Our favorite Kiwi returns to Asgard with “Thor: Love and Thunder”, and we couldn’t be happier! We’re of course referring to our favorite franchise helmer, Taika Waititi. He’s back for his second outing with the God(s?) of Thunder. The best part of the film is the gang’s all here again. Chris Hemsworth returns as the titular character. Waititi reprises his role as stalwart companion Korg. Tessa Thompson returns as Valkyrie, now King of new Asgard.
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Of course the most celebrated return to the franchise is Natalie Portman who is back as Jane Foster, now Jane Thor. Without going into too much detail we think fans of the comic run will be pleased.
We rejoin Thor post Endgame, he’s floating around with the Guardians of the Galaxy trying to do some introspection and also some ass kicking as therapy. As we know from the previews his path is set to cross with Gorr the God Butcher (played by Christian Bale giving his best Voldemort).
We Love the Thunder
Waititi excels at many things, he is a master of capturing the idiosyncrasies of friendships. Just watch his short“Team Thor,” as a perfect example of that. Those moments shine in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” There’s a whole plotline about envy / jealousy we won’t spoil, but it shows just how creative the director can get.
His most emotional moments come through in scenes that explore parental relationships. There are some truly heart wrenching moments in the film that we weren’t necessarily expecting, but not surprised by. Think along the lines of the subtlety of the more emotional beats of his Oscar winning film “Jojo Rabbit.” Both Bale and Hemsworth get their capital A acting moments as a result of those.
There are of course the signature comedic moments. The screaming goats we saw in the trailers could have been very annoying very quickly, but Waititi knows just when and where to inject their absurdity. Same goes with his use of Russell Crowe as Zeus, head of the Greek Gods.
Not So Much the Love
Where the film fell a tiny bit short for us was the long awaited reunion of the Thors. Perhaps it’s the chemistry between the actors, perhaps it’s a shortcoming of the script. However for us we got more enjoyment out of their buddy buddy pairing up as opposed to their supposed romantic flame.
Temper thy expectations going into “Thor: Love and Thunder” when compared to its predecessor, “Thor: Ragnarok.” Waititi’s first Thor film redefined who Thor was in the MCU, so it was very unlikely the sequel would live up to that unexpected novelty. Still the film continues the joy and absurdity of that film, injects more heart, has a killer soundtrack, and paints some incredibly stunning comic book inspired visuals. All in all it’s a blast at the movies.
Marvel Studios‘ “Thor: Love and Thunder” hits theaters on July 8th, 2022.
