Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi reteam to bring more fun and craziness in Thor’s fourth solo outing, a first for the MCU.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) embarks on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced — a quest for inner peace. However, his retirement gets interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods.
Thor: Love and Thunder once again takes us back into the fast-paced rollercoaster of the MCU and never slows down the entire time. Much like Ragnorok, this new installment delivers the same energy and weirdness that Waititi provided us in the last movie which makes for an energetic pace. It doesn’t take long for the adventure to begin and things keep moving as fast as they can to keep the audience engaged with the madness this particular film has to offer. Waititi brings in plenty of other elements into the mix to help balance things out, but the pacing is perfect for this cinematic world.
Lately, Marvel has started to put a lot into their Phase 4 movies, with their last three films juggling a lot of characters and fan service into one movie. Thor’s fourth solo outing has a lot of characters to play with and does its best to keep them on the screen at one time and it actually does surprisingly well in doing so. The Guardians of the Galaxy get their fair share of screen time without being too stuck in the film, while other characters each get their own time to shine and each moment feels significant in some way. Even our leading bad guy Gorr has some meaningful moments and feels like a well-developed character, while other elements of the film’s plot get their own time and are put to good use. It was nice to see that everyone had their moments to shine, which is a testament to Waititi for finding a good way to juggle it all.
With the budget and resources that Disney has, big visuals are to be expected at this point. This film may not have the most mind-blowing use of this technology they did a remarkable job with the worlds that they created for this film. This new adventure takes a lot of new styles, starting with technicolor and trippy before transitioning to something much deeper. The use of lighting in this film was on point, most of the time using it to really give audiences the feel of the worlds that they were trying to create. The film pays homage to the black and white film technique which was really cool to see. It’s beautiful and the sound editing that accompanies it really brings that extra emotional tug, whether it robs the scene of sound or adds the sheen and heavenly shine to the kingdom of the gods.
Waititi once again proves that you can have a lot of comedic fun with Thor and still maintain that Marvel element. He did that very well with this film on many levels, adding brilliant dialogue and timing that I couldn’t help but laugh at. As Korg, his comedic timing is spot on and well-narrated which provides that extra punch you need to relieve the tension. Thor himself feels like the character we all know and love, and it just flows really well in this movie to not be just a drastic twist.
Overall, Thor’s fourth adventure turned out to be better on so many levels and was really fun to watch unfold. It’s a film filled with style, weirdness, and that Waititi wackiness so many have fallen in love with while balancing quite a few different elements to really seal the deal. Accompanied by a great soundtrack, stellar visuals, action that feels like the early Marvel style, and character development this film has a lot going for it. Even though there were a few moments that felt a little forced, the movie really is a fun and enjoyable installment and worth the full movie theater experience.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below
