Love, Thunder and Marvel's Going Under

Thor: Love and Thunder Has Restored the Thor Franchise to its Pre-Ragnarok Mediocrity.

Marvel, what are we doing?

Thor: Love and Thunder hit theaters on July 8, 2022 with cheesy trailers that didn't really seem serious. However, being the marvel fanatic I am, I had to take a trip to the cinema to watch it. Since this movie followed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, my expectations were wildly low. Nothing could be worse than that horror, right?

Except for Ragnarok, the Thor franchise has not had the best track record, being one of the worst marvel franchises in the MCU. With the expansion of the multiverse, everything is all over the place. Every movie has new characters, and it seems like all the franchises went from a tightly connected net to a broken web. Everything is branching out too far, too quickly, the Thor franchise included.

Pathetic Plot

When you find yourself rooting for the villain, the plot has a problem with it. Thor’s story was subpar and filled with unnecessary humor that doesn’t tie into the MCU. While this humor was somewhat refreshing and did make me chuckle on a few occasions, it felt like an improv skit for half the movie, which takes away from the dramatic aspect of the film. While the villain displayed a serious character, everything else was too joking, which disappointed me. Thor went from a badass superhero in Ragnarok to a class clown in Love and Thunder. Like most Marvel movies, the plot was predictable, and it lived up to my low expectations.

Admirable Acting

The star of the movie is 100% without a doubt Christian Bale. In whatever movie Bale takes on, he delivers. His characters have always been memorable, from American Psycho to Batman to Thor: Love and Thunder. He may very well be one of my favorite MCU villains, if not my favorite. In such a short movie, his character development was exceptional and displayed an entire circle arc of a villain in the short span of two hours. Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth also did a splendid job portraying the characters they were written. Unfortunately, Thor has become a joke, and Chris Hemsworth played the joke to the tee. Natalie Portman did an excellent job for her character, who, like Christian Bale’s Gorr, developed her character a long way in two hours. All in all, the acting was on point, and everyone did an exceptional job.

Closing Critiques

Don’t let this review scare you from watching the movie. While it was not close to the standards Marvel has set for themselves; it is still a great movie to watch with your friends and laugh at. Unfortunately, with Doctor Strange and Thor, the new phase four of Marvel is not looking too hot so far. We’ll have to wait it out, and even if the movies fall off, Marvel has still had a great run.

Raving Rating: 6.2