Thor: Love and Thunder  (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Action/Adventure ‧ 2 Hours 5 Minutes

Written by Taika Waititi(story by) Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Directed by ‎ Taika Waititi

THE CAST

Chris Hemsworth; Christian Bale; Tessa Thompson; Jaimie Alexander; Taika Waititi; Russell Crowe; Natalie Portman.

THE STORY

(In their own words) Thor embarks on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced — a quest for inner peace. However, his retirement gets interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods.

THE BEST

BEST things about the film

1. The Direction- It is probably the first Marvel movie with such a distinct voice of the director. This is no doubt a taika Waititi film. It is quirky and funny and takes unexpected approaches to the situation.
   
2. Special Effects – Excellent special effects that’s becoming par for the course for Marvel films.
   
3. The comedy – This is a very fun film. It really leans into comedy, which director Taika Waititi.
   
4. Story – The story has a huge level of magnitude and will have huge impact on the future MCU. I think I now know what the direction of Phase 4 is, especially after the two post-credit scenes.
   
5. Christian Bale – Holy moly. I totally forgot he was in the film and I didn’t realize that was him until the film ended and I saw the credits. Incredible transformation as an actor

THE WORST

WORST things about the Film

1. Lack of relatability – This film deals with a lot of “Gods.” Similar to The Eternals, we are starting to deal with less “grounded” characters that we can relate to. Which makes it tough to really feel relatable.
   
2. Jane -You know from the previews that Jane somehow gets the power of Thor in this film. I was super excited about this, but it kind of hurt the film by making everyone super powered. Suddenly, we don’t have our relatable character to side with. Jane needed John, someone to look after that would be more vulnerable.
   
3. Villain – We hear a lot about the villain, but don’t get to see a lot.  I don’t feel like they properly built up the big bad for this film. He was there, present, but I didn’t have a strong feeling of caring. Without a good villain, we just don’t care if the hero wins. The origin of him they showed was fantastic, but we needed to see him as the villain longer before we intro’d the heroes to fight him. 

THE REVIEW

This will probably be the most polarizing marvels film we’ve had yet.  In fact, I could see this movie being as polarizing as the Star Wars film The Last Jedi.  Some people will love Thor Love & Thunder for its quirky, offbeat filmmaking style, it’s continuous use of comedy throughout, the stretching of the established characters’ personalities, and the unexpected direction this film goes with its story.  Others will hate the film for the exact same reasons. 

My daughter watched the press screening with me and she said it didn’t feel like a Marvel movie to her.  And I get that.  It is the first Marvel film I can remember that feels distinctly different because of the director & writer’s style. Most of Disney’s Marvel movies director’s point of view gets generalized by the powers that be.  They don’t want anything to be too unpredictable, that’s why so many Marvel movies feel the same. For this one they clearly let director Taika Waititi have free reign.  

THE LESSON

Love, above all else.

THE FINAL WORD

Thor: Love and Thunder is a mixed bag. It’s got a lot of elements I really, really liked. It had big shoes to fill after Thor: Ragnorok, and I think it might fall short of expectations in that regard. However, it is still a quirky, fun Marvel film. You haven’t seen anything like this yet. Don’t think too hard and enjoy the action and story. This film is setting up the next big phase of the MCU, so don’t miss out on it. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It.

Thor: Love and Thunder gets a Like It.

THE TRAILER

THE REVIEWER

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.