It is never a good sign when I am rooting for the main villain to kill all the heroes.
It is also not a good sign that freaking Deadpool did a better cancer story than this.
One of the most irritating movies I have seen in a while. Annoying in terms of how every character (except Gorr) is a comedian and annoying how much potential is wasted.
The movie felt like Saturday Night Live sketch stretched out to two hours.
The movie could have been a dark finale to the character of Thor. I mean, this is the same god who lost his mother, father, brother three times, his home, and lived with guilt for five years after failing to kill Thanos the first time. If that wasn't bad enough, his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster is dying from cancer, and on top of that, there is a new villain who seeks to kill gods. Again, this could have been a dark finale, as he is the most tragic character in the MCU, but here he's just a goofy idiot. Chris Hemsworth has comedic chops, but they did this character dirty. They turned Thor from "Thor making jokes" to "Thor is the joke".
Christian Bale always delivers, and he was creepy and campy as Gorr the God Butcher. His storyline is the only serious part of the movie that unfortunately gets undeveloped with very little screen time. His character work was rushed because at the start he worth ships the gods, but as quick as a light switch, he wants to kill every god possible. Since he is called The God Butcher, you don't see a lot of God killing. The ones he does kill in the movie were an afterthought.
Natalie Portman was good, but sadly the dramatic elements of her character didn’t pull on my heartstrings. On the other hand, there are some cool action scenes with her, even though it’s strange how fully experienced she is in fighting with these powers despite how recent she got it.
The whole movie is one big joke, with no clear focus on what storyline it wants to go. The short runtime does not help either, as it needed more breathing room for development like character work and story.
I could talk about the visual effects, but I will not since the visual effect artists have been through enough already. Seriously Marvel, treat your employees with respect.
The Guardians of the Galaxy team are there with no purpose than to help Thor lose weight, and then they leave.
Director Taika Waititi went way over his head with this one. One of the most unusual inclusions of these screaming goats in the movie for no reason and there keep repeating the joke of them screaming. Like, WHY????
Is it me, or do the recent Marvel movies feel like quantity over quality? There are like a factory machine, pumping out many movies and an endless line of TV shows. The runtime clocked in under two hours, with this movie and Doctor Strange 2, and yet I felt those movies needed more time to breathe and flesh out the characters because everything feels so rushed and, in a hurry, to end.
Balancing comedy and drama are a difficult task to get right. If a movie has a serious tone while not being a good movie itself, there is a potential for it to be funny and enjoyable. If a film has a comedic tone while not being funny, then the movie would get boring very quickly.
Overall rating: The movie has everything it needs to be fascinating, yet it still turned-out paper thin.
[7.5/10] Thor: Love and Thunder is a great big mess. But also a fun mess? Director/co-writer Taika Waititi throws every idea in his grab bag at the film. Anti-theism. The loss of a child. Cancer. Closing yourself off so you don’t have to feel the pain of loss again (Are we having fun yet?) Crossover Pantheons. Giant screaming goats. A trifecta of glowing, mystical weapons. Shadow monsters and kidnapping. A death sword. A mid-movie black and white escapades. A magical wish-granting realm that requires some mystical key to open. Remembering to keep fighting no matter what. Opening yourself to human connection despite the risks of hardship. Bringing a child into the world to share in that joy. Love. Thunder. More love. More thunder.
It is a lot. Little of it fits together neatly. Like many of Waitit’s works (including his best ones), it’s a tonal mishmash. Sometimes the film is a heartbreaking tale of imaginable loss and the winnowing away of oneself. Sometimes it’s a goofy romp where a talking rock gets tied to the back of a viking warrior king who was last seen wearing a Phantom of the Opera t-shirt. Waititi and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson marry the quippy style from The Avengers with the irreverent comic style of Guardians of the Galaxy and Waititi’s own blend of the loony and the heartfelt. The result is a cinematic stew, constantly full of flavor, but almost entirely lacking in balance.
And yet, at the end of the day, it’s still strangely tasty, as endearing for its lumps and bumps as for its elegantly crafted moments. This is not Waiti’s finest hour, the crown jewel of the MCU, or event the stand out of the vaunted/maligned “Phase Four”. But it’s an enjoyable, distinctive, imaginative film that takes more than its share of big swings, and that counts for a lot.
Granted, everything and everyone is a little loonier than even in Waititi’s last outing in Thor: Ragnarok. The title character himself has leaned a little more comic lead than dramatic lead for a while now, but his goofy big lug energy is off the charts in this one. Valkyrie is snarkier and sillier, and has developed a pronounced British accent for reasons that are unclear. Jane Foster (and, naturally, Natalie Portman) makes a return to the franchise, getting a send-off that befits the character and her heroic, good-natured qualities, while she too has her wacky dial cranked up to eleven. The whole returning cast feels a little out of character here, even if the more comically exaggerated versions of the characters are still enjoyable.
Two big new guest stars are along for the ride and, though it’s ironic given the roles they play, are the heaven and hell of the film. Christian Bale is inspired as Gorr the God Butcher. Waititi leans into the Oscar-winner’s dramatic chops. The opening scene of a true believer losing his only child amid the indifference of the gods, who swears vengeance upon the pantheon itself for the deities’ deaf ears, is grim and piercing. His closing paroxysm of pathos and bittersweetness at her return redeems the villain of the piece, just a bit. But in between, Bale isn’t afraid to chew scenery, going big but never violating the tone of the piece, and delivering some genuine creepiness amid an impressive make-up job and unhinged air that pervades each scene he occupies.
On the other end of the scale is Russell Crowe as Zeus, who represents the biggest misfire of the film. He puts on this broad, goofy Greek accent, and the mostly comic scene where he basks in the adoration of his fellow deities isn’t funny, isn’t clever, and just drags and drags and drags. Nothing Crowe does works, and none of his scenes click, save for the post-credits tease. His presence serves the thematic ends of the film -- a lionized figure who the heroes turn to for help, only to discover that he’s a lazy and uncaring coward, to where they can only depend on themselves and their own bonds. But Crowe is the antithesis of Bale, seeming out of place the whole time and making wrong choice after wrong choice in his approach.
The visuals and special effects are more of a mixed bag. The production design and make-up team does outstanding work, with some neat designs for the cosmic figures the good guys encounter, and some memorable alien worlds along the way. But the CGI elements once again look shockingly chintzy for a mainstream project with an enormous budget. Poor compositing, cheesy-looking effects, and big set pieces that lack any sense of authenticity in the imagery bring down the look of the piece. It doesn’t help that most of the fights are with nameless goons, edited to all hell, with very little sense of anything at stake.
Still, when our heroes enter the Shadow Realm, the film takes a bold black-and-white shift that brings out the best in it visually. The final land at the center of the universe may borrow a similar depiction from Kingdom Hearts 3, but still captures the sense of an ethereal place. And some of the unreality of the effects actually compliments Waitit’s cartoony, anything goes approach to this larger than life story, making some of the more exaggerated elements feel natural within that context.
The movie does depend on certain things that may fall flat if you’re not super invested in certain things. It’s right for the Thor franchise to put a period at the end of Jane’s part of the story, and it’s nice to see her assuming the cape and hammer. But despite a brief but deeper exploration of what happened in her and Thor’s relationship, it’s never one I’ve been terribly attached to, leaving much of the material falling flat. Likewise, the coming out party for Heimdall’s son and the return of Lady Sif doesn’t mean much given the undeveloped parts they’ve had to this point.
Still, if you can set those things aside, and the questions of whether everything Waititi and company introduce in a packed two-hour movie ultimately adds up, Love and Thunder remains a good time at the movies. You do wish that the filmmakers could have focused on one or two key impulses or ideas, rather than tossing them all into the pot. But the ingredients are still good, the characters are still fun, the humor is still winning. And the end result, messy though it may be, is still a dogpile of ideas and themes and gags well worth digging into.
After almost 15 years and 29 films (plus another dozen or so TV series), it's getting to the point where I assume that every big name actor has been offered a role in the MCU. For someone like Christian Bale, it wouldn't surprise me if he had been approached repeatedly over the years. In any case, I can see why the role of Gorr the God Butcher was enough to entice him into making his debut in the universe. It's a juicy villain role with a meaningful arc and satisfying conclusion. While the character does clash tonally with Taika Waititi's generally lighter vibe, that's no fault of the God Butcher and doesn't detract from Bale's excellent performance.
Speaking of the lighter tone, while I'm generally a fan, I found that there were certain elements that crossed a line into being too silly/childish for me to get on board with (e.g. everything with the screaming goats and the finale with the kids all getting juiced up and using a bunch of random debris as weapons). That said, I think things were generally more hit than miss, with Hemsworth and Waititi's Korg both providing a steady supply of worthwhile humor throughout the film (as an aside, no one else in my theater laughed when Hemsworth mounted Stormbreaker like a witch riding a broom and flew off...that shit was hilarious).
The last complaint that I'll mention, which is becoming quite common in my reviews of Marvel media (all media really), is related to the action. It's just not particularly memorable. Nothing that made me say "wow". This is especially true for everything involving the "shadow monsters", which provide yet another source of murky CGI cannon fodder for our good guys to easily dispatch. I think it must be getting harder and harder to come up with new ideas for over-the-top comic book action. There's so much out there and we've seen it all before. It's not that the action isn't serviceable, but it just doesn't add anything on its own. Luckily, this isn't a huge problem when the characters, story, humor, etc are all solid, as they are in this case.
Thor is back and I wish I could say better than ever, but unfortunately Love and Thunder leaves a bit to be desired.
Much was made of the return of Natalie Portman to the Thor franchise, and it was great to see her back on screen, and even better to see her don the Thor armor and wield Thor’s legendary hammer Mjolnir. But the truth of this film is that it feels like an awkward follow-up to what was an excellent previous installment in Thor: Ragnarok.
The film picks up with Thor as he tries to figure out what to do with his life after Avengers: Endgame where he left with the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy and while they figured prominently in the trailers promoting the film, I’ll disappoint any Guardians fans by letting you know they disappear about 15 minutes into the film. Don’t worry, they will be back with their holiday special on Disney+ and another theatrical film in the works, but Chris Pratt has been busy with Amazon lately, so the Guardians scenes in this film are pretty limited.
The other high point of the film is Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher. The film actually opens with his backstory and I wish we’d gotten more about his character. We quickly understand his motivations from the opening scenes of the film, but there was so much more they could have done with the character. His lines are sparse and Bale delivers them with his typical dedication to the material, but I couldn’t help hearing Bruce Wayne/Batman in some of his scenes.
The last elephant in the room has to be the Thor/Jane Foster relationship. In some ways, it’s perfectly awkward that they are working together after spending years apart. The film drops in a short flashback sequence that shows how they grew apart as each was more dedicated to their work, saving the world with science and saving the universe with a hammer. I love both Portman and Hemsworth as actors and think they are both better than some of the material they were given here, but it feels like the awkward relationship factor was turned up to 11 and quite overdone.
Thor: Love and Thunder is still a fun film. There are plenty of new characters introduced and we may look back in five years’ time with a different lens after seeing what else has transpired in the MCU, but for now this film didn’t quite reach its full potential.
Every character is turned into a comedic relief. I get that Thor's always been like that but was it necessary to have every supporting character be a humorist. The very few moments where the story is more serious and emotional I didn't feel anything because it was drowned in a million jokes. That scene where Sif is on her death bed and Thor makes a joke about it and Sif even replies with another joke pretty much sums up the movie. They even make a montage of what Thor has been through and lost all his loved ones and how he's depressed and gained weight. Two seconds later he's doing yoga and everything's better and he's back at cracking jokes. Ok why'd you bring it up in the first place if you don't elaborate on it. Also too many kids in the movie. I get that they're preparing the Marvel universe for the next gen but it just felt over saturated and exagerated.
That being said the comedy, the action and the entertainment is up to the roof. The jokes are funny. The action is great I loved the black and white scenes the most. CG looks bad in some parts but that's been the case for all Marvel movies/shows lately.
Whimsical, Modest, Unremarkable
Thor Love and Thunder is a preposterous, silly yet pleasurable addition to the franchise which is shouldered by a charming Chris Hemsworth. His mere presence as Thor is mesmerizing as always. With some visually delightful set pieces, some diverting humor and a menacing performance from Christian Bale as Gorr, the latest Thor film strives through as a somewhat satisfying marvel film if not a great one. Taika Waititi's attempt to add some rib tickling gags and emotions doesn't always land correctly even in the short 120 min runtime . In relation to what the Phase 4 has to offer, Thor didn't seem to take itself too seriously or offers anything substantial for the future.
If we talk about Marvel , there will always be debates amongst fans about the huge inflow of Marvel studios content in recent times. Some want more and some are already exhausted. Once upon a time, Marvel used to make only movies which had a lasting impact may be because of the intervals , storyline etc. Thor Love and Thunder felt out of place in terms of the multiversal phase Marvel is headed to. The movie is the least intense movie out of all i have seen. The Christian Bale performance is just exceptional as Gorr and his makeup is terrifying. I just cant influence you to skip this and watch at your homes, but surely can warn you to keep your expectations low.
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"Love and Thunder" is the fourth solo outing for the God of Thunder, directed by Taika Waititi for his second time. Although 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" was well-received and praised for its reimagining of the character played by Chris Hemsworth, "Love and Thunder" is not as strong and can be considered a stand-offish entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's usually well-connected narrative. The film feels more contained and is content with relying on the humor that has become associated with Waititi, however, these jokes do not always land, and can detract from scenes meant to be emotional or impactful. Additionally, there is a disjointed feeling to the film, as if different tonally contrasting scenes were forced to be included together. However, the action is generally solid, Christian Bale excels in his role as the villain, and the visuals are impressive. Natalie Portman's return as Jane Foster is a positive aspect of the film, but her character ultimately serves as a device for Thor to confront his own issues rather than a meaningful addition to the story. Overall, "Love and Thunder" is an entertaining addition to the franchise, despite its inconsistencies.
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"Love and Thunder" es la cuarta salida en solitario del Dios del Trueno, dirigida por Taika Waititi por segunda vez. Aunque "Thor: Ragnarok" de 2017 fue bien recibido y elogiado por su reinvención del personaje interpretado por Chris Hemsworth, "Love and Thunder" no es tan fuerte y puede considerarse una entrada distante en el universo cinematográfico de Marvel. La película se siente más contenida y se contenta con confiar en el humor que se ha asociado con Waititi, sin embargo, estas bromas no siempre aterrizan y pueden restar valor a las escenas destinadas a ser emocionales o impactantes. Además, hay una sensación de desarticulación en la película, como si diferentes escenas tonalmente contrastantes se vieran obligadas a incluirse juntas. Sin embargo, la acción es generalmente sólida, Christian Bale se destaca en su papel de villano y las imágenes son impresionantes. El regreso de Natalie Portman como Jane Foster es un aspecto positivo de la película, pero su personaje finalmente sirve como un dispositivo para que Thor enfrente sus propios problemas en lugar de una adición significativa a la historia. En general, "Love and Thunder" es una adición entretenida a la franquicia, a pesar de sus inconsistencias.
Two separate movies were required here, and I don't think Waititi was the right person to helm either of them.
Gorr and the critique of God/Hero worship is a fitting subject matter to throw into the mix of the MCU, even if it is a little on the nose with the foundations of everything the MCU stands on. It could have opened up the doors to discussion of holding those more powerful to account for their actions, the question of why some are deemed more worthy than others, and what we should do when those people lose sight of their morals and get out of line. So much could have been done with a villain as effective and contrary to the current MCU stance as Gorr, and Waititi reduced him to a stand-in on the butt end of dentistry and sun tan jokes. A total waste of insane potential.
Further to that, the Jane Foster cancer story is far too heavy and delicate a subject matter to be thrown into Waititi's unrelenting comedy blender. It needed time to flesh out, add weight and then pay off for someone as pivotal to Thor as Jane. Instead we got this tacked on story that is never given the time it deserves, and feels almost out of place in the overcrowded script of one-note jokes.
But hey, screaming goats huh? They were funny, right?
This was a fun movie. Go watch, it doesn't matter what people scrape to say. I find it amazing how are people so eager to diss the movie just because it had too many jokes, or didn't resonate with their expectations.
It didn't with mine, and the movies is still good, the jokes are overdone indeed, and if you really dislike that, then it's not a movie for you. It is clear that it was their intention to make so many silly scenes like that.
It's not perfect indeed, the whole romance timeline is kinda strange. There's room to put "it" in the whole saga story but it felt kinda retconned. I really hoped to see more from Nathalie in this movie, or in the next ones. The fighting scenes lacked a bit. The music choices, even though being great songs, didn't match well with a lot of scenes but to be honest, I don't care much. It was fun, enjoyable, and the main vilan, was not good but it was miles better the the other Thor movies(not counting Loki which was always like a third narrative wheel).
One thing I didn't like though, (major spoilers, if you care about the ending stay away) not because I dislike "bad endings", cause I usually do like them, but it's the second movie in a row that they kinda loose, but mostly all ends well. It's not fun to have them winning always, but AGAIN, twice now after doctor strange, and so close, I don't know... it felt kinda cheap. It is like they were aiming for a bitter ending but didn quite have the courage, budget nor the greenlight for a second "endgame".
And come to think again, it was exactly like doctor stranges ending... "Oh, I realize what you really needed all along... It's up to you now...". Really annoying. We saw rows of good endings.. I thin now we have to bear the loosing good ending.
But then again.. the whole thing with Jane picking up the mijonir even though she knew what it meant... I'm not gonna lie... even though it was reeeally cheap, it made me a bit sad. specially cause I was really sure that Thor would endup making the wish... I was as sure as I could be that that would be the end.
And that's where I came up with this "theory"... Bear with me... I think he secretly wished GROor killed all the gods so he could go to valhala with Jane. I know it sounds far fetched... But after all they went through with Thanos... To just toss their chances to some dude they didn't even know, and worst, was on that killing spree, I don't know... It doesn't make any sense to me. As soon as the sword was broken, he would have gone for groors head... He knew that after the whole Thanos incident... Maybe he was tired to live, idk, which throws me back to my crazy theory hahaha.
If you come to think... It was almost the second time he should have finished his enemy, but didn't, and now the consequences could have as worse as before if groor's wish was different than his whole speech about god's.
But anyway. It's good movie.. go watch it.
"THOR LOVE AND THUNDER"
9/10
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MOVIE
IT'S FULL OF LIFE AND COLOURS
AND HUMOUR AND IS SO MUCH FUN BUT STILL MANAGERS TO GET ME IN THE FEELS AS IT
STICKS THE LANDING.
THIS IS CHRIS'S SECOND BEST
SOLO ADVENTURE WITH 2017
THOR: RAGNAROK
BEING HIS BEST 10/10.
THE ONLY REASON THIS AWESOME MOVIE JUST MISSED OUT ON A PERFECT 10 WAS IN THIS MOVIE FOR AS COOL AND FUNNY AND VISUALLY STUNNING AS IT IS NOBODY WAS OR FELT IN ANY REAL DANGER, EVEN WHEN THEY WERE IN REAL DANGER, NOW THAT WAS NOWHERE NEAR A DEAL BREAKER FOR ME IN FACT IT ALLOWED ME TO BE ABLE TO RELAX FOR 1H 59M AND LAUGH AND CRY AND HAVE A GOOD OLD TIME OF IT.
BUT WITH "RAGNAROK" YOU WAS GENUINELY SCARED FOR EVERYONE WITH THOR'S SISTER "HELA" WHO WAS A TOTAL BADASS AND BEING "ODINS" FIRST BORN AND THE GODDESS OF DEATH YOU WOULD EXPECT SO TOO. SHE SHATTERED
Mjölnir like it was glass and showed us just what was possible. She killed everyone she came in contact with and took Thor's right eye, would have taken his life as well, and that wasn't for
lack of trying either. We had to destroy Asguard to stop her
for crying out loud,
In context destroy a hole
planet to stop 1.
Wow..just..wow...
My point is "Hela" was an
Avengers level threat and a damn
good one at that, we never got that
in Thor Love And Thunder
With Gorr The God Butcher
and his Necro Sword.
Don't get me wrong
Christian played
him perfectly and was frickin
awesome
in the role but the stakes
never really felt
Oh Fcuk it's do are die time,
we'll probably Die.
WITH THAT BEING SAID ALL THAT WAS BY DESIGN NOT THROUGH A WEAK STORY AND WHAT WE GET INSTEAD IS ONE OF THE COOLEST AND FUNNY AND SLICKEST MOVIE EVER TO ENTER THE MCU.
EVERYONE IS ON FORM LIKE OFF THE CHARTS PERFORMANCES ALL ROUND
AND DOCTOR JANE FOSTER aka
THE MIGHTY THOR IS SUPER FRICKIN AWESOME AMAZING AND I WISH WE WOULD HAVE
HAD THOR AND THE MIGHTY THOR MUCH
SOONER AS A DUO IN THE MCU, SO COOL
AND SO AWESOME AND HOW JANE
USES MJÖLNIR IN HER OWN UNIQUE WAY IS SPECTACULAR AND OUTSTANDING AND
IS SUPER COOL.
THIS MOVIE IS HILARIOUS AND CHRIS
IS HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME
AND AFTER
11 YEARS ALREADY BEING APART OF THE MCU YOU ARE DAMN RIGHT THE GUY DESERVES TO HAVE A LAUGH AND A GOOD TIME IN HIS MOVIES NOW AND NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO BEGRUDGE HIM OF THAT. HE'S BEEN LOYAL TO MARVEL TO THE FANS FOR 11 LONG YEARS AND HE'S STILL HERE FOR MORE SO I ABSOLUTELY WANT HIM TO ENJOY HIMSELF NOW IN HIS MOVIES. HES EARNED IT AND DESERVES IT AND I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE
A PROBLEM WITH IT AT ALL.
BECAUSE WHEN HE NEEDS TO GO AND BE
THOR-ODINSON THE GOD OF THUNDER,
OH...MY..GOD HE CAN BRING IT..WOW.
"YOU FLICKED TO HARD
DAMN IT HA,HA HA
I DIED"
X FINAL THOUGHT
THIS MOVIE IS SUPER FRICKING
AWESOME AMAZING, I'VE
VIEWED IT MULTIPLE TIMES ALREADY
AND NOW I OWN IT ON
4K BLU RAY THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE MANY MORE VIEWS IN THE FUTURE.
HELLA YEAH.
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OPINION
ON THIS MOVIE,
IT'S A THUBS UP FOR SOME
AND A THUBS DOWN FOR OTHERS
BUT FOR ME IT WILL SIMPLY BE
:zap:"LOVE AND THUNDER":zap:
THOR WILL
RETURN?
Just got out of the movie.
Totally agreed with everyone saying the movie could have done much better with more butchering time for Gorr. In the comics, I loved when Gorr talked about how he tortured a god of torture and thought that was so fitting and definitely gonna be in the movie to show how much of a threat he is. A missed opportunity here for sure.
Overall the jokes were funny but I felt like they were all over the place and unneccessary at times. Ragnarok is one of my favorite movies and it's a bummer but I have to say L&T didn't quite recapture the magic of that movie. Kind of similar to how I'd say about Guardians 1 and 2. The tone is similar but both sequels double down on constant jokes and less on other departments.
The 2 credits scenes were a bit predictable though. I actually prefer the second Valhala one to the first. Hercules looked kind of bland and meh to me.
Criticisms aside, it did look amazing and the relationship between Jane and Thor was beautiful and got expanded upon far more than the first two movies. And the goats were awesome! 6.7-7/10 for me. I'll probably rank it the same as I would for Guardians 2.
It appears that disgraced asshat Bob Chapek (not going to link to IMDb for this asshat since his bio there is just corporate gibberish written by Disney themselves, and not updated to show that he got fired) has scared away any form of actual talent from Disney so that even when they do something that is not blatantly woke and preaching it still turns into a turd.
Already in the first scenes I was going what the f… is this? Are they turning the franchise into a comedy?
Thor himself has been turned into a rambling moron. The rest of the Gods are either unbelievable assholes or fat slobs only caring about their orgies or some combination thereof. Most of the movie I was just cringing in my seat.
If they were actually going for more of a comedy movie than an actual Thor movie they failed miserably. The “jokes” where unfunny, unintelligent and just bad. Superhero slapstick at best.
The only character that I found remotely likable and cool in the movie was King Valkyrie. Jane Foster was not too bad either. The rest was just a joke. The portrayal of the mighty God Zeus and Olympus was an affront. The bad guy was not too bad although I would not call him likable of course. He is not supposed to be likable. At least he was not turned into a parody.
It is really a shame because the underlying story is not half bad… if it had been given to someone with actual talent to implement. It is predictable of course but it is okay. If it had only been given to someone who could have turned it into a real Thor movie instead of this failed comedy turd.
I have to admit that I did not have my hopes up very much when starting to watch this movie. Given what Disney has turned into I was afraid that they were literally going to turn Thor into a female and luckily that did not happen. Unfortunately they found another way of ruining the franchise. This movie is nothing like the previous Thor movies. I really liked Thor: The Dark World for example. To me this movie is very close to a franchise killer.
The one and a half stars is for the special effects. They were pretty good. The rest of this movie is really bad.
It's kind of an interesting tale, but felt rushed a little bit. And some emotional scenes felt kinda lacking where there could've been more emotion to those scenes. Maybe the music could've been better or the character relationship build-ups were lacking, but I just didn't feel enough of the love between characters was being emanated enough out of the emotional scenes. Going beyond that though, I rather like the characters, I think the plot works well, on paper, and the way how locations looked did look rather nice. Although, it's just abit lacking in some departments. Like, again, I felt the emotional scenes could've been abit more impactful and the pacing could've provided more time to get the audience to better know and get acquainted with the characters (Yes, even with this being a Thor sequel movie, cause I feel past Thor movies didn't build up relationship bonds enough to have them just work out nicely, on their own, in this movie). Also, in another example of why I felt the pacing felt off, there's an arrangement of events, where Thor meets the 'recently transformed Jane', just as the main villain seems to have 'just started' in his villainous conquest. Those events just all seem to be conveniently happening, all at the same time, somehow, and it feels abit too convenient to me. And all kinda rushed into. As those scenes weren't the only scenes, that felt rushed into, for me. Also, another thing, some of the music is too on the nose. It sounds like it's trying to obviously replicate the feel of Guardians Of The Galaxy/Ragnarok. Like, for example, it played, "Welcome To The Jungle", right as Thor's about to fight. And it felt kinda forced. And that's just one out of the list of songs that felt kinda forced, in this movie, to try to bring out that Guardians Of The Galaxy/Ragnarok vibe. Felt it was just added in, cause it's a popular rock song that has a title that could match the scene, instead of it matching the scene, more so, based on how it sounded. Anyway though, to end this review off, I thought it was a passable movie. I didn't really go in expecting alot, since it's a superhero movie, being made in the current day. Although, despite being passable, I feel it maybe could've been better done. I don't know the time restraints or the exact story push the writers and directors had to be forced to work with, but that's my general verdict.
Fresh off saving the universe in the climax of that last Avengers movie (doesn't it seem like three lifetimes ago?), our mighty Thor is stricken by a heavy case of ennui. Granted, he's spent the past however-long running around the cosmos with his new friends in the Guardians of the Galaxy, righting wrongs and soaking up the adulation, so it's not like he's completely listless. He just wonders if, maybe, there mightn't be more to life as a living thunder god than cheap thrills and easy wins. That's where the villainous "God Butcher" Gorr comes into play. Having violently ended a great number of minor deities already, his vengeful blade now points squarely at New Asgard. Where, coincidentally, Thor's old flame Jane Foster has just taken up a form of godhood.
Following hot on the heels of 2017's Ragnarok, the '22 model brings the whole band back together again with a few additional boons. Stunning visual effects, epic fantasy landscapes, belly-quaking rock'n'roll tracks, an irreverent sense of humor (trademark of returning writer/director Taika Waititi) and a decidedly loose connection to the greater MCU... yeah, this wants to be a successor to Ragnarok, all right. Shame, then, that it's just a high-profile case study for the law of diminishing returns.
Without exception, every single component that so felt effortless and precise in the previous film is weaker and broader in Love and Thunder. Where the last entry was delightfully quirky and witty, this one feels forced and excessive. Where I was ready to stand up and cheer at the opening chords of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," the similarly climactic placement of "November Rain," either the third or fourth Guns n' Roses tune on the soundtrack, made my eyes roll. The ambitious visuals have taken a step down, the cast has lost its edge, and the story, though excessively simple, still under-delivers. Christian Bale is completely wasted as Gorr, acting his heart out in portrayal of yet another villainous afterthought whose sporadic barks are far worse than his bite. Natalie Portman is awkward and flavorless as an ex-lover turned rival; Thor seems more upset about being ditched by his semi-sentient war hammer. Even MCU heavyweights Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth have had far better showings, mutually saddled by a bland script.
Love and Thunder has bits and pieces that work - a handful of laughs, a few visual nods to the source material - but those are light and fleeting enough to have fit into an ambitious short film. Everything else is either a well-intentioned whiff or a confirmed misfire. What in the world happened here?
It's Thor v Batman: Dawn of the Shadow Realm.
Did I just come up with a way cooler movie title? Yes, yes I think I did.
I was a little bit skeptical going into this because I've heard pretty mixed things about this film and it also kinda disappeared into oblivion shortly after its initial release.
Well, I don't think it is as bad as some people claimed, it is however utterly mediocre and a tad lengthy and formulaic.
While "Ragnarok" felt like a breath of fresh air, "Love and Thunder" feels tired, inconsistent and on the verge of an identity crisis. Taika Waititi tries so hard to recapture "Ragnarok's" magic that he unintentionally runs into the opposite direction. The sequel feels almost like a parody of its predecessor at times and that comes from someone who is a fan of Waititi's work.
Poor Thor has got to be the most inconsistently written character in the whole MCU. He went through so many characterizations now it's a miracle Chris Hemsworth doesn't suffer from some form of whiplash. I applaud that man, what a tooper and his love for the character is what makes him still eternally charming. I'm bummed Waititi chose the Russo Endgame approach for Thor here. While he had his badass moments, he was still mostly written in an incompetent man child way and dumbed down to an insulting level for most of the film. It puzzles me because Ragnarok Thor (and weirdly enough Infinity War) was Thor at his best. He was goofy and funny (playing to Hemsworth comedic strenght) but still powerful and competent and reasonably able to express his emotions like a grown man compared to whatever the hell happened here.
That being said, I did enjoy a lot of the jokes. Thor riding Stormbreaker like a witch was hysterical, the brief cameo of the Guardians of the Galaxy was delightful, every scene with Valkyrie in it, Stormbreaker being jealous of Mjolnir...all things that actually made me laugh. Some of the jokes felt a bit overplayed though. The screaming goats were irritating at first and got annoying pretty quickly, Jane's search for a catchphrase felt oddly out of place, whenever Thor's was the butt of the joke instead of making it and the over presence of Korg. Waititi obviously enjoys playing the character but unfortunately he is one better served in small dozes (I would have preferred more valuable screentime for Valkyrie instead).
Jane Foster's plot was interesting in some way but felt heavily underplayed. I keep coming back to "Ragnarok," but I felt like that film handled the switch between its overall light-hearted comedy and more emotional bits way better than "Love and Thunder." While directly taken from the comics Jane's plot still felt like an afterthought. Or rather, it didn't get the focus it deserved. While the audience is granted some introperspec into Ms. Forster's mind and troubles, it still feels like her plot exists more to benefit Thor's journey to overcome his numbness after losing almost everything he loved in previous films. Revisiting the Thor/Jane romance worked better than expected, even though I still think that Hemsworth and Portman lack a believable romantic chemistry, but at least it wasn't as dreadful as their scenes during "The Dark World." Her death however felt like a hollow way to make "Thor feel again" rather than a true hero's journey on her part. That being said, I'm glad the film didn't just offer some space viking magic to cure cancer, because that would have been too insulting to so many people.
Jane's death however is not what irritates me most about the film, that goes right to its ending and Thor's "new purpose" in life.
First off, the movie wasted a perfectly good Christian Bale. It's not like he wasn't trying. He was giving it his all to make Gorr a somewhat intriguing character, it's not his fault the writers couldn't be bothered. And really, it is a shame because Gorr had the chance to become one of the MCU's greatest villains. Not only because Bale is fantastic, but because his backstory actually makes him sympathetic and at least juatifies his anger towards the Gods. The possessed sword does the rest.
The ending was just plain weird. While it maybe made sense to bring back Gorr's daughter, Thor adopting a random child and gaining new purpose just felt weird. Or rather it was executed in such a strange way that the final scenes felt more awkward than adorable. Probably because it came off as slightly emotionally manipulative.
Speaking of children, the introduction scene or Heimdall's never before mentioned son was such an exposition dump I had some very brief flashbacks to the "Suicide Squad's" infmaous "This is Katana" scene.
The visuals were mostly fine, though I think it's time Marvel finally starts paying their VFX teams what they deserve and actually give them enough time to finish up their work, because the CGI is so inconsistent it's grading (and I don't blame the VFX team).
Overall I think the movie had a lot of enjoyable moments, even though it doesn't stick out with many moments to remember afterwards. Excepr Thor catching Zeus's lightning bolt and throwing it back at him. That was awesome. And badass. Also, hot.
The film has it's place in the grand scheme of MCU films and will probably just sail into oblivion after a while. Its neither particularly good nor extremely bad (its more frustrating really) its just kind of there. It also heavily benefits from "Multiverse of Madness" being a complete clusterfuck.
Seemingly, Thor will be back for another round.
As usual for the MCU, 'Thor: Love and Thunder' is a good watch. I did want more from it, though.
Chris Hemsworth remains the star of the show, I'm adding nothing new by saying he is just perfect for the role. Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi and Natalie Portman all make for good support. Christian Bale is also someone I enjoyed, I like the look of his character but kinda felt that I wanted to see more of him - it's like we see a beginning and an end, but part of me feels like we coulda had something in-between.
The special effects are solid, as is the music; even if the track choices aren't the most creative. I probably would've shortened the run time a little, though that isn't anything all that noteworthy to be honest. There are some funny moments in there, which is always something I expect from a Taika Waititi flick.
As for me and my own personal Thor ranking, this - like the 2011 original (also 3) - isn't one of my favourites (fwiw, I enjoy 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Thor: Ragnarok' (both 4) way more) but it's still a fun enough time that I'd recommend it.
I simply cannot (cannot, I tell you!) believe they didn't just call this 'Thor Four' btw... :broken_heart:
I like how silly and over the top Thor: Love and Thunder is. It's good seeing Thor and Korg again. I wasn't super stoked about Natalie Portman, but she didn't bother me too much in the end, which is good. Gorr is the best part of the movie, because the performance is great, but mostly because he's kind of right in his desire to kill all gods. Most of the gods we see are truly terrible and deserve to die. This is also the weakest point of the story...
Show us a few good gods that he killed to show us that he's truly a bad guy. We shouldn't care that he kills some orgy-loving, sacrifice-betting gods, right? It's a missed opportunity and left to much to the imagination. Which is too bad, because I would have loved to see more of Christian Bale. The black and white fight is visually stunning and the whole Mjölnir and Stormbreaker jealousy-bit is amazing. All in all it's a fun and silly movie with some good jokes and kind of a weak story, but all in all, I enjoyed it a lot.
Lastly, give Matt Damon's theater group a small spin-off where they recreate a few popular Marvel movies! I want it!
After a rocky start, Thor Love and Thunder is able to find its footing during delivering a fun and despondent Thor adventure filled with a tremendous amount of heart.
It is no surprise that this film is far from perfect, and that is not more evident than the beginning of the film. The entire first act feels so disjointed and rushed. You get thrown plot point after plot point and get whipped from planet to planet which results in the viewer not being able to lock in on the story. I really enjoyed the scenes we got from Gorr and Jane during this act, but they felt a little underdeveloped and rushed. The comedy was a little thick during this section, some jokes completely missed, but it was nothing that was overbearing that it hurt the experience. Once the movie enters the second act and begins focusing on Jane the entire gets much better. It is here where you can really see the balance that Taika Waititi brought during Ragnarök with some moments rivaling the best from that film. The ending of this film has some really great action and cinematography, some may argue it's among the best in the MCU. As the movie credits rolled, I was very satisfied to the conclusion of this film and am ready for more Thor action in the future.
The acting all around was excellent in this film, I found the dynamic between Jane and Thor worked much better than in previous films. They had real chemistry on screen, and you could feel the love the two previously shared unearth with each additional scene. There are some really great conversations that dive into their relationship that were done fantastically. Christian Bale was menacing as Gorr, his demeanor was sinister and completely unhinged as he delivered crazy laughs while delivering his villain manifesto. It gave me serious flashbacks to Heath Ledger’s Joker. I just wish we got to see more of him in the film, but the bit we did see was top tier villainy in the MCU.
The music in this film blends with the scenes very well. When the Guns N' Roses guitar starts playing you know it is about to go down and I could not help but smile. While the beginning of this film was bad, I can admit, the ending was so great that it averaged out the movie and made it a very enjoyable experience.
Verdict: Good
Score: 7/10
Like Ragnarok, this is a comedy. Thor is now a comedy film of a character who endlessly suffers. This film addresses that, that while he has his thunder he has no love as he lost it repeatedly.
As a film, it's rather weak. It's a very basic story and felt like it had no point. But perhaps it's just a Thor story, like watching a chapter from the Thor comics of one of his adventures.
What I liked the most was that they made Thor a father. A good way to have him regain his love and gain purpose in his life and in future movies. Also, makes the new child a candidate for the Young Avengers that phase 4 is building up. The comedy is good, I usually hate comedies but Taika is great at it. And the fighting in the Shadow Realm was very visually appealing.
The worst part of this film is Jane. And it's not that she's here but more that she's gone in just one movie. Essentially deleting her character and even the possibility of Lady Thor. This movie also lacks a bit of the charm of Taika's films, like Ragnarok had. This was more of his comedy and less of his story writing. Yet, like most of Phase 4, I cannot be mad because this is a build up to a greater story... especially the ending.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2022-07-05T14:42:23Z— updated 2022-07-23T21:37:49Z
We've kinda come full circle with these superhero films when you think about it.
After the camp of the 90s, directors like Nolan and Singer reset the tone of superhero movies in the 2000's to something that was more grounded and serious, which in turn laid a lot of the groundwork for the MCU.
Here we have Taika Waititi providing a throwback to the Joel Schumacher days.
If that's your thing you'll probably dig it, but it's definitely not my brand of camp.
I’m not exactly a Thor: Ragnarok fan (nor the other two Thor films). I don’t have a problem with its silly tone, because I’m not a manchild who needs to see his childhood validated, but a lot of its comedy didn’t click with me (even after a rewatch). Everything that didn’t work for me in that film is amped up to an eleven here.
There are some serious points in it where the acting choices, slapstick/childish/hokey comedy, overly bright colors, gay undertones, overdesigned costumes (no nipples yet, but give Taika another film and we'll see what happens) and godawful music choices started to give me genuine flashbacks to stuff like Batman Forever, not quite the thing you want to remind me of.
It's not a complete disaster; the performances by Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and especially Christian Bale are generally quite good. I'm also glad Marvel seems to have definitively found the saturation button back after Guardians 2, even if the framing/lighting with the visuals remains uninspired and maintains a general level of artifice that makes it look like shit. I believe they used the volume stages for most of the production, and like Obi Wan or The Book of Boba Fett, it’s very noticeable for most of the runtime.
The story's not all that interesting and makes no sense when you put any thought into it, but that's fine given that there is some progression with most of the main characters, even if Thor’s character arc throughout the MCU is all over the place at this point. As with most Marvel films lately, there is a lot of unnecessary exposition (e.g. the Korg narrated flashbacks are really clunky), but where it really drops the ball for me is with the balancing of tone and plot elements. I already thought that the darker stuff in Thor: Ragnarok didn't blend that well with the goofy scenes on the trash planet, but there's even more tonal whiplash here. Christian Bale is giving this excellent, terrifying performance, but he's not in the same movie as Chris Hemsworth, who's playing even more of a Thor parody than he was in Avengers: Endgame. One moment we're invested in this heavy, emotional story with Natalie Portman, and then we cut back to a goofy love triangle between Thor, his hammer and his axe. It's an unbalanced mess without a sense of stakes.
I also don't know what it is with Taika's comedy in these films, because I think What we do in the shadows, Jojo Rabbit and Hunt for the wilderpeople are all very comedic and smart, but for some reason he really likes his Thor movies excessive and dumb. Screaming goats aren't funny to me, they're a dated meme at best. Maybe it's because Taika can't go edgy and niche with the jokes here, but fuck I really hate his sensibilities for this character.
In short, another major misfire from Marvel if you ask me. I pretty much disliked everything except for a few of the performances. Please go back to making indies Taika, and for the love of god: let James Gunn pick the soundtrack for your next film. Even a film this dumb doesn’t need a Guns ‘N Roses needle drop, let alone four of them.
3/10