A short, just under 2-hours (119 minutes), runtime made Thor: Love and Thunder, a well-paced, tightly constructed and riotously funny, space adventure/rom-com. However, at the same time, the length also resulted in many moments of plot holes and logic leaps, and also a distinct lack of emotional heft. In particular, the central romance between Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, could at times felt rushed and partially unearned.
Taika Waititi's signatures were all over the film, from the brightly-coloured palette to the almost-cringey/awkward humour - but boy, did we love those goats and their screams! Waititi's New Zealand-accented voiceover, by way of, Korg, was also a perpetual delight.
On the other hand, the worst of his impulses were also magnified here as with the film's budget, again the juvenile-esque humour, the over-cluttered imagination/set pieces, and the mishandling of the non-children dramatic sequences. Waititi excelled with depicting the emotional landscape of children, but when it comes to adults, his films always seemed to reduce them to binary terms and over-simplifies their relationships.
Visually, the film's biggest standout moment was the shadow realm/planet set piece. That was a stunning piece of cinematography and cinematic moment. Even the action sequence there was also the best of the film, the sequences before and after were generally unimpressive with some scattered standout hero moments (The Mighty Thor and Mjonir and the mass final battle scene), but on the whole was unexciting.
There were also some CGI issues throughout the film from obvious green-screen sets to mismatched eyelines which was distracting, especially during the slower bits of the film.
Well, at least the needle drops were impressive and on point, and far less grating than what James Gunn did for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Although they did distract from Michael Giacchino's score which, other than the main themes, felt mundane and generic; almost a perennial problem with MCU films.
Hemsworth, like the other OG Avengers, has now clearly embodied Thor. Even more so after the character reboot from Waititi during Thor: Ragnarok. He clearly relished the comedic (read: himbo-ic) side of Thor and his comedic timing was golden. In addition, Hemsworth also nailed the dramatic moments, especially the final bit, except it was a shame he was relegated to bro-mode most of the time with no need to exude unnecessary drama. Nonetheless, obviously he and Waititi understood each other very well to craft a character that was entertaining and engaging.
Now we just need to cast Hemsworth in a proper rom-com!
Portman, on the other hand, seemed unsure of the comedy. She, clearly, had no problems with the dramatic beats, but most of her Waititi-jokes did not land as well as they could. However, at least her chemistry with Hemsworth seemed to have improved. She also made a very fine Mighty Thor and perhaps with the right writer/director, her character could have a bigger/better impact.
Tessa Thompson was great too and had some good quips. However, she was shortchanged in terms of character arc/development, but at least she did what she could during her brief scenes.
Christian Bale was terrifying. His Gorr may not make much sense (see above re: plot holes), but Bale was downright scary at most times but there were moments of empathy and sympathy too. That was acting.
And lastly, shout out to Russell Crowe who was a hoot! He seemed to be having so much fun chewing up the scenery. Orgy!
Thor: Love and Thunder may not be top-tier MCU, and did minimal to both deepen Thor as a character and expand on the MCU's grand plans for Phase 4 and beyond, but, nonetheless, it was a fun and entertaining ride. Fun in IMAX but 3D was not necessary.
As usual, stay for both the mid and post-credits stingers. Both seemed to suggest potential storylines for future Thor films.
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