THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (12A)
HHHII
REVIEWS BY DAMON SMITH
FIVE years ago, the strapping Norse god of thunder, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, got his mojo back in Thor: Ragnarok.
The deliriously entertaining romp directed by Oscar winner Taika Waititi was perfect light relief before the devastation of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, which concluded phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by temporarily severing Thor’s ties to New Asgard to allow the heartbroken hunk to explore new worlds with the Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Thor: Love And Thunder welcomes back Waititi to the director’s chair to serve up a similarly heady cocktail of action-packed spectacle and raucous humour including cameos for Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Melissa Mccarthy to poke fun at the rampant commercialisation of the Marvel brand.
A script co-written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson careens wildly between light and dark, addressing grief, terminal illness and self-sacrifice in one breath before Hemsworth casually loses his clothes and female co-stars faint on-screen at his artfully concealed magnificence.
Tonal shifts can be jarring and Christian Bale’s all-guns-blazing performance as a vengeful villain is on a different plane to everyone else.
As messy as this fourth solo outing gets, replete with screaming goats and an army of pint-sized helpers pithily referred to as Team Kids In A Cage, Waititi retains focus on the emotional
bonds between characters destined to ascend to Valhalla.
Thor (Hemsworth) wields his mighty axe, Stormbreaker, as he answers cries for help alongside Star-lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel).
These gung-ho heroics with the Guardians Of The Galaxy are a welcome distraction from the pain of losing his one true love, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).
A distressing vision ushers Thor and rock-like warrior buddy Korg (Waititi) back to New Asgard, ruled by Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), where accursed Gorr the God Butcher (Bale) lays a trap as part of his plan to slaughter all deities with the Necrosword.
Thor offers a robust defence alongside Jane, who has taken on the guise of the Mighty Thor with magical hammer Mjolnir at her side.
However, Thor, Mighty Thor and Valkyrie are no match for Gorr and his army of shadow creatures.
The heroes seek reinforcements at Omnipotence City ruled by thunderbolt-wielding Zeus (Russell Crowe).
Thor: Love And Thunder feels disjointed compared to its predecessor and there are fewer laughs but the pleasures outweigh the pain.
Hemsworth flexes dramatic muscles in key scenes with Portman and Waititi’s sidekick provides effervescent comic relief. Action sequences are briskly choreographed with a heavy reliance on digital effects.
Thor Will Return teases the end credits. Oh gods.