Thor: Love and Thunder – Film Review

Director – Taika Waititi
Writers – Taika Waititi (story by), Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Stan Lee(based on the Marvel comics by)
Stars – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale

It is summer time so that of course means it is Blockbuster Season in Movie Land! So far we have had the thrill ride that is Top Gun Maverick and now everyone’s favourite Avenger (or at least the funniest) is about to rock our screens. Thor: Love and Thunder is the fourth solo Thor film but the second instalment with Taika Waititi at the helm and it promises to deliver an 80’s inspired thrill ride. Think He-Man meets AC/DC and you start to get the picture.

If you remember your MCU timeline we last saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in Avengers End Game where he had lost his mojo and packed on a few pounds before facing off with Thanos and running away with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Love and Thunder picks up very shortly after this with a now, much buffer Thor, back to his arrogant Asgardian ways but still feeling lost and without purpose. Enter Gorr the God Butcher (Christain Bale) who, you guessed it, has the power to kill Gods and wants to destroy Thor and all like him. And if that wasn’t enough to contend with his ex-girlfriend Jane (Natalie Portman) is now hanging out with his ex-hammer (Mjölnir) causing some very confusing feelings for all.

If you were hoping for Love and Thunder to capture some of the magic of Thor: Ragnorok then you are not going to be disappointed. While the first fifteen minutes are mostly filler and catch-up (there are a lot of strings to pull into frame here) once Taika Waititi gets to the heart of the story it is a thrill ride from start to finish. The humour that Hemsworth and Waititi found in Ragnarok is here in spades and this time they even share the limelight. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) gets the screen time she truly deserves and Jane Foster is transformed from feeble weakling girlfriend type to kick-ass Lady Thor.

There is so much fun here that I won’t go into too much plot for fear of spoiling things. It’s more about the jokes and battles anyway but if you are looking for a truly engaging, funny, smart and heartfelt Superhero movie, look no further. The only thing that could have made it better was Loki and we even get a taste of his magic in the form of Matt Damon.