What happened here?
The fourth Thor should have soared, but it's a bit of a bore with things to abhor. After the fun breath of fresh air that was Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi returned to the director's chair for the fourth installment in the Thor series, and a slam-dunk seemed all but inevitable.
Surprisingly, Thor: Love and Thunder has instead turned out to be more of a divisive film than most were expecting. It has things to like, and certainly some viewers have come away happy, but some aspects of the film really let it down. The following 10 missteps are among the most notable of these, all contributing to the disappointment some have felt with Thor's latest adventure.
Wasted villain
Christian Bale is a great actor, and for what he's given in Thor: Love and Thunder, he does really well. Unfortunately, it's the screenplay that lets Bale down, and does a disservice to the character of Gorr the God Butcher, as he doesn't have much of an impact in the film.
The villain's origin is told well, in the film's opening, and Bale is given a chance to shine here. But everything after that is disappointing, and besides that opening scene, Gorr doesn't actually get to murder any Gods on-screen. We're told Gorr is a threat, but we don't see him being threatening. Compare it to Avengers:Infinity War: Thanos beats The Hulk in a one-on-one fight, and kills two popular Thor characters - Heimdall and Loki - all in the first 10 minutes of the film. His introduction delivers a much greater punch.
Off-brand Guardians of the Galaxy
Everyone loves the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the idea that they'd feature in a Thor movie was an exciting one. After all, Thor's adventures with the Guardians in Infinity War worked well, so even if they only had a small role in Love and Thunder, it still should have been fun, right?
Sadly, they're completely wasted in Love and Thunder, and their inclusion just feels off. Their scenes are rushed through, their banter isn't as funny as usual, and they disappear within minutes of the movie starting, not even getting to return to play some kind of role in the climax.
Humor falls flat
This is a more subjective misstep than most, but the humor in Love and Thunder feels lacking compared to Ragnarok. Maybe the goofy tone and constant humor worked in that Thor movie because it was new and unexpected. But here, it just feels a bit uninspired.
The stage play reenactment of Thor 2 in Ragnarok was funny, but the joke is brought back in Love and Thunder, but not really built on. Melissa McCarthy is there now, so there's one more celebrity cameo? It's not really enough. And elsewhere, the idea of giant screaming goats might be funny, but more needs to be done with them if they're going to keep showing up. There are no twists or layers to the recurring joke. Waititi usually does humor so much better, so it's strange that Love and Thunder is nowhere near as funny as his other films.
Too many fake-out deaths
The act of seemingly killing a character off only to abruptly bring them back is a problem with the MCU more broadly. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes the resurrection happens in a subsequent movie, and rarely is it done in a way that truly feels earned.
The problem is extra noticeable in Love and Thunder because it happens so often. Of the important characters, the film tricks you into thinking Korg, Valkyrie, and Zeus (also Lady Sif, arguably) all die at certain points, only to show they're actually fine. Why get invested if death seems so easy for a film's characters to escape?
Story structure (or lack thereof)
Love and Thunder feels choppy in its storytelling. Maybe it should have been expected, given there were four credited editors (never a good sign) and an alleged early rough cut that was four hours long. Gorr the God Butcher might not have lived up to his name, but the editors certainly picked up the slack in the butchering department.
There could be a good movie assembled from everything filmed, but the finished product of Thor: Love and Thunder isn't it. With a rushed opening, almost non-existent second act, and an overwhelming, sometimes confusing final act, the core story of the film and the way scenes are stitched together are two of the biggest reasons why the whole film just feels rushed, off, and unsatisfying.
Boring action
The MCU has had a problem with action in Phase 4 so far. The TV shows don't offer great action, and the movies have been lacking, too... except for Shang-Chi, which had some truly exciting martial arts scenes, great stuntwork, and hand-to-hand combat that had real weight to it.
Love and Thunder has almost nothing by way of memorable action. Even Ragnarok offered more - Hela got some good action, Hulk fighting Thor gladiator-style in an arena was a fun scene, and the final battle had some cool shots. Love and Thunder has action that's easy to forget about the second the movie finishes, which is a real shame.
Where's Loki?
Love and Thunder feels rushed and sometimes overstuffed, so adding Loki into the mix might have made that worse. But on the other hand, he just had his own TV show, and was an essential character in the first three Thor movies. Surely he could have made an appearance.
It speaks to the disconnect between the MCU TV shows and movies at this point. It was odd that Vision didn't show up in Doctor Strange 2 after being a big part of WandaVision, too, and if this trend continues, it's going to make the whole universe feel less connected, and the shows (even) less satisfying.
Jane's return
Bringing back Jane on paper sounded like a good idea. Natalie Portman is a great actor, and somewhat underused in Thor 1 and 2. After being absent from Ragnarok, the idea she'd returned for Love and Thunder was exciting, but she was unfortunately done dirty by the screenplay (much like Bale).
The film makes the cynical decision to give her a serious illness to deal with, yet doesn't do anything substantial with it. It's borderline offensive that we're told she has cancer, but even before she gets her powers, it doesn't seem to impact her (or her appearance) much. As for her powers? She gets them quickly and in a way that feels rushed, and so while the idea of her matching Thor physically is a cool one, the execution leaves something to be desired.
Flat visuals
Love and Thunder might be a colorful movie, but it's an oddly boring one to look at. The MCU is starting to truly over-rely on CGI and green screens, and it's making many of its Phase 4 films look cheap, flat, and samey.
Again, Ragnarok did the bright colors and crazy planets thing too, but so much better. Love and Thunder only really dazzles during a sequence late in the film which is shot mostly in black and white; otherwise, it's visually nothing we haven't seen before.
Baffling ending
"Thor will return", the end credits promise. What, with a little girl he adopted out of nowhere? Despite never seeming to want a kid? Do the other characters not think it's a bit weird for him to adopt her so quickly? Is it not deeply uncomfortable that he could well be using her to fill an emotional hole in his life, making it selfish rather than selfless?
It's all rushed. Jane's sacrifice is barely explained, Gorr's change of heart doesn't feel earned, and Thor suddenly being an adoptive dad comes out of nowhere. It barrels through its final scenes quickly in the hopes viewers won't notice how strange the ending is. But that strategy didn't work for the film's rushed opening, and it's even less successful in its rushed ending. Here's hoping that if Thor does return, it will be in a much better movie.
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