HOLLYWOOD—I thought “Thor” was a good movie. “Thor: The Dark World” was dreadful. “Thor: Ragnorak” was freaking fantastic and now we have “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The verdict is in, it is not that good of a movie and it falls in line with “Thor: The Dark World” if you ask me. Director Taika Waititi brought a fresh an exciting perspective to the superhero with the third installment, whatever happened in that movie is NOT happening this go around.
Why? For some reason there tends to be this longing feeling to make Thor this comical character. Let me be crystal clear people, Thor never has been seen as a comedic character nor will he ever be. Why? He just isn’t that funny of a character, and actor Chris Hemsworth doesn’t have the acting chops to pull it off, even if he wanted to. There is a reason Robert Downey Jr. could do what he did with Iron Man aka Tony Stark, there is a charisma that Robert brought to the character that worked and the fans loved that about Iron Man.
Thor is not able to do that and Waititi’s script shows that. If there was a lot less focus on laughter and humor and actually fleshing out this intriguing battle that could have been between Thor and the villain, Gorr (portrayed by acting legend Christian Bale), this movie could have been a certifiable hit people and I mean that in the greatest possible sense.
We see the return of Jane (Natalie Portman) as Thor’s love interest from the first film and its sequel, and her return this go around doesn’t make much sense for me, but whatever. She is actually the female version of Thor and wields his hammer, something that angers Thor. The narrative toys with their will they or won’t they romance, that doesn’t amount to much till the end of the flick.
You have actor Russell Crowe in a hilarious role as Zeus and beyond that Tessa Thompson’s character feels like a throwaway compared to the glue she portrayed in the previous flick. And Bale I’m just so disappointed with the lack of intensity of a villain the audience could have been treated to with this acting juggernaut. Nope, it doesn’t happen here, even though the film opens with a great scene involving Gorr that reels the spectator in, but that ultimately fizzles into thin air and it is a bummer people.
Some of the action sequences feel a bit hokey, that scene with members of the Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a toss away and I’m not sure if the writers have any idea as to what to do next with Thor. Who will be the next villain, what will be his next journey? Those were just a few of the questions I had and I’m certain there are plenty more to be answered, the bigger question is when the time comes, will I even care because “Thor: Love and Thunder” gave me no push to care about the character moving forward.
