Taika Waititi & Chris Hemsworth have done it again, fused comedy with superhunkiness to create another perfect Marvel movie. Thor: Love and Thunder is all that, as was its immediate predecessor – Ragnarok.
Waititi is a genius writer-director, Hemsworth an old school moviestar for a new age, insanely handsome and deftly self-deprecating. Love and Thunder marks a continuation of their golden age. But it’s not just Waititi’s filmic brilliance and his leading man’s charisma that makes Thor 4’s cup runneth over.
Where does Thor 4 rank in the Thor series? At the top alongside Ragnarok. Please Messrs. Waititi & Hemsworth, can we have some more?
Chris Hemsworth is funnier and more bitching than ever, well at least since Ragnarok. The man who embodies Thunder from Down Under loves to have fun at his own expense, er, at Thor’s expense. The result is tremendously charming and often LOL funny.
Christian Bale delivers a chilling and moving performance as a bereft father out for vengeance. Bale isn’t always great, but when he is, as in The Fighter and here, he’s as great an actor as there is today.
Natalie Portman lets her moviestar charisma, a perfectly drawn Marvel character and a bitching costume/physique work for her. The result is Mighty Thor, the greatest female superhero yet.
Chris Pratt brightens up the screen every time he appears. Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Gunn also appear in form or voice.
Much action, no gore, in typical Marvel fashion.
Comic violence aside, one key character being a lesbian has caused a stir among some critics. So what, gay people are a fact of life and this one’s sexuality isn’t flaunted. On a related subject, a non-humanoid character is revealed to have two dads. However, his species is also revealed to be mono-sexual, so presumably he could just as easily have two moms. Wait, why isn’t the “dad presumption” being protested?