Thor: Love and Thunder
Year: 2022
Rating: PG-13
Length: 118 minutes / 1.97 hours
As someone who has not read the comics these superhero movies are based on, it’s interesting how I picked up plot points from some of the recent comic arcs prior to their cinematic debut. Case in point, I knew for a while that Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) became Thor for a while for medical reasons. In Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), this somewhat recent plot line from the comics combines with the modus operandi of Phase 4 of the MCU: wrapping up the loose ends from Phase 3 of the MCU.
Doing a victory lap after his well-received Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Taika Waititi still brought his trademark comedic sensibilities to this movie but seemed to falter a bit with the much heavier themes of the God Killer (Christian Bale). In fact, I was expecting a bit more out of Bale, considering how dedicated he is to his roles. Don’t get me wrong—there were still a bunch of really great action sequences in this movie, and the revelation of a council of gods is a profound theological can of worms that I’m sure will come into play in future films.
The real problem with this movie was its lack of focus. Sure, it tied up the Jane Foster storyline from the first two Thor movies, but the only thing it really set up was a potential addition to the “Young Avengers” that Marvel keeps hinting at but not confirming is coming. Without knowing what this enormous Phase 4 of the MCU is headed toward, it’s difficult to justify movies like this. Still, Love and Thunder was a fun action comedy to turn your brain off to for a few hours.
A fun movie that lacked focus, I give Thor: Love and Thunder 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
