 

But no Marvel film nowadays takes place in a vacuum and this outing is no different. Back are all of Thor’s cast of heroes like Korg and Valkyrie but we see him team up with his intergalactic quirky counterparts the Guardians of the Galaxy. The tone of Taika’s Thor-verse is a perfect fit with the Guardians and seeing more opportunity for Thor and Starlord to interact is always a good thing. Side note but man is Chris Pratt putting in the work this summer. We already reviewed his last blockbuster in Jurassic World: Dominion but we also just reviewed his Amazon Prime series The Terminal List. That’s a heck of a work rate! Anyway while Taika brings a distinct style to his Thor films it doesn’t seem to be for everyone. Ragnarok seems to either be at the top of people’s MCU countdowns or it’s near the bottom. It’s rare to find someone indifferent on it. This film takes all of that and cranks it even higher. If you thought there was too much comedy before I can assure you you’re not going to get a super serious film here. I happen to think Taika finds a great way to balance both and manages to really explore Thor’s complicated desires and expectations while bringing a lot of humor into the story. But again if that’s not your thing this probably won’t change your mind. 

The big story is the two new additions here, well one new addition and one return we didn’t think we would see. I’m talking about the villain Gorr played by Christian Bale and the return of Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman. Seeing Portman return is such a fun sight, after the second Thor she did not end things on great terms with Disney and I attribute much of her willingness to come back to Taika working his magic and name value. It’s fun to see her return but to see her as the Mighty Thor was really something I never thought I would see and she looks great. She has so much range for drama, comedy and yes action. She’s a perfect fit for the Taika verse and her playing off Tessa Thompson Valkyrie were some of the best interactions in the movie.  Bale is much the same way. Someone who certainly has some history of not being crazy about genre films despite doing many of them. He can be difficult to work with and sometimes cantankerous but he can bring it. Like Portman he can do it all and I was pleased to see him being it here. Again I think Taika has a way with some of these Hollywood stars that he can get the best out of them. Bale is threatening but nuanced and in a MCU where villains aren’t always super interesting or compelling Bale turns one of the better villain performances in a stand alone MCU film.

 Much like Ragnarok, the movie is visually gorgeous. If you don’t like the jokes, at least come for the scenery. It’s like a comic book on screen in the best way possible. Vibrant colors, the black and white contrasts. It’s a visually pleasing movie to watch as we further merge the Norse God mythology with a cosmic twist. Thor Love and Thunder won’t surprise you. What you get is largely what you expect but for many that’s perfectly fine cause the tone of these recent Thor films is such a fun time at the theatres we don’t want too many surprises. Of course the mid credit scene is pretty awesome and the after credit scene is just a gag as we have seen in many recent MCU films. So good luck getting the awesome Mjolnir popcorn bucket at the theatre and enjoy another fun trip with our favorite galactic Chris tag team!