I do not want to be writing this. Thor: Love and Thunder was nothing that it needed to be to turn things around for Marvel's Phase 4. This is not to say that it is a bad movie, but it certainly is not a good one. At points it is a fun experience, but there is so much that misses, is poorly executed, or just fumbled that the sum of its parts just adds up to mediocre noise. That really hurts to say after the smash hit that Thor: Ragnarok was, and especially the dramatic turmoil Thor went through in Infinity War and Endgame. They had a great opportunity to show a Thor recovering from what happened, and learning to return to normalcy. We should be seeing a battle-scarred, but hopeful Thor on a kind of path to redemption.
They could not have possibly thrown away such a great storytelling angle harder if they tried. Taika Waititi obviously had absolutely zero interest in exploring any of this. This is something that most of MCU's Phase 4 has had little interest in, save for a few projects that explore it to great effect. But refer to my previous article for my thoughts there.
Instead, we have a collection of interesting, even great ideas that are as poorly handled and executed had, unfortunately, become the norm for Marvel. To make things worse, it explores none of the truly compelling conflicts and complications these ideas pose. Thor: Love and Thunder is a movie that constantly pulls its punches, or compromises itself just when things are getting good. I cannot relate to you just how truly frustrating this is to watch, but let's go through the critical points where this movie missed the mark.
Previously on Thor.
Thor: Ragnarok broke the Thor movie curse with a refreshing breakdown of the superhero movie formula, and opting for a more loose take on Thor. It emphasized fun and creativity, placing Thor into a setting and situation where he can't just hammer his way out. There were tons of jokes, almost all of which landed, but there was real, very effective drama as well.
Odin's death was handled with respect and time to absorb the consequences of the moment. Shortly after was the destruction of Mjolnir, essentially the destruction of Thor's self-identity. The message was clear from the first 30 minutes that Thor would never be the same. The rest of the movie pushed him, while allowing Chris Hemsworth to really play the character to his strengths. Most importantly, it committed to its dramatic moments in a serious, powerful way. This happens even when punctuated with a joke, like the destruction of Asgard. In one fun, solid package we had a meaningful deconstruction of the character, and a rebuild into a stronger, more capable, and complete person.
Ragnarok also introduced Valkyrie and Korg, two pretty great characters who help keep up the energy in the movie. They break up the screen time, and Valkyrie ends up nearly stealing the show with her easy swagger.
Infinity War and Endgame pushed this stronger Thor to the breaking point, and then past it. Thor's search for a weapon to defeat Thanos in Infinity War ends up being successful, but it comes too late to stop him. This breaks Thor on a fundamental level. He, like the other heroes have failed. But his failure is made all the worse for the fact that he almost succeeded. That almost would haunt him all through Endgame until the final fight.
Age of Regression
How does Thor recover from the events of Endgame? Well, you'll get a 2 minute narrated montages of Thor getting back in shape and... Because, reasons... Nearly completely returning to the Thor we knew all the way back in the first movie, except worse. He's irresponsible, rude, crude, and seemingly doesn't really give a shit about anyone.
I hope I don't have to explain why this is perhaps the worst possible decision Waititi could have made. This is a Thor who has seen the consequences of his actions, or inactions, nearly hundreds of times over. This should be a much more mature, even scarred character empowered by the trials and lessons of 3 dedicated movies, and 4 ensemble clashes.
Instead we have an aloof dickwad who now can't even be bothered to help in battle till he is begged. When was the Thor you knew not the first into battle. Why would this battlescarred Thor put others at risk just to look cool? He has seen this blow up in his face a thousand times. The entire introduction to the Thor with the Guardians of the Galaxy is just so damn frustrating. It completely regresses a character that was in such an interesting place back to zero, even -1. I absolutely hate this.
It does not get any better for the whole movie. Even the Thor we get in the end is lesser than who we had at the end of Endgame. What an irresponsible waste of 7 movies of development. This is a catastrophic miss for the film, and something I constantly struggled with as I watched. It just felt like Waititi didn't give a shit about any of the dramatic, even comedic potential in post-Endgame Thor. Even when the children of New Asgard are taken, Thor, and strangely most of the main cast, seems kind of disinterested in saving the kids. Instead they showboat and flit around without a care in the world. Don't worry, it's just a merciless murder man who literally has your people's kids. No rush.
This irresponsible regression of Thor is a fatal flaw that compromises everything the film tries to do, especially the fleeting moments where they try to sell desperation and drama.
Half-Hearted Return of Jane
I have a lot of respect for Natalie Portman. I thought she did a great job in the first two movies, and though it kind of sucked that she wasn't in Ragnarok, I think it would have been a waste. She wouldn't have had enough to do in the story to make it worth the time. She is an immensely talented actress I always enjoy seeing. But somehow, I really get the sense that while she seemed to enjoy the role, that Portman really, really did not want to be there. It might just be the script, but it felt really strange.
There are so, so many issues with the Jane we see here. Her story is, in concept, a solid idea, but they skipped over perhaps the most interesting aspects of it. Jane dying from cancer is an interesting motivation to rise to power. I know a lot of people had an issue with her being able to use Mjolnir, but I think that they rather cleverly explained why she could. This was all good.
But the issue is, it is firmly established that Thor is not powerful because of the hammer, it is a tool. Ragnarok made it very overtly clear that Thor is powerful because of himself, not Mjolnir. They spelled it out clear as day. Even the first Thor movie implies this.
Yet now they totally take that back, and not only does it grant lightning power, it literally makes you buff and invulnerable. Why do this? Why not make it so that she is pushing herself to be able to even weild it, and has to learn to use the power intelligently.
At that, why not show her learning to use Mjolnir period. She's never trained to use it. She's never even trained for combat. Yet as far as the movie is concerned, the second she picks up the hammer she is immediately a master of combat and knows intuitively how to use it.
I can't help but wonder of all the possible ways her story could have been explored. Imagine if the entire point of the movie was the two looking for a way to save her, or it was something the Villain had inflicted on her, giving her personal motivation to defeat them. But that brings up the next issue.
A Bloodless Butcher
Christian Bale really gave his all to this role, I felt. Honestly, that's the Christian Bale way, whether dangerous, warranted, or not. Just see his preparation for The Machinist to see what I mean. But this script really screwed him over. Bale has everything in his ability to play a powerful, terrifying villain, and we see snippets of this in the movie. But every ounce of terror that Gorr could have brought to bear was sadly castrated by this script.
And it starts so, so well. I was immediately sold in the first five minutes of this film. I thought it was one of the best opening scenes for a villain Marvel has ever managed. I was ready to see the reign of terror he would bring, the shockwave his vengeance would send through the universe. We barely get any of this. In fact, he almost comes off as a nuisance at best. That sucks.
I get what Waititi was going for here, showing how the gods don't care, how in some ways Gorr is right. But it is so haphazardly done that it just serves to make Gorr seem like nothing. When we went to Omnipotence City, we should see fear at every corner. This is someone who is literally slaying gods. They should want to do something, even if it is to run and hide. Otherwise the threat just feels meaningless.
Also, how long has Gorr been at this? It feels like a week at best, otherwise you would think Thor would have been aware of the threat, even if it was just a rumor. Honestly, I think it would have been much stronger if, like Ragnarok, Thor had learned about Gorr's story, and was already racing to find him and put a stop to him when we catch up with Thor. Then Lady Sif's defeat could have been an early blow to him, showing that this is a very real and personal threat. Instead Thor kind of gets jerked around the whole damn movie even when he is deciding where to go.
Also, quick note, why in the hell did Gorr leave Lady Sif alive? This is Gorr the God Butcher, right? Without seeing that scene of her fighting Gorr, we have no idea why, or how she would or should have survived. Long story short, why does Marvel hate Lady Sif? She is such a cool character.
I also wonder why we don't see Gor fighting one of the others he had killed to see him growing in strength, and learning to use the powers of the Necrosword. The shadow monsters in New Asgard just kind of come out of nowhere. We should have seen this before a pivotal moment like the attack.
Ultimately, what we are left with is a shockingly wasted casting for a really underdeveloped, and constantly undercut villain. For comparison, look at how, say, Hela is depicted in Ragnarok. She comes in like a hurricane, destroying Thor's sense of identity, kicking down the gates of Asgard, and reclaiming her destiny. We see exactly how terrifying she really is at every step, and come to understand why she is an insurmountable threat.
What does Gorr get? He just exists. Somehow he finds out where different gods are, which I think it is a crime to not show how he knows. But nah, he just magically knows where to go. Even if it is the sword telling him, we should see that.
More Jokes, Less Humor, Even Less Impact.
I'd be the first to tell you that the change is direction with Ragnarok was everything Thor needed to get a truly fantastic solo film. It was smartly written, there is hardly a joke that doesn't land, and even with the gags, it really hits you hard.
Thor is a massive joke in the movie. Literally, he is just a big walking joke, and the butt of 70% of every joke. The script almost overtly hates Thor, and it is even down to his own lines. Any chance to pants him, even literally in one scene, it is taken with no hesitation. This works in something like Guardians of the Galaxy since everyone is taking digs at each other anyway. But it just get so old and awkward in this movie.
Jane has been reduced to 30% serious, 70% quips and awkwardness. She has this running gag of trying to think of a cool motto and all, and it is funny at first, but there was absolutely no effort put into these. This would have been a great opportunity to recall some classic lines from the comics, but it just isn't any good. Plus Jane's immediate mastery of her newfound powers is just so at odds with this. Look at a Movie like Shazam, which does something similar in powering and buffing its titular character. He has to earn his mastery, and his search for his style fits in that build to well.
Valkyrie might as well not even be in this movie, and I am so sad to say that. Tessa Thompson looks absolutely miserable taking the backseat to literally anything interesting. She gets no true gravity in the story, even when she should. I especially love how she has the absolute weakest reason for not going with Thor for the final conflict. It makes no damn sense.
I've seen a lot of people complaining about Korg in this movie, but honestly ever time he had some screentime I had a sigh of relief. Waititi's performance as Korg is just so damn funny. It is so at odds with the super weak writing elsewhere. But I get that the character could be grating to others in larger doses.
The thing is, the unstoppable dirge of quips, jokes, and sheer lack of seriousness, even in big, super pivotal moments in the story, just cheapens everything in this movie. It is the complete opposite of Ragnarok, where the jokes actually helped maintain the energy in the film. Here they constantly slam the brakes because the jokes are much, much more important than the plot.
In the end, Love and Thunder just feels like it has no stakes, even when it really does, or should. I get the sense that Waititi really did not want to make this movie. Gone are his signature marks of quality writing and vision. Instead we have this, quite nearly, word vomit of a movie that just boils down to noise. As someone with a lot of respect for Waititi's works, and pretty much the entire cast of the film, that really hurts to say.
A Line in the Sand
My initial title for this article was "A Line in the Sand." I think in many ways, this is a bit of a line in the sand for me with Marvel and Disney. If this is how they want to handle their projects going forward, then I think I'm done being invested in the MCU. Wakanda Forever really has a big bill to pay for me to take what comes next seriously. If it is handled like Multiverse of Madness, and Love and Thunder, I think I'm done.
I am now writing this with the benefit of the announcements at Comic Con over the weekend, and I think one thing is very clear, they had absolutely no idea what to do with Phase 4. Over half of this phase were failed projects, or entirely misdirected movies. The strange part to me is I feel like the movie that didn't land right actually should have been TV series themselves, since I feel like many of the bleeding issues that sunk them could have been ironed out with more time to develop the story over the course of several episodes. Black Widow, The Eternals, Multiverse of Madness, and Love and Thunder all suffer from wild tonality, and lack of time to really develop their characters and conflicts. They were overstuffed with ideas that needed room to breathe. Of course Black Widow I don't think would have really fared any better.
Punctuating Phase 4 with Wakanda Forever is a big ask, I think. With the loss of Chadwick Boseman, the heart of Black Panther and Wakanda is gone, and I'm not sure they have a good answer to fill it, even after the first trailer. I really would love to be wrong, and I'd love to see something that really makes a huge impact. Phase 4 desperately needs it. Otherwise, I think it is easy to say that Phase 4 represents the Dark Age of the MCU.
Looking forward to Phase 5 we have the return of many of my favorite series, like Ant-Man and Guardians. There's many more along the way, like the return of the Daredevil series, which I think is a smart choice. Blade I think could be a total win, as long as they do it all the way. I think pulling punches and not letting this be rated R like the bloodbath it should be would be a massive mistake. I have a lot of respect for who they have playing Blade. So we will see if this hits.
But Phase 5, again, is not ending with an Avengers film. I cannot tell you have baffling and frustrating this is. Instead, we see Captain America New World Order, which I don't know how excited I am about. If it is anything like the comic's New World Order, we have pretty much seen this movie before. Honestly, I'm worried that the political message that was roiling in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will come to a full boil here. Don't get me wrong, I really love Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson. I have enjoyed his performance since we saw him for the first time in Winter Soldier. But the political turn in the show really started to grate on me to the point I almost did not watch the last episode.
And the last movie for Phase 5 is... The Thunderbolts. I literally had to look them up to see what this was about. I am really unsure what they are getting at here, but we will see. I have more questions than anything. It seems like a potentially weak end to a potentially much more solid phase. Prove me wrong.
Then Phase 6 was announced with Fantastic Four and two Avengers films. This seems really lopsided to me. I'm not sure why why wouldn't have one in 5, and one in 6, but we will see. Very interested to see if Marvel can break the Fantastic Four curse, and show everyone why the Fantastic Four are so awesome, often quite pivotal in many of the different ensemble series.
I almost wonder if Marvel realized that things were falling apart with the MCU's wild lack of direction, and pushed to get things back on track. At least now there is something all of this is leading towards. Kang is a pretty great direction for this to head towards.
Looking Forward
I'd like to end this with a nugget of hope. I know I've come off as especially harsh on this movie, and much of the rest of Phase 4, but it truly comes from a place of love and respect for what has been built in the MCU. I have been here since Iron Man, and I'd love to see this stumble in Phase 4 turn around. While I am a bit weary after the last couple of years of misfires and laziness, I a earnestly hopeful of what comes next. I want my pessimism about what comes next to be proven wrong.
Turn this around, and get back to telling powerful stories well, and with a powerful direction.