‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Review: Gorr the God Butcher poses one of MCU’s most fully realized threats, but cuts up film’s runtime
July 7, 2022
“Thor: Love and Thunder,” Marvel’s long-awaited sequel to Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Ragnarok”, hits silver screens everywhere on Thursday. The film chronicles more exploits and adventures with Thor, beginning with his time accompanied by the Guardians of the Galaxy, then taking audiences along his own action-packed and emotion-filled journey, where he reunites with his long-lost love Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) to fend off Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher.
Chris Hemsworth steals the show once again as fan-favorite God of Thunder, bringing a mix of bravado and vulnerability that never gets old. The inclusion of Jane Foster in the film provides Thor with a type of emotional vulnerability and character arc that has remained typically unexplored since his rivalry with his brother Loki at the beginning of his MCU days. This superhero team-up also includes Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (Taika Waititi) who found allyship with Thor after “Avengers: Endgame.”
While definitely adding heart to the film, Thor’s reunion with his former significant other Jane Foster feels like a completely unnecessary storyline. Instead, the Thor franchise might serve better as an episodic series of galactic adventures all following the same formula — maybe even as an addition to the Disney+ catalog. Hemsworth recently said he would love to continue playing Thor for the foreseeable future, and the streaming platform has already found great success with their Marvel shows such as “WandaVision” and “Loki.”
Despite proving to make a great movie character, as evidenced by “Ragnarok,” all three of Thor’s stand-alone movies have struggled with finding a steady pace or tone. In all three installments, it is difficult to differentiate between the film’s first, second and third acts, and “Love and Thunder” is no exception. Thor’s emotional arc with the return of Jane Foster, the development of Gorr the God Butcher and all the other side characters were overstuffed into the film’s 119 minute runtime, creating an overwhelming viewing experience for audiences that is hard to keep up with.
Certain aspects of the movie could progress with future “Thor” installments. While the franchise’s actors have learned to embody their characters after multiple performances, newcomer Christian Bale stands out with a haunting new addition to the MCU. Every scene with Gorr is captivating, from his backstory, to his mannerisms, to his impressive and chilling makeup design. One scene in which Thor and Gorr fight on a moon might make for Marvel’s most visually impressive scene yet, though the scene’s placement in the plot felt awkward and continued Marvel’s trend of disappointing third acts.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” contains dazzling visuals and wonderful performances from an A-list cast, but suffers slightly from a rushed pace and lack of tone. However, for die-hard Marvel fans — and rom-com lovers — the most recent installment in the God of Thunder’s saga will offer an enjoyable viewing experience.
3.5 mighty gods out of 5
