Arts

We see a lot of Thor in this movie. And no, I’m not talking about screen time.

First thing’s first: this movie is Thor: Ragnarok on drugs. 

Jasmine, my co-editor-in-chief, went to see it a full two days before me and said she “felt like [she] was tripping.” 

I didn’t get it then — I definitely get it now. 

If you’re going into the theatre this weekend hoping to see a bad-ass, superhero action movie, you might leave a little disappointed. At its core, this movie was more of a comedy than anything else.  

I settled into my seat fully expecting to be blown away by this film. The Thor series is my favourite of all the Avengers movies. Albeit, that’s mostly because of Loki (and before you ask — yes, I sat there fingers, toes and everything crossed that the movie-turned-TV character would make a surprise appearance).

Naturally, I had some high expectations for this instalment. But I was also a little worried about it; I’d heard some fairly mixed reviews online, ranging from “a mess that can’t make sense of what matters” to “really enjoyable.” Nevertheless, I remained optimistic. 

It took less than ten minutes for me to realize this movie was going to be a little out-there. It was about the same time I decided that while I might like it, I definitely won’t love it. 

For a movie with a villain named Gorr the God Butcher, I was a little let down by how light-hearted and just completely silly this movie actually was. I expected Gods and greatness. I wanted it to lean more towards ‘awesome’ than ‘awkward.’

That being said, even if there wasn’t as much action and battle as I wanted, there was definitely still fighting. And while I’m sticking to my comment that it’s more a comedy than anything else, Marvel has seldom let me down when it comes to fight scenes, and Thor: Love and Thunder is no exception. 

The action scenes doesn’t quite reach Ragnarok heights (I’m literally obsessed with the Immigrant Song scene), but when it was there, it wasn’t disappointing. A little weird at times, yes, but still fun to watch. 

I think it would actually be harder for them to make a Thor fight-scene that I didn’t like, if I’m being honest. The thunder and lightning effects get me every time. 

One of the most random and lovable parts of this movie might have actually been the cameos. We see the reappearance of my favourite Thor cameo trio (IYKYK), as well as a few new brief appearances that were just out there enough to have me trading confused glances with the person next to me. 

They even added a bunch more of Chris Hemsworth’s family members to the credit line. Some fans might already know that the actor’s brother, Luke Hemsworth, played an Asguardian actor in Ragnarok (at the time, he was acting as Thor in a play). Well, in this newest instalment, four more of the Hemsworth family appeared on screen: Elsa Pataky, Hemsworth’s wife, and their three children, India Rose, Tristan and Sasha. 

India Rose played Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, while her two younger brothers played a young Thor and an unnamed Asguardian child.

So, where does Thor: Love and Thunder sit in the grand scheme of new Marvel movies? 

If you’d read my previous review of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you’ll know that 2022’s first Marvel film left me feeling pretty unimpressed. I was seriously hoping that this new Thor would make up for what the Doctor Strange sequel lacked. 

In reality, I think the only thing that really puts Love and Thunder above Multiverse of Madness for me is personal bias; I like Thor a lot more than I like Strange. Sue me. 

What does all that mean? To put it simply, I’m really hoping 2022 is a ‘third time’s the charm’ thing, and that November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever knocks these other two movies out of the park.