The Mosley Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

If there's one character that has had the most growth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while his solo films have dropped in quality since the first entry, its Thor. His first film was a shakespearian epic that was simple, but the character development was superb. It understood the assignment and passed with flying colors. Then by the time we got to Ragnorok, the character's films became a joke and bad one at that. I'm all for switching things up mid stream, but not to the point where you ruin the foundation that bore its existence. I was truly saddened that one of the greatest Norse Gods was filed down to a Saturday morning cartoon and not taken seriously. Now comes a new entry and it started off so powerful and introduces something that this character has needed since the The Dark World, a great villain. After that gorgeous opening, the same problems emerge that the previous film had and just keeps getting worse. The tone of this film is all over the place and only seems to finally focus up towards the mid section of the film. There seems to be a fear to let your fanbase that has been there since 2008, see a more dramatic and mature toned story. Instead of embracing death and a many scenes of tension, they pull back on the reigns and drop a joke that completely stops the story progression. It was truly a big disappointment that this film really didn't learn from its past mistakes. At least some of the characters this time around get treated better for the most part.

Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor and he is still great as the character. I've wished for him to step back into the version of the character that is more serious and less a buffoon and that wish has partially come true. He does take things more seriously this time and I did like his self deprecating humor. His comedic charm is still intact and he is always great in action scenes. Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster and she gets a hell of an upgrade in character development. I truly loved her chemistry with Hemsworth in the first Thor film and thankfully that has finally returned. There are some moments where her dialogue was a bit rough and she did the best she could with it. Tessa Thompson returns as Valkyrie and I liked that she was more toned down. She wasn't as in your face "I'm a strong woman with no flaws" type of character this time around. She was more relatable. Taika Waititi as Korg was alright this time around and there was a decision that was made with the character at first that I was hoping would stay, but of course its then played for jokes. Russell Crowe was good as Zeus and I liked that he played him as a pompous, arrogant and a lazier God. I do wish he was the ZEUS we know but once again, comedy. Christian Bale delivers a truly heartbreaking and sometimes creepy performance as Gorr. I loved that he got an amazing arc in the film and you understand his quest. He may not have been exactly what he looks like in the comics, but I dug this more human look. He was the best villain this franchise has seen in a very long time and I loved every second he was on screen.

The score by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad was fun and I liked the new themes that were created for Jane and Gorr. When its not Giacchino and Melumad, we are treated to almost all of the greatest hits Guns & Roses and the songs were used pretty well in the film. Visually the film was just as or more colorful than Ragnorok and is pretty to look at and actually fits this time. I know it seems like I'm ragging on the comedy alot, but it truly stops the movie everytime chance it gets. There were so many scenes where the story started to actually try to get you invested and finally show some form of tension, but it is violently ripped away by dropping a bad joke or showing off memes that have died more than 5 years ago. It was so maddening and I really couldn't stand. Director Taika Waititi is a talented filmmaker, but he has damaged this characters' image and ruined almost all chances for him to be the epic hero he’s supposed to be. He needs to step away from this character and do something that is in his wheel house instead forcing his comedic style on someone that isn't a comedian. Thor has been my favorite character since the MCU started and it pains me to see him like this. Overall it's still worth watching for Gorr but other than that, its barely a step up from Ragnorok. There are 2 end credits and I loved the second one the most. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!