Thor: Love and Thunder Review | Christian Bale, Chris Hemsworth shine in Taika Waititi’s uneven followup to Ragnarok

Taika Waititi’s 2nd foray in the Thor franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder doesn’t quite maintain the majestic balance Ragnarok reached. The drama in Love and Thunder is far darker than in Ragnarok. There’s children in peril multiple times, a terrifying Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher and a cancer diagnosis. These rough storylines don’t mesh with the frequent humor on display.

Love and Thunder is an enjoyable film full of strong performances. However, a 2nd act stop at Zeus’s stomping grounds takes the film away from the superior dramatic heft of Jane Foster’s story and Gorr’s quest.

Hemsworth is terrific once again. He strikes the right balance between the dumb humor and the unimaginable amount of trauma Thor has endured. Natalie Portman delivers her best performance as Jane Foster in Love and Thunder. For the first time in the franchise, you can feel the chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman, which was lacking in previous outings. Unfortunately, Waititi has a tendency to get distracted and lets their relationship as well as Jane’s dilemma fade into the background.

Bale is sensational as Gorr, but spends long portions of the film offscreen. In spite of his limited scenes, Bale is still able to craft the best villain in the Thor franchise. Cate Blanchett delivered a great performance as Hela in Ragnorok. However, her motivation was essentially that of a pouting daughter, angry at her father for not being allowed to kill people. Gorr is quite different. His motivation is clear from the opening scene. It’s powerful, dark and understandable. There just needed to be more of him throughout the film.

Several other characters are also given short shrifts. Jaimie Alexander makes a long-awaited return to the franchise as Lady Sif, but is basically given little more than a cameo. Tessa Thompson is great as always as Valkyrie but is basically treated as a 3rd wheel on Thor and Jane’s journey.

In spite of these issues, Love and Thunder is still a rewarding experience. The “Guns N’ Roses” music spread throughout the film adds a ton to the film. Waititi’s eye for color packs the right amount of punch. Love and Thunder’s ending is actually beautiful. It finally gives Thor someone, not something to connect to and a personal reason to fight moving forward.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in Thor: Love and Thunder. There may be some minor spoilers.

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The Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor: Love and Thunder

If you’re wondering why I didn’t mention The Guardians of the Galaxy until now, well they make little more than a cameo appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder. Thor spends the majority of the film looking for meaning.

He’s still fighting and trying to help others. Thor: Love and Thunder opens will a big battlefield sequence. The Guardians are trying to prevent a planet from being conquered. The Guardians use Thor as their big guns. He single handily decimates an army. After the battle, Thor is rewarded with screaming goats.

Reports start coming in from other worlds of dying gods. The Guardians and Thor part ways so Thor can help earth, but not before Star-Lord gives some pearls of wisdom. The chemistry between Chris Pratt and Hemsworth is splendid.

The lack of Guardians action in Love and Thunder is actually a smart move. Thor: Love and Thunder has a hard enough time giving screentime to Gorr, Valkyrie and Jane.

Gorr’s Vow and the pain of dying

As fun as Love and Thunder can be at times, the feeling of death creeps over from the beginning of the film into Jane’s battle with cancer. The harsh realities and terrific performances by Portman and Bale clash with the constant comedy on display.

The opening scene of Love and Thunder is one of the darkest in the MCU. Gorr and his daughter are starving and thirsty in a barren, desert planet. Gorr prays to his god to save his daughter.

His daughter dies. Gorr doesn’t lose faith in his god at that point. Over the horizon, he sees something that looks like paradise. When Gorr arrives, he comes face-to-face with his god. A buffoon who looks at beings as mere amusements to do with as he sees fit. This god is celebrating finding The Necromancer sword. Gorr takes the sword and kills the god. He then vows that all gods will die. Cue the marvel fanfare.

Jane’s cancer battle isn’t given as much time as it should of been provided. However, Portman’s terrific as showing Jane’s desperation. When she finds Mjølnir in New Asgard, she becomes The Mighty Thor and inherits the powers of Thor. There’s a drawback to her increased strength, speed and power. The hammer is causing Jane to deteriorate faster. Each time she uses her power, she grows weaker.

Everything involving Gorr and Jane in Love and Thunder works. Gorr terrifying kids is scene-chewing at its best. Jane trying to nail down a catchphrase is the best recurring gag in the film. I just wish we spent more time with these characters.

Thor’s Search for Love and Mjølnir 

Thor spends most of the film trying to come to grips with Jane’s sudden transformation, her reemergence in his life and the attraction Mjølnir has to Jane.

His relationship with Mjølnir and Stormbreaker is another great gag that works more often than not. Hemsworth doesn’t just sell the humor of trying to choose between two lovers in Mjølnir and Stormbreaker. There’s a deeper desire to connect to someone or something.

His brother and parents are dead. His best friend, Heimdall, was killed in Infinity War. Jane left him with nothing more than a handwritten note. In a wonderful scene, Jane clarifies the reason she left a breakup note. He wasn’t around to talk to so she wrote the note and accuses him of leaving her. Thor doesn’t disagree with her.

Hemsworth’s performance during the cancer reveal scene opposite Portman is sensational. Thor’s jealously over Mjølnir completely fades. He spells out the impact the hammer is having on Jane’s health. If she uses the power again, she could die. He doesn’t make the choice for her. In fact, he makes it clear it’s her choice.

The ending of Love and Thunder is a perfect ending to this leg of Thor’s journey. He finally finds someone to love and care for.

Thor: Love and Thunder Final Thoughts

Thor: Love and Thunder has a beautiful destination, but an uneven journey getting to Valhalla.