There was no way Taika Waititi was going to meet sky-high expectations he set with 2017's 'Thor: Ragnarok'. And he does fall way, way short with 'Thor: Love and Thunder', the fourth film in the franchise that brings back Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder. But the film is not just disappointing, it is also a complete mess. There is, for intance little harmony between scenes -- so much so that they often appear as though they belong to their own movies. Did I enjoy it? Yes, mildly, though I am not eager for a second viewing. Could it have been better? Absolutely.
The movie begins with Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy
The last we saw of Thor, he was with the Guardians of the Galaxy and we find him saving lives across the universe. He is told of gods killed around the universe by a being calling himself Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) whose next target is New Asgard, the settlement in Norway where the surviving Asgardians settled in the wake of their realm's destruction.
There, apart from Gorr himself, Thor gets the surprise of a lifetime. His old flame, Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, is now a Thor herself (more precisely, Mighty Thor), wields the reassembled Mjolnir, and is dispatching Gorr's baddies with far more flair than Odinson ever did. There is an undercurrent of sadness in regard to her newfound power -- her cancer that is lifted directly from the Mighty Thor storyline.
Thor, Mighty Thor, King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson, sadly underused), and the rocky Kronan warrior Korg (Waititi) team up to take down Gorr before he accomplishes his goal to obliterate every god.
Gorr, a villain with a point?
Now, Gorr, like every other good villain, has his reasons. Played by Bale with a suitably sinister air, bleached skin, and eyes that burn with the hate for anything divine, Gorr lived on a planet that gods forgot. His pleas for his family and people went unheeded. We find him cradling his dying young daughter in the film's prologue. He somehow gets his hands on the Necrosword, the one weapon that can kill any god in the universe, he vows to rid the universe of every single deity.
Of course, Gorr encounters Thor in his crusade of god killing. To get help, Thor and company visit Zeus, played by Russell Crowe as the Zeus we know from Greek myths -- vain, prideful, and hedonistic. Crowe clearly had fun with the role, and I hope to see more of him. After a quick yet spectacular action scene, the heroes learn that they will have to take on Gorr alone.
Lots to love in the film, but...
There are flashes of brilliance, of course. Waititi has a real eye for visuals. Like 'Ragnarok', 'Love and Thunder' is full of unforgettably dazzling imagery, and action is never less than interesting. It is hard to completely hate a film that has a thrilling final fight set to Guns N' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine'. The acting is great all around as well. Hemsworth could play Thor forever and I will not mind. Portman instills much-needed poignancy and a sense of stakes in an otherwise fluffy script. But 'Love and Thunder' also features Bale, and he pretty much steals the film.
Like many things in this film, the script, by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, does not give the character enough meat for Bale to do much. But then, it's Bale. He practically disappears into the role and devises a worthy adversary for the two Thors -- in both strength and principle.
'Love and Thunder' illustrates larger issues with MCU and the superhero genre
But the film cannot create the magic that we saw playing out in the preceding film. The trouble, I feel, is that the film is missing that immaculate cocktail of intelligent writing and carefully crafted set pieces that made 'Ragnarok' one of the best MCU entries.
Despite Waititi being given more control this time (I assume that, anyway), this feels crafted in the traditionally Marvel mould -- designed as per the good old formula that Kevin Feige et al has perfected over the last one and a half-decade. In other words, the film watches like your typical MCU movie.
And I get why Feige and the team persist with the formula. The formula where even scenes are serious and emotional, they are tinged with humour as though the writers are nervous about fans not being able to stomach all that sentiment.
The Marvel formula works, sadly
Because they are right. The fans love the formula, for it makes for a comfortable, unchallenging time at the movies. In the theatre where I watched the film, there were hoots at even hints of humour, but during those quiet moments where characters were sharing their feelings? Everybody looked uncomfortable, and there were tense whispers, clearly wondering when the onslaught of 'feels' as the lingo goes, will end.
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