Review: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is still rockin’ to its own beat

Since New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi took the helm of Marvel’s Thor franchise, the character has been imbued with a lot of heart and an incredible sense of humour. Where the earlier pictures were a bit brooding and angsty, Thor: Ragnarok allowed the Norse God to be more playful while also being all-powerful. With the loss of so many loved ones, Thor has gone through some dark times, which brought him to give up his position as ruler of Asgard and avoid most of his godly responsibilities — until his help was required to bring down Thanos and restore all those who were snapped. Now, in Thor: Love and Thunder, he’s back to his heroic self, ready to take on the latest foe threatening all existence.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Korg (Waititi) have been tagging along with the Guardians of the Galaxy as he gets back into the swing of being a hero. When they part ways so the God of Thunder can answer a distress call, he’s stunned to discover someone known as the “God Butcher” (Christian Bale) is murdering all divine beings, good or bad. When the threat heads toward new Asgard, Thor and Korg return to help King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) protect their people — and are unexpectedly joined by Mighty Thor, a.k.a. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now wields Mjölnir. After a difficult battle, the four must ban together to stop the God Butcher before he can put his ultimate plan into action.

This picture is narrated by Korg, who has a very amusing storytelling style as he recounts Thor’s return to form, which includes a montage of his absurd workout regimen to get rid of the beer belly and regain his sculpted physique — which audiences are treated to an eyeful of when his naked backside graces the screen. Of course, he’s not the only one looking chiselled this time around as Mighty Thor is sporting some very muscular arms, which she uses to knock around bad guys with the enchanted hammer — a sight Thor has trouble wrapping his head around, much to Stormbreaker’s dismay. Still, the action is as impressive as ever with a number of all-out battles, though the best is saved for last when Thor receives some assistance from an unexpected group.

The film’s tempo is pretty upbeat as the soundtrack is primarily Guns N’ Roses rock anthems, rivalling the previous action sequences set to Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” (a.k.a. “Hammer of the Gods”). Moreover, in spite of some pretty dark moments and a sullen subplot, the movie retains a sense of humour that, in turn, evens out the tone of the overall picture, which leans more heavily on slapstick and over-the-top occurrences. Everyone really seems to have come into their own at this point: Thor has learned to embrace life and its many hardships; Valkyrie’s honed her leadership skills, but is grateful for the opportunity to flex her warrior muscles; Jane knows she can’t change everything, so she’s taking what she can get; and Korg… is still Korg.

A number of new characters are also brought into the fold. In spite of his captivating speeches, Bale is often unrecognizable as the God Butcher, hidden behind white makeup and sallow features. Yet, he’s a formidable opponent, still capable of a rousing combat scene. Fellow Aussie Russell Crowe makes an appearance as the arrogant god Zeus, holding court for his adoring celestials. It serves a purpose, but is nonetheless a very strange (and potentially unnecessary) section of the film. And then there are the screaming goats, who are a very memorable and entertaining addition to the team.

The film doesn’t end in a way that many would expect — yes, they always save the world/galaxy (eventually), but the how is rarely predictable — and that’s part of what’s made this era of the MCU so enjoyable. That, and the mid- and post-credit scenes, which just add a little more to the experience, like an encore.

Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale