Score: 4 / 5
Thank the gods that Taika Waititi turned to big-budget filmmaking when he did. His Thor: Ragnarok is easily in my top five of the franchise, and while Love and Thunder doesn't quite harness the same magic for me, it is essentially just more of the same, and I love that. Its funky rock vibes are essentially what might happen if James Gunn was more kid-friendly and jumped into Norse mythology; vibrant colors and kinetic energy arrest everyone in the cinema immediately and then the good humor and raucous action come into play. Waititi also knows how to make a good villain in these films, and this time he thoroughly surprised me with the baddie as much as he did with some of the goodies.
The lovable and hilarious Korg (Waititi) gets the film going this time in partial voiceover, relating to the young New Asgardians the tale of how Thor went "from dad bod to god bod" after his meme-creating time with a beer belly. Thanks to his friends the Guardians (it's a cute cameo/crossover montage), he's back in fighting form with his axe Stormbreaker, even if his love life is a bit on the sorry side. What's a hunky Norse god to do? He starts by returning to his new home and consulting with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who has made New Asgard fabulous for the remnants of their population as well as for the booming tourism of their town. Suddenly another person in Thor's traditional garb appears as he fights off shadowy monsters. Who could it be?
Someone behind the MCU has been listening to our prayers because it's Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a character and actor who has deserved more time in this franchise. Somberly, the film early on reintroduces her as suddenly having stage four cancer. She seeks out Norse myth to fight it, leading her to the broken pieces of Mjolnir, which we learn Thor had magically bonded to Jane previously. Jane, even as the new Thor, is not a god, and each time she uses the hammer, her life force drains. It's a dire situation, but the former lovers don't have much time to really delve into their history or problems yet. First, they need to dispatch these shadow monsters and confront their ringleader.
Enter Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a desiccated wraith of a man who is utterly terrifying each time he appears. Chalky and pale, robed in a white tunic, he was a devout man of faith until his daughter died unceremoniously. A powerful weapon called the Necrosword seemingly summons him and seduces him, enabling him to kill his god before launching Gorr on a quest to kill all gods. It's not always the most inspired choice of role -- something rudely between Voldemort and Rasputin with a dash of Pennywise -- but seeing Bale in this kind of balls-out performance is delicious. Humble as usual, he lets it all out when Gorr teeters on the brink of sanity, allowing his voice to sprint from whispering high points to growling low points. Unfortunately, he's not really given a lot to do, per se: yes, his tragic backstory is the first sequence of this film, but he generally doesn't do a whole lot of actual god-butchering during the movie. Instead, the main plot involves his abduction of New Asgard's children to lure Thor out; he's terrifying in his interactions with the kids, but it's mostly unstable monologuing and shadow monsters.
Thor's adventure takes him, notably, to a vaguely Greek or Roman forum -- a la Clash of the Titans -- were a veritable Star Wars senate session is in full swing as deities from all kinds of religions gather to discuss godly things. Namely, details for their next orgy as they remain in hiding from Gorr. It's a hilarious and fascinating sequence, including Quetzalcoatl and various godly characters, one that would require lots of pausing and zooming to really study the sheer abundance of creativity. Then enter Russell Crowe as Zeus -- yes, that Zeus -- and it's just about as absurdist and joyous as you could imagine. It's also one of those moments in the MCU, generally, that smacks of manipulation as we realize it's setting up potential future stories to be told in this series and franchise (peep at the mid-credits sequence involving Hercules, and you'll know exactly what I mean; it's a lot like what they didn't do with Mordo in the Doctor Strange sequel).
I confess myself annoyed at the screenplay's misuse of Valkyrie, who was so badass previously and deserved more swashbuckling action in this film as the king. Specifically, the endless queerbaiting of this character -- that, given her new role as king in a new place and with a title like this movie has -- has culminated in promises that she will find a partner, and all we got in this film was an almost passing reference to her deceased former female partner. And while the reunion between Thor and Jane was lovely, it did ring a bit hollow for me (no spoilers, but it's just bittersweet), as it was maybe just too little too late. Waititi's direction is never disappointing, and apart from the generally gorgeous visuals of this film -- the golden ichor of the gods and their guards -- Waititi really pulls out the stops during a magnificent fight between Thor and Gorr on a black-and-white shadow planet. It's brilliant moments like this that make some of the grander, big-budget sequences feel uninspired, but thankfully the creative team here knows where to put their money as well as their talent.
Oh, and the continued gag with the Asgardian actors is utterly priceless.
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