Thor: Love and Thunder is one of the most anticipated Marvel productions of the year. With all the marketing from Disney and hype from the fanbase, expectations have been high. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t quite meet them.
Image credit: Marvel Studios
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is the first character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to get a fourth solo film. While the first two Thor films are not the best, the third instalment – Thor: Ragnarok (2017) is, arguably, one of the best MCU productions. It was also the first MCU film directed by Taika Waititi, who continued his Marvel journey with Love and Thunder.
Waititi’s critically-acclaimed portfolio and recent Hollywood fame might have been the reason why many expected the fourth Thor to be one of the best MCU films yet. However, while the film attempts to surpass Ragnarok’s success, it fails spectacularly.
The first three films all had characters stealing the scenes from the protagonist, be it Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) or even the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Yeah, there’s been a few.
However, Love and Thunder emphasises at the very beginning it tells the story of Thor – him being the hero, the heart of it all. No one is there to steal his scenes, with Hemsworth posing as the centre of attention throughout the film. It makes other characters suffer from lack of screen time, making them unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Adding too many characters, each with their own background and agenda, makes the film overwhelming rather than enjoyable.
Image credit: Marvel Studios
Starring as, respectively, a deuteragonist and a villain are Oscar winners Natalie Portman (playing Dr Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor) and Christian Bale (as Gorr the God Butcher). These two great actors are, sadly, not given a chance to show off their acting talent. The film is too fast-paced, the main plot too-rushed and the subplots are breeding like rabbits making the film a chaotic mess of science with mythology, jokes with solemnity and puns with child abduction.
Bale’s Gorr had the potential of being one of the best MCU villains yet, but instead, he suffers from a lack of screen time and character development. Thor: Love and Thunder needs to understand stories aren’t races to win and slow down to properly give the audience time to familiarise themselves with the antagonist.
Image credit: Marvel Studios
Another issue with the film is how it queerbaited the LGBTQ+ community. Multiple times the actors and creators claimed that the film had queer representation, but unfortunately, the LGBTQ+ community will be disappointed.
Sorry Marvel, but three jokes about a rock being gay isn’t good representation.
In case you were wondering, yes, there are two post-credits scenes in the film to wait for.
Thor: Love & Thunder is now playing exclusively in theatres.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel Studios
she/they
Film, media & journalism student
You must log in to post a comment.