‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Review: Story of love shines well, carries forward arc of Thor (No Spoilers)

New Delhi: ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, the fourth film in the Thor franchise, is a comical and human take on the story of Gods. It carries forward the human side of the character of Thor which started to build in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’. The story follows Thor who with the help of Valkyrie, Korg and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster embarks to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who has vowed to make the gods extinct.

Till now, we know that Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, has lost his beloved place Asgard, he has lost his close ones including Loki, and he turned into a big-fat Viking warrior drinking a lot of beer. Now, as Thor continues his adventures with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, he gets back into shape. On the other hand, Jane Foster is ready to become the Mighty Thor carrying the Mjolnir. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is not like any other story of gods, it is a story of a man who, despite being around people, feels lonely and feels a need to be loved. It is a story about love.

The women in the film

The word ‘love’ in the title does not refer to Jane Foster, it is used for somewhen special, which you will know when you watch the film. Jane Foster’s character is dying due to cancer, and this is the first time that a subject of such a fatal disease has entered the world of the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’. Jane Foster’s character, played by Natalie Portman, seems to be written wisely. With dialogue like “…not Lady Thor, it’s Mighty Thor,” it shows the agency given to women in the story. Also, it is Jane’s choices that served as good plot points for the audience. Another woman playing an important part is King Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson. Thompson does a good job in the film playing the character who is longing for love. Though her struggles are not shown in the film, we know that she is lonely without her sisters and a partner.

Christian Bale as Gorr

Christian Bale does a fine job playing Gorr, the God Butcher. Though, the character of Gorr is given quite less screentime but was enough for Bale to showcase his acting talent. However, the actor has done a better job in other films and is capable of much more than what he did as Gorr. Gorr is a character who has suffered a loss and has vowed to finish all the gods. His character needed some time to be developed, especially, his ‘Necrosword’ which was not explored much in the film. It is an opinion, based on a feeling, that the origin story of the God Butcher runs too quickly.

Conclusion

The plot required the movie to be at least half an hour longer than what it was, as it seemed like everything was rushed. Having said that, the treatment of the film is done wisely by the director Taika Waititi, who has ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and ‘Jojo Rabbit’ credited to his name. The humour at times landed well, but at times it did not, which is okay as humour is subjective. Overall, the film was not as good as Thor: Ragnarok but did well compared to other films in MCU’s phase 4.

The post-credit scene introduces a new enemy for the God of Thunder. The new enemy is another popular god, but to know the name you have to watch the film.

Kids and youngsters are taking the superhero roles in MCU, it seems like we will soon see some youngsters team up to fight evil. Also, a special mention to the VFX teams (yes, multiple), as Marvel Studios never fails in this department.

* The views shared in the film review are personal views of the writer.