‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Review: A Sequel Heavy on Humor That Almost Feels Like a Superhero Parody – Nerdcore Movement

Heres our review for Thor: Love and Thunder, which opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, July 8

By Damon Martin Editor/Lead Writer

When Taika Waititi dropped Thor: Ragnarok back in 2017, audiences were understandably pessimistic about what could expected after the first two Thor movies failed to really break through the Marvel Cinematic Universe zeitgeist.

In fact, Thors appearance in The Avengers movie was far more beloved than either of the solo films before it with both the first film and Thor: The Dark World near the bottom of the list in terms of all time ratings for MCU movies.

But Waititi changed everything with Thor: Ragnarok, which was a wholly different take on the character as he injected a ton of humor and heart into his story that also involved some rather bleak moments including the death of Odin and Thors famous hammer Mjolnir being shattered into pieces not to mention having his eye gouged out. The film was praised for the perfect balance between action, story and comedy with Waititi quickly becoming one of the most sought out directors in Hollywood.

Fast forward five years and Waititi is back with Thor: Love and Thunder a follow up to Ragnarok but more importantly the first Thor film in a post Avengers: Endgame world where many of the original Avengers are gone. Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson have all said goodbye to the Marvel films, which leaves Chris Hemsworth as the only original cast member from the 2012 blockbuster to still be around who had solo films out during that phase of the MCU (both Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo are also still present in the current MCU but neither have had standalone movies before or after The Avengers was released).

Expectations were definitely high as Waititi, Hemsworth and company returned for a fourth film in the Thor franchise but sadly, Thor: Love and Thunder fails to deliver with the same kind of punch or punchline as previous film. Despite an all-star cast coming back along with some notable newcomers including Christian Bale, the latest sequel starring Thor feels more like a superhero parody than a movie that will anchor the next phase of Marvel films.

With that said, lets get to our full review for Thor: Love and Thunder

In the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, Thor left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy and thats essentially where we find him when this movie picks up except hes grown far more despondent as a God amongst men, jumping in to save the day when things get a little bit too dicey for his new friends. After losing his father and his brother this film doesnt acknowledge theres another Loki somewhere in the multiverse Thor is starting to feel kind of lonely despite being surrounded by the Guardians and his old pal Korg, who came along for the ride as well.

Thats when he gets a distress call from his old friend Sif, who has been attacked by a creature called Gorr, who has vowed to kill all gods after his own family was ravaged on a desolate planet when the deity he prayed to never answered until it was already too late and then the god mocked him for his misery.

Wielding the powerful Necrosword, Gorr can actually slay the gods and hes already killed several when Thor gets the call from Sif. To make matters even weirder, when Thor returns to Earth to meet up with his friends at New Asgard he discovers that his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster, has reforged Mjolnir and taken up the mantle as The Mighty Thor, which gives him a whole lot more questions than answers.

In many ways, the script and story are really the biggest issues with Thor: Love and Thunder and by extension that gives the actors less to work with during the performances.

Its great to see Natalie Portman back as Dr. Jane Foster along with Loki, she was arguably the best part of those early Thor movies but her story still feels somewhat disjointed and rushed. Tessa Thompson is fantastic as King Valkyrie but again shes just not given enough room to work, which is a shame after she made such an impact in Thor: Ragnarok as well as Avengers: Endgame.

As for Hemsworth, hes somehow managed to add even more muscle onto his frame because this version of Thor is apparently going to audition to become The Mountain on Game of Thrones when the movie is finished. Physicality aside, Hemsworth spends far more time in this film attempting to be funny that its actually exhausting by the time the film is finished.

Thankfully, Christian Bale does the heavy lifting when it comes to performances because his Gorr The God Butcher is definitely one of the most compelling villains in recent MCU history. He carries a real sadness behind his eyes thanks to the tragedies hes endured but Bale also expresses rage and anger in a seething matter than makes him look like a perfect foil to the gods.

This film could have used a lot more Gorr and a lot less Thor as it turns out because the script is just mired it bad quips, slap-stick jokes and just barely any real storytelling thats actually worth following. The plot is razor thin yet somehow stretched out including a middle section of the movie that just feels out of place in a sad attempt to duplicate the fun had with Jeff Goldblum in the previous Thor movie.

This time that role falls to Russell Crowe, who is an incredible actor, but its clear with this film that maybe comedy just isnt his thing.

The direction from Waititi isnt anything unexpected but it feels like he really leaned into the over the top, cartoon like effects from the last Thor movie and then injected all of that with an unhealthy dose of steroids. This movie feels like one giant Skittles bag exploded and Waititi really, really wants everybody to taste all the flavors.

The comedy in this film is just overwhelming.

With Thor: Ragnarok, it was a perfect blend of humor mixed with action, adventure and still plenty of story to propel the plot forward with every scene. This time around, Waititi abandoned the good story and just really put all of his emphasis on making the audience laugh and there are definitely some hilarious moments but this movie feels more like a Scary Movie parody of a superhero film than an actual entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Even the dour moments when Christian Bale or Natalie Portman are given time to work feels completely overshadowed by the constant injection of jokes.

As someone who loved Thor: Ragnarok, this film somehow only took the funny moments from that movie and then left everything else on the cutting room floor.

Thor: Love and Thunder is just disappointing, especially when compared to the previous Thor film, which stands as one of the best MCU movies of all time. Waititis ability to blend humor with a really heartfelt or heartbreaking story see JoJo Rabbit as a perfect example is perhaps his best talent but somehow he just decided to just turn this movie into a full blown superhero comedy, which in the end doesnt work.

Thor: Love and Thunder gets a 2 out of 5 on the Skolnick Scale.

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'Thor: Love and Thunder' Review: A Sequel Heavy on Humor That Almost Feels Like a Superhero Parody - Nerdcore Movement