Everyone’s favorite himbo is back.
The unrelenting Marvel has released its latest project of the half-dozen scheduled for 2022: Thor: Love and Thunder. This movie was ridiculous, cheesy and possibly the best Marvel film yet this year.
The key to Thor’s success is its absurdity and the refreshing self-awareness it presents. This movie knew how nonsensical it could be, and this embrace makes it a genuinely enjoyable movie.
The film follows Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as he goes up against a creature called “The God Butcher” (Christian Bale). As gathered by the name, Bale plays a chilling villain who aims to eliminate the gods. Sporting unsettling eyes and sharp, creepy teeth, the God Butcher balances an otherwise goofy film with a disturbing villain.
Thor faces his loneliness as he reconnects with Jane (Natalie Portman), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (Taika Waititi). The film is a Waititi spectacle, as it was clear he was given relatively free reign. Mixing a “classic Thor adventure” with absolute fun, the film includes space dolphins, giant screaming goats and an Asgardian play starring Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth and Melissa McCarthy.
Marvel has flirted with absurdity before. Recently, Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness attempted some out-of-the-box scenes, but the movie took itself seriously, causing those moments of ridiculousness to feel odd. The music note battle failed because it was painted with sincerity, whereas Thor succeeds because of its touching self-awareness. Sometimes even some special effects seemed purposely bad, adding to Waititi’s incredible, fever dream creation.
Another thing Waititi did well was his female characters. Portman revealed she was asked to bulk up for the role of female Thor, something she has rarely done for films. Portman’s Thor is a character of power and little forced girlbossery, something Marvel has struggled with before (cue that one scene from Endgame). However, she was simply powerful. Her costume was unrevealing and Thor was by far the most sexualized character. Hemsworth’s portrayal is secure in his masculinity and unphased by the sexualization, and his role as the “hot” character allows Thompson and Portman to shine unsexualized.
Popular reviews have critiqued the movie, largely for the inconsistency between various Marvel Phase 4 plotlines. The die-hard Marvel fan may be disappointed in the lack of general consensus in the Phase 4. It wasn’t a particularly outstanding movie to develop the Marvel franchise, but it was a great movie in itself. The film further introduces several characters, so make sure to stick around for the end credits (duh).
Thor: Love and Thunder was the perfect balance of familiar Marvel characters, somewhat of a rarity of late, and absolute ridiculousness. It was exactly the sequel Thor: Ragnarok deserved and tied together the three previous Thor movies well in a silly package. While it may not be the most substantial movie, anyone with a heart will love (and thunder) this film.
Editor-in-Chief
