Thor: Love and Thunder - Mobile Edition

Comics Movie Reviews
Thor: Love and Thunder
By Hervé St-Louis
August 22, 2022 - 08:34

Studios: Marvel Studios, Fox Studios Australia, Walt Disney Pictures
Writer(s): Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Jaimie Alexander, Russell Crowe
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Produced by: Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum, David J. Grant
Running Time: 118 minutes
Release Date: July 6, 2022
Rating: PG13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
Distributors: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Thor is aimless and bored, not knowing what to do with his long life. Pairing up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he helps world across the universe until Gorr the God Butcher takes aim at Asgard, wanting to rid the universe of deities. Gorr wants to start with Asgard and then attack other deities that have betrayed his trust. Can Thor, Valkyrie, and Jane Foster, as the new Thor, stop Gorr and his evil plan?

Thor: Love and Thunder is the second longest franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after the Avengers. This third sequel (or fourth movie) might have been unnecessary and too humorous. It is this kind of film, along with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that leads some pundits to claim that viewers may soon suffer from MCU fatigue or that there are too many Marvel movies and television series released at once. I find the fatigue arguments dubious, but Thor: Love and Thunder was not necessary. It was a comedy that stuck very close the infamous MCU formula. Thor himself was a joke in this film and not to be take seriously.

Taika Waititi decided to direct a self-deferential movie where the children of stars and crews would feature extensively in the film. There were many in-jokes that took away from the independence of the film to make a fun event that the crew could enjoy as opposed to the audience. Perhaps some distance is necessary when films become self-referential. I am glad that the Jane Foster story lasts but the length of this film and that she will likely not come back in the future.

I do not blame Chris Hemsworth for taking a part in this film. Being Thor has given him worldwide exposure and a sure-fire career, even when he stops playing the character. Unfortunately, he could use some better material that does not make him look like a joke.

While the Gorr story is from the comics, the MCU is continuing to forge its own continuity apart from that of the Marvel 616 comic universe which serves as its blueprint. That’s okay. This is the beauty of fictional characters like these. This chapter, however, seems as a steppingstone to more introductions in the continuing MCU universe. The threat felt as lame as Thor: The Dark World. In the end, the villain was not such a threat, and the stakes were not as high.
Rating: 6/10