By Elizabeth Barhydt
Very few Marvel fans that saw this movie before I did told me that they liked it. “Six out of ten.” “They got everything wrong.” “Chaotic but still good.”
I disagree. “Thor: Love and Thunder” is funny and a great escape, while it certainly does not take itself too seriously, it has a serious side that is unique and enjoyable and it has a good story to tell.
If Marvel fans approach this movie with an understanding that it is meant to be irreverent and funny while still celebrating what is great about the MCU, they will enjoy it a lot more.
Like many Marvel movies, Thor’s hammer and weapons play a central role in the fourth movie. The smashed fragments of Thor’s hammer have been reassembled — and claimed — by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor’s ex. Through the power of the hammer, she has become the Mighty Thor. The original Thor, the God of Thunder, wields the enchanted ax, Stormbreaker.
Given that he hasn’t seen Jane since she broke up with him eight years, seven months, and six days ago, Thor has a lot of conflicting feelings about the fact that she now wields his hammer and his “brand”. Regardless, they must join forces to defeat Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), an emotionally scarred super-killer who is on a mission to destroy every god in the universe; a fairly standard MCU plot-line
But “Thor: Love and Thunder” is far from standard, and that’s a good thing. Like “Thor: Ragnarok,” the movie was directed and co-written by Taika Waititi. Like “Ragnarok,” this movie also mocks Marvel while embracing it.
In “Ragnarock”, when Hela (Cate Blanchett), smashes Thor’s hammer into pieces, it is as if Thor loses his identity, and Chris Hemsworth is suddenly able to loosen Thor up a little bit.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” kicks it up a notch. Thor has lost almost everyone. He is trying to find his way as an immortal hero without a foundation or a mission.
The movie’s villain is not all that different. Having lost his only family, Gorr is an innocent victim in the middle of a drought, desperate to save his young daughter.
She dies anyway and he later learns the gods he prayed to for help, who might have spared her, view their subjects as playthings. He questions his faith and whether they deserve to be gods. As a result, Gorr decides that all gods must die and begins to successfully carry out his mission.
It doesn’t take long for the news of the death of gods to reach Thor and the battle for the Universe ensues.
In the end, “Thor: Love and Thunder” is unpredictable, laugh out loud funny, and emotionally real. Portman and Hemsworth give outstandingly heroic, yet vulnerable performances which is unusual for a Marvel movie… but very satisfying.
