Film Review: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
by Emily Nagle
Today marks the premiere of the latest installment in Marvel’s “Thor” film series: Thor: Love and Thunder. True to its name, this summer blockbuster has lots of heart and lots of action, and puts a fun, fresh spin on Marvel’s successful, action-packed superhero films.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) quest for inner peace comes to a halt when Gorr (Christian Bale) sets out to eradicate all gods. Now, he must band together with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and Jane (Natalie Portman) to defeat him once and for all.
Back in summer 2020, one of the first details released about the film was that Waititi was writing Love and Thunder to be a romance film, as he had never created one before. And a love story it is: instead of being completely focused on fight scenes and action, this movie has a bit of rom-com mixed in. For the first time in 8 years, we see the return of Thor’s ex-girlfriend, astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster. The duo has parted ways and led their own lives since splitting up, but now, unbeknownst to Thor, Jane is battling stage 4 cancer. She’s also become the Mighty Thor, wielding a reconstructed version of Mjolnir and gaining powers much like Thor’s.
The more light-hearted vibe of Love and Thunder actually didn’t detract from the viewing experience or story at all! Yes, a lot of Marvel’s previous films are super action-focused, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. With that being said, it’s nice to see Waititi try something slightly different. Due to so many mixed reviews early on, I walked into the theater not knowing what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the “love” and the “thunder” parts actually go really well together!
Taika Waititi is known for injecting quirky humor into his films, and Love and Thunder is no exception. This particular Thor film is different from previous ones because it’s more light-hearted compared to its predecessors; it’s got lots of silliness, but not so much that it’s overwhelming. There’s a running gag in the film with magical screaming space goats (who are actually based on real creatures in Norse mythology!) who are gifted to Thor by planetary leaders. They pull Thor’s sleigh throughout his journey to defeat Gorr, and every time they appear onscreen, they’re yelling their hearts out. There’s also plenty of witty dialogue.
Love and Thunder is badass in all the right parts. One of the main plot points is that in addition to stopping Gorr from killing all the gods, Thor and the gang have to rescue a group of terrified Asgardian children he kidnapped and banished to the Shadow Realm. When Thor shows up to bust them out, he assembles them into a makeshift army, arms them with the powers of Thor so they can defeat Gorr and go home. The ensuing scene in which the kids obliterate everything in the Shadow Realm is super cool; similarly, it’s a sweet reunion when they’re finally returned to their families back on Earth.
My final thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder? It’s a sweet, action-packed film that’s sure to dominate the box office this summer. It’s a little bit different from previous Thor films, but it puts a fun new spin on the God of Thunder’s adventures.