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Poster Description: The cast names shine in the sky above Gorr’s (Christian Bale) hooded, grinning face. His eyes are white spots of light. On the right, A small moon almost sits on a giant planet, lit by the star-spot glinting off Valkyrie’s (Tessa Thompson) raised blade. She rides a white, winged horse, wearing a blue, flowing cape and armless armour. Korg (Taika Waititi) is bulky and smiling below her, next to a shaft of rainbow light. It sparks off Stormbreaker, which Thor has slung over his shoulder. He stands on a rock with Jane (Natalie Portman) crouched on one knee beside him, her free hand casual over her kneecap. Mjolnir sparkles at her side. They are surrounded by crumbling waterfalls, wearing matching red capes. The boat pulled by two goats burst out from the left behind Thor’s rippling cape. The sky starts dark blue and purple, lighting up in sunrise shades of pink, yellow, and orange. The film title is striped silver, chrome blue, and red. |
Ever since its announcement, I anticipated Thor: Love and Thunder most of all out of the MCU’s Phase Four. Here, then, are my top ten moments from the movie. WARNING: some significant spoilers ahead…
10) The acting troupe has a new cast member…
After receiving a distress call from Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander), Thor returns to New Asgard. Since we last saw it in Avengers: Endgame, the town has become quite the tourist resort, boasting cruise ships, a roller-coaster, and an outdoor theatre. Personally, the ice cream parlour called Infinity Cones (with a replica of the gauntlet) is a step too far. It diminishes Endgame and isn’t even that funny.
Still, Sam Neil, Matt Damon, and Luke Hemsworth reprise their roles, pretending to be Odin, Loki, and Thor. There is a gloriously hammy recreation of Ragnarok; who is playing Hela, I hear you ask? Why, Melissa McCarthy, of course! It’s a playful reprieve and a great way to establish how famous New Asgard is as the audience cheer and wipes away tears. In Ragnarok, the performances were an example of Loki’s mammoth ego, but it doesn’t carry the same knowing wink this time.
9) Screaming goats!
We meet Thor again with the Guardians of the Galaxy, answering distress calls. Unfortunately, they aren’t always successful, as Thor accidentally destroys a sacred building in a hilarious, bloodthirsty fit of eighties rock excitement. Guns N Roses will do that to you. As a thank you gift for his “help,” Thor is given two goats. Two very giant, very loud goats.
I would have happily watched a film entirely around Thor and the Guardians’ adventures; alas, we must settle for a short montage while Korg catches us up after the events of Endgame. Also, don’t expect the Guardians to hang around, come back later in the movie, or be referenced again. It’s pretty strange.
Although the maniacal goats are not named in the film, they are known as Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr in Norse Mythology*and Tooth-Grinder and Tooth-Gnasher in the comic books. They spend their entire screen-time screaming. While I still found it hysterical every time, that’s just my weird sense of humour.
* Pronounced “Tan-griss-neer” and “Tan-gross-neer.”
8) Attack on New Asgard
Gorr the God-Butcher is a badass moniker, but for character development purposes, it would have been helpful if the audience saw more of him in action. You know, sticking gods with the pointy end? His weapon, the Necrosword, slowly kills its wielder the more it is used, but we only see one god fall because of it. The sword also gives Gorr the power to manipulate shadows, which he uses to kidnap children from New Asgard to attract Thor’s attention. One of those kids is Heimdall’s son, Astrid – sorry, I mean, Axl. It’s nice to know thirteen-year-olds are still going through their Guns N Roses phase.
The battle that ensues is pretty cool, with all kinds of shadow monsters, and Christian Bale is terrifying as Gorr; it is a shame he’s little more than a moustache-twirling villain here. In addition, the writers don’t know what to do with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) besides fighting enemies.
7) Korg explains how he was born.
Since Ragnarok, Korg (Taika Waititi) has been a near-constant figure in Thor’s circle of allies. Channelling the bulk of our director (and co-writer)’s almighty offbeat energy, Korg is a divisive character. Though he frequently treads the line of being completely obnoxious, I was still shocked by his death in Omnipotence City. Except…he doesn’t die because he’s made of rocks. Of course. All that’s left is his head.
Why can’t characters in the MCU just STAY DEAD?!
Majorly jumping the shark aside, Korg’s death would have meant missing his birth story. With Jane and Thor reconnecting, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg chat about relationships, and we learn that he came from a month-long hand-holding ritual in a volcano between his male dads. It’s charming until you remember he referred to his mum in previous films. Who knows? Maybe he called one of his dad’s mum? Oh, who cares, really? This movie is too busy making stupid jokes to focus too hard on anything else.
6) The Shadow Realm
Thor, Valkyrie, Jane, and Korg chase after Korg and the Asgardian kids to the Shadow Realm. Our intrepid foursome goes in their boat, powered by Stormbreaker and the two screaming goats, across a never-ending rainbow pathway. However, as they get closer to the realm, the more monochrome things become. The obvious comparison is Sin City, which is not bad because it’s dramatic as hell, and it was cute when Thor and Jane linked pinkie fingers for mutual reassurance. However, the children are nowhere to be seen when they get there. It’s a trap that Thor fell for completely!
Tied up by Gorr’s shadows, Valkyrie is forced to confront the guilt of her sisters’ death at the hands of Hela. Gorr and Jane have quite a bit in common, once ordinary humans amongst mighty himbo gods. In exchange for his friend and ex-girlfriend’s lives, Thor relinquishes Stormbreaker to Gorr, allowing our antagonist to enact the final part of his plan.
5) Jane’s devastating diagnosis
It’s a little surreal to think we haven’t seen Dr. Jane Foster since Thor: The Dark World. We meet her again in Love and Thunder in a hospital waiting room, hooked up to a drip. Jane is undergoing chemotherapy for stage four cancer, which is not working. But Jane is a scientist, and she will not stop before she finds a cure. She has a friendly (if slightly awkward) exchange with a young man reading her book in the same situation. Then Darcy arrives, armed with snacks, asking her to slow down.
I have concluded that any story or plotline from the comics I think is too intense/ridiculous to be made into a film will likely happen. I should have learned from the movie with the space raccoon and sentient tree! Still, I remember my horror years ago, reading about Jane’s cancer diagnosis (from Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor series) in my Marvel Encyclopaedia, and hoping it would not happen, but here we are…
4) The Mighty Thor!
By chance, Jane has a book about Norse mythology just lying around in her lab. She reads about Mjolnir and how it increases stamina and strength, so off she goes to New Asgard as a last resort cure. As the play reminded us previously, Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela in Ragnarok, but the fragments are still on display for tourists to look at in awe. Akin to King Arthur and Excalibur - surprise! - the hammer reassembles itself for Jane. She is now the Mighty Thor! Yay! We don’t find this out until Thor spots Mjolnir smashing enemies during Gorr’s siege of New Asgard. Bless his Labrador-ish joy. Unfortunately, Mjolnir is a weapon for gods, and Jane tis but weak human suffering from cancer. So while the hammer gives her power, it’s also taking her remaining strength away.
Yes, the trailers gave Mighty Thor’s reveal away, but it’s still awesome, and Natalie Portman looks phenomenal. One of Korg’s tangents succinctly explains Jane and Thor’s relationship, and it’s silly and sweet, like a typical rom-com. In addition, we finally see the chemistry between the pair that Thor and Dark World so weirdly lacked. Moreover, the so-called ongoing gag of Jane trying to pin down a catchphrase bored me.
3) Omnipotence City
Omnipotence City should have been one of the best moments of the film. It is a city specifically for all-powerful beings – that’s all the deities that have ever existed, making it the perfect place for a certain God-Butcher to pay a visit. So, Thor and the gang travel there to ask for help, and Zeus (Russell Crowe with an accent that desperately wants to be Greek) is holding a big party. It isn’t long before a fight breaks out, as Thor impales Zeus with his own lightning bolt.
Annoyingly, like Korg, Zeus doesn’t die. Imagine if he had! What would that have done to the world? Who cares? Nothing matters! If I didn’t sympathise with Gorr’s mission, I do now because these gods are arrogant idiots – Thor included! His stupidity is not endearing anymore; he doesn’t appear to be aware of the consequences of his (often destructive) actions. There is so much fun potential, in meeting different divinities from different cultures, but they are mainly done for visual gags. We briefly meet a God from Korg’s planet, who sits on a throne made entirely of scissors, á la the Iron Throne, but there’s not much else to say. Thor loses all his clothes at one point, and people faint. Haha?
There was mention of Valkyrie looking for a queen. Still, Disney is so terrified of upsetting the homophobes that they think having Valkyrie kiss another woman’s hand is still decent gay representation.
2) Love and Thunder (geddit?)
With Jane dying, Gorr succumbing to Necrosword’s curse, and Stormbreaker opening a portal to Eternity, things aren’t looking too great. Oh, no, Waititi’s nonchalance is rubbing off on me!. Eternity is some kind of mega power that can grant wishes, so what’s Gorr’s one wish? Thor’s quick thinking changes his mind. Not for the end of all gods…but for his daughter to be brought back to life.
Mercifully, it’s one of the few scenes without any quips or jokes; it is also beautifully shot, surrounded by shallow water. As Jane dies in Thor’s arms, he promises Gorr to look after his daughter. The film finishes with another of Korg’s tales, as Thor and his adopted little girl/resurrected ancient deity go into battle side by side, wielding Stormbreaker and Mjolnir, respectively. Her name is deceptively unclear, but according to the credits, she is called Love. Aww.
Love is played by Hemsworth’s daughter, which explains why they’re so cute together. I wouldn’t be surprised if she decorated Mjolnir with tassels and lipstick herself! Look how fabulous it is!
1) The Rise of Gorr the God-Butcher
My favourite moment of the movie is actually the most brutal. It opens with Gorr slowly walking through a desert, clutching his daughter to his chest. He prays to his god, Rapo, for salvation until his daughter dies. Holy heck, did the writers have to go THAT hard so soon?! Then, hearing a strange voice, Gorr follows it into an oasis where – what are the odds?! – Rapo languishes. It is said you should never meet your heroes, and that is the quandary Gorr finds himself; Rapo doesn’t care about his plight and would rather strangle him than listen to him plead. Yeesh. Luckily, the Necrosword comes to Gorr’s aid, killing Rapo. In his anguish, Gorr vows to kill all gods.
As character introductions go, Gorr’s is utterly tragic, and (unless you're Rapo), his plight is easy to sympathise with, particularly those who lost their faith later in life. Because Ragnarok deals with the aftermath of imperialism and covering up uncomfortable aspects of history, I believed Love and Thunder’s cold opener would set the tone of the film overall.
You know, once I got my breath back.
Final thoughts:
Thor: Love and Thunder frustrates me terribly. I enjoyed watching it at the time (apparently, I will always find screaming goats funny), but its failure to take anything seriously quickly becomes annoying. The heavy topics of cancer and loss of faith are felt somewhat, but they get lost amongst jokes that fail to land. Ragnarok tapped into Hemsworth’s knack for humour, but it is stretched to its limit here, to the point where we lose Thor’s well-meaning warmth established in the previous films. Bale should have given us an iconic, even sympathetic, villain, but he doesn’t get enough screen-time to make an impact. If Disney wasn’t so dead-set on chugging out various MCU instalments throughout the year, there might be more time to polish up these films to a brighter shine. As it is, I’m worried about the direction of Phase Four and how dull the MCU is steadily becoming. All for the sake of a strict, greedy schedule.
My Verdict: 3.5 STARS OUT OF 5
My Sources:
Thor: Love and Thunder movie poster - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor:_Love_and_Thunder
What are Thor’s goats called in Norse mythology? - https://bavipower.com/blogs/bavipower-viking-blog/why-thor-chose-goats-to-pull-chariot
What are Thor’s goats called in the comics? - https://www.themarysue.com/who-are-thors-goats-toothgrinder-and-toothgnasher/
How do I pronounce the goats’ names? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89lq2TxKg68
Why didn’t Jane/Natalie Portman feature in Thor: Ragnarok? - https://screenrant.com/natalie-portman-leave-thor-movies-mcu-reason/
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