Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

 Movie Number 27 of 2022

Movie: Thor: Love and Thunder

Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 3.5

I'm really conflicted about reviewing this film. Half of me loved it, the other half wasn't that engaged. And though there is more good than bad, and it did redeem itself in the end, there's elements which grated on me - which is unusual for a Marvel film. 

So, the plot, according to RottenTomatoes.com, goes like ths:

"Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced -- a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who -- to Thor's surprise -- inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher's vengeance and stop him before it's too late."

Sounds a bit silly?

It is.

So, the good bits about this: 

• Christian Bale is a great baddie. Soulfull and sadistic. But he's always great. 
• Chris Hemsworth is the old Thor of Ragnarok - and Taika Waititi's direction gives more of the same - maybe a little too much of his humour - the point gets laboured a bit.
• The effects are great. 
• You get to see Chris Hemsworh's unpixilated bum. Never a bad thing. 
• It was great seeing the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy involved in the first 15 minutes of the film - I've missed them. 
• There's also a couple of cameos which will have you chuckling. But I won't say anything more on this. 
• If you're up on your MCU, you'll be up with most of the jokes. 
• There's some really nice easter eggs within the film.
• I liked Natalie Portman's comeback to the MCU - and sod the detractors who said that her CGU enhanced body isn't in the spirit of the piece. She's great. Enhanced or not, she played her part well.
• And I cried at the end. 

But this was a movie of two halves. The first half grated on me - I found it slow with jokes that were even slower getting off the ground. The second half is where the bulk of the action takes place and I really enjoyed that. 

Oh, the other two great things about this. Russell Crowe as Zeus, complete with a Con the Fruiterer accent. He was hysterical. 

And Hercules. Hercules is only in the movie in the first trailer for a couple of seconds, but that was enough to have my doing a fist pump. You can look up more on that spoiler on the interwebs, but its inculsion made my night. 

The soundtrack is almost exclusively made up of Guns 'n' Roses tracks, which fits with the spirit of the film. 

I also love any movie where it looks like the cast are having a ball. Here, you know they're having fun. 

Yet I'm still marking it down for the slow start and the laboured jokes. I'm also not sure how you'd go if you're not up with your Marvel Comic Universe characters as there are many, many in jokes. 

I'm also going to really look forward to the next installment of Thor when it looks like he'll be up againt Hercules. Hercules will be worth the ticket price alone. 

Although this isn't my favourite Marvel movie, it still rates, and I'll continue to go to Marvel movies because they're great entertainment - even if this next generation isn't quite as solid as it's predecessors. 

Also, seeing who's playing Hercules in the next film - which I only found out about in the cinema - well that was the best bit of all. 

Today's song: