Admittedly, I fell asleep in Thor movies until “Ragnarok,” so you may not think I’m the best person to review superhero movies, but then again, maybe that actually makes me the perfect person to review “Love and Thunder” because I’ll be more objective and I do love director Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”, “What We Do in the Shadows”, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”).
Teamed-up with the female writer of “Unpregnant,” Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Waititi’s script is more female-friendly than some superhero films I’ve seen, particularly the scenes between Jane/Lady Thor and King Valkyrie, Tessa Thompson (“Copper,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “Passing”).
More girl power vibes featuring their chemistry would be welcome in future sequels. It’s a film full of obvious comedy and funny cameos and comes at you like a video game, though with better resolution than “Free Guy,” so it’s admittedly difficult to fall asleep, in addition to the screaming goats from the Thor comic that create regular reasons for laughter in this installment.
Although it may be more comical overall than its predecessors, “Love and Thunder” may also have the saddest opening scene in an Avengers movie ever, so prepare yourself and don’t make yourself late grabbing popcorn.
It centers on the tragic origin story that sets up bad guy Gorr (there always has to be a bad guy), played by the oft-creepy but always superb Christian Bale (“The Dark Knight,” “The Fighter,” “American Psycho”). His reasons for transforming into the God Butcher, wielding the Necro Sword and kidnapping children into the Shadow World seem completely justified in the beginning, but less and less so as the film and his transformation progress.
In the meantime, we see Thor go from dad bod to God bod, the Guardians of the Galaxy make a brief appearance (also early in the film, so again, make that popcorn run quick), and nearly the entire Guns and Roses catalog plays inexplicably.
Natalie Portman (“Black Swan,” “Vox Lux,” “The Professional”) also makes her much-anticipated return to the franchise, not initially as the female Thor as advertised, but as a cancer patient. Out of desperation, she reassembles Thor’s hammer in an attempt to cure the disease and suddenly finds herself reunited with Thor, battling various and sundry bad guys.
Russel Crowe (“Gladiator,” “Beautiful Mind”) is unexpected comic relief as a very self-absorbed Zeus that Thor and crew pointlessly seek audience with to build a God army to defeat the God Butcher.
When that attempt fails, the small crew is left to defeat evil with their only real weapon – love. “Love and Thunder” is the name of the film, and “Love” is definitely the theme throughout – romantic love, love of family, of friends and how it is the greatest weapon we all have access to and are worthy of. Ultimately, convincing the Butcher to choose love by example has to be the goal. Love may be pain, but to quote Thor, “It’s better to feel sh*tty than feel nothing at all.”
Simonie Wilson, whose love of movies began as a child in the ’70s going to drive-ins with her family, has been a resident of the Northland for more than a decade. She is a board member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and a Women Film Critics Circle member. She can be reached online at www.facebook.com/RedVineReviewer.
