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Thor: Love and Thunder

 A review by Forrest Humphrey


In the aftermath of “Avengers: Endgame”, Thor decides going on space adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy is just what he needs to get back into his groove. Its on one of these wacky scenes that the Guardians get a distress call, one of particular interest to Thor. Something out there is going across the universe killing gods, and New Asgard might be next. So Thor parts with the Guardians and returns to Earth to confront this new threat, discovering his old flame Jane Foster has also somehow rebuilt Mjolnir after Hela destroyed it in “Ragnarok”. Now Thor, Jane, Valkyrie and Korg have to deal with a new villain, Gorr the God Butcher, before he finishes doing what his name implies.

Up front, I think this is a mix of things I like more than the last film and some I like less. Up front, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are still here to put in work, and Natalie Portman's return comes along with what is hands down her best outing in these movies now that she looks like she's really having fun. Hemsworth and Portman have more chemistry here than they ever did in the older films as well. But hands down I have to hand it to Christian Bale, who absolutely kills as the film's villain, Gorr. Also, Russel Crowe is a blast as Zeus. 

However, I also wasn't feeling as much of the humor this time, especially in the early parts of the film. Several jokes play out several times or longer than they should such as the extremely annoying screaming goats. Did you think it was sweet when Led Zeppelin played in a big scene in the last one? They do that with Guns 'n Roses three or four times here. The original music in general was non-existant compared to “Ragnarok's” great synth-heavy score. And as much as Bale really goes hard and makes Gorr a memorable villain, I absolutely wish a few minutes of things that don't land or work could have been trimmed to give him just one more scene, a few more minutes would have taken him from “He's really good when he's here” to “one of Marvel's best villains hands down.” 

Its still a fun time, the cast is great, there's some visually stunning sequences and some genuinely compelling character work, but I do feel “Ragnarok” was a tighter, stronger film. 

Rating: 3.5/5




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