Movie Review - Thor: Love and Thunder

 

Well, this is interesting. Not only is this film appropriate for Pride, it also brings a first for the MCU. The first being that it's the first of the solo franchises to reach four films and still have the guy who started it all still being involved. Ragnarök certainly changed things up for the Thor films in that they are actually now more fun, action packed, funny while also having a bit of heart and soul to it. Not saying that the first and Dark World were bad, although for the most part they weren't exactly great. But I guess sometimes changing things up is probably for the best in some cases. As long as continuity is kept and all that. So let's see what Thor (reprised by Chris Hemsworth) has been up to since Endgame:

The film begins with Gorr (played by Christian Bale) worshipping his planet's god Rapu (played by Jonny Brugh) just as he loses his daughter Love (played by India Rose Hemsworth) from the heat and lack of food and water, much like the rest of the people on the planet that worshipped him. Soon Gorr finds the so-called god who mocks him until Gorr slays the god with the Necrosword. Now on a mission to find Eternity, Gorr sets out to slay all gods and become known as the God Butcher. Meanwhile, Thor continues his adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy and gets back into shape from being overweight in Endgame. When he receives a distress call from Sif (reprised by Jaimie Alexander), he parts ways with the team and goes to find her with Korg (reprised by Taika Waititi) and two screaming goats that they were given as a gift. There he learns about Gorr and what he has planned for New Asgard and sets out to stop him before the universe at large loses its gods. Oh, and he has a reunion with Jane Foster (reprised by Natalie Portman) who becomes the Mighty Thor with the newly restored Mjölnir, but also carries a secret that may be her downfall.

The film has a cancer side story which is done well and taken very seriously. As is the establishment of not one, but two LGBTQ+ characters which although expected, is done well too. I also admire the retro look and feel of the film, much like its predecessor, and also the soundtrack. The acting is good too, but that's really all the good stuff about it. The rest is a mess. To start with, no one really knows now where the MCU is going with Phase 4. It's not been very clear and with this film introducing lots of different gods, the cinematic universe feels more overcrowded than ever. I initially believed that the end goal for Phase 4 was for the multiverse to be bought in, but with this film, The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the majority of the Disney+ TV shows, now I really don't know. It's an alright film, but not one I'm going to be seeing again any time soon. Really hope Marvel make sense of what's happening because No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness may be crowd pleasers, but they are not enough to really help us figure out what is going on. 6/10