Movie review of the Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) movie. We avoid major spoilers, and give you a sense of whether you should like/see it and why.
Movie Review by So Many Comics
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NOTE: the following script for the review is the draft. The actual podcast contains more content.
Having seen Thor: Love and Thunder twice now, I can say with certainty that I LOVED it. Now, keep in mind, I consider Thor: Ragnarok the best of the Thor franchise so far, so I was already predisposed to like the new Thor. Plus, as a reader and fan of both the Gorr God Butcher and Jane Has the Hammer storylines in the comics, I was looking forward to this new film. It is not for everyone. If the comedy and camp in the last movie bugged you, expect to be more bugged here. But I loved it!
Christian Bale is perfect as Gorr the God Butcher! His husky villain voice (sort of like his Batman voice), lends itself to the creepy aspects of Gorr’s villainy. His reasons for wanting to kill gods is made clear early on, and it fits with the original comics storyline.
Tessa Thompson, reprising her role as Valkyrie, is again, amazing. I think a Disney+ show with her in the lead as Val would be a good move for Marvel/Disney. We need to see more of her work as King of New Asgard, and maybe get more Sif action in such a show. My only criticism of her character (not the actor), is that after stating to Jane that she wanted to die in battle and go to Valhalla, she then decides not to go the final battle, because…she might die! Seems a bit out of character, BUT, (big but here), she did say she would die, and that would not help Thor save the kids or beat Gorr. So maybe King Val was just being practical.
The Kids! Without giving away any major spoilers here, the kids did a great job of acting both scared and heroic. Only after my first viewing of the movie, did I realize that among the passel of kids in the movie (the kids are a major plot point, by the way), are the actual children of Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale. That is cool!
Natalie Portman is again, and always, great. From her iconic role in Star Wars as Princess Amidala/Padme, to her great take on Jane Foster, she steps into what is now a co-starring role as the new Mighty Thor perfectly!
Chris Hemsworth! Again, the perfect (male) Thor! He has genuine comedic chops, and director Taika Waititi uses Hemsworth to great effect in this movie. Hemsworth can turn in a funny performance, and then turn it around to be the inspiring hero that we all need.
Also, the GOATS! In both actual Norse mythology, and modern Marvel mythology, Thor’s chariot is pulled by two giant, magical goats, named Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder. In the comics, they first appeared in Thor Annual #5 (1976). While not named in this movie, they are great comic relief (they like to scream a lot), and a good plot device. Love the Goats!
The Guardians of the Galaxy! We see them working with Thor in the early part of the movie, but they soon depart. Star-Lord’s words to Thor are actually an important part of the story, but the actual heroes are not in the movie very long. In a sense, that is too bad, but, again, this is really the story of the two Thors, not the “Asgardians of the Galaxy.”
Mjolnir and Stormbreaker: For two CGI objects, these two nordic weapons almost stole the show…again, not giving away major spoilers, but they had great interactions with each other and Thor. IDEA: There should be a Marvel Short about a love triangle between Mjolnir, Stormbreaker, and Dr. Strange’s cape. Directed and narrated by Korg, of course.
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