Thor: Love and Thunder
The most expensive romcom of all time struggles to find a foothold in Taika Waititi’s splashy, very silly shambles.
Lovesick: Natalie Portman as Ms Mighty Thor
Christmas has come early. Oh no, it hasn’t! Oh yes, it has! Just as the ancient myths have been open to a myriad of interpretations, so the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been bent into all sorts of shapes. Now comes Thor: The Pantomime, courtesy of its director-co-writer Taika Waititi. Thus, a series of comic skits are acted out against an array of spectacular set pieces, dipping in and out of various dimensions at the twitch of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir (which comes with its own scale of sound effects). Buster Keaton once said, "I always want the audience to out-guess me – and then I double-cross them." Here, Taika Waititi’s comedy tool kit is more limited, consisting largely of sarcasm, exaggeration, double-takes and pop cultural allusions, none of which would have passed muster with Oscar Wilde on a bad night.
The love of the title is embodied by the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster (or “Jodie Foster,” as Thor’s sidekick Korg calls her), who still holds a torch for the God of Thunder (executive producer Chris Hemsworth). Providing the voice-over himself (as well as the voice of Korg), Taika Waititi catches us up with the story so far, as if reading a bedtime story for infants with ADHD. So Thor goes through his various physical incarnations, before returning to the “God bod” that audiences have come to expect and admire. There’s then a musical montage (set to Abba’s ‘Our Last Summer’), in which we are reminded of the romantic dalliance of Thor and his missus, who he hasn’t seen for “eight years, seven months, and six days” (but who’s counting?). Thor is obviously still smitten, but when Jane comes to his rescue with his hammer in tow – in her new manifestation as ‘Mighty Thor’ – he discovers that in the human world she is dying from cancer. She’s undergoing chemo in hospital and by drawing on her super powers in Thor’s alternative universe, she is draining her body of the ability to fight the disease. So, the film is not all guffaws.
One saving grace is the evil provided by an unrecognisable Christian Bale as the movie’s villain Gorr, who is out to destroy every god in the universe. The opening of the film – before the Marvel title roll – promises great things. The first shot is of the shadow of a man (Bale) and the child he is cradling, reflected on the surface of the cracked, baked surface of a desert. Bale is bald, scarred and tattooed and, in spite of his prayers to his god Rapu, his daughter (India Hemsworth) dies in his arms. Then, when Gorr faces Rapu in a nearby oasis, the latter taunts him, “suffering for your gods is your only purpose”. Gorr then vows his deicide, aided by a legendary, magical weapon known as the Necrosword. But, of course, not all gods are bad…
A lot is going on here, along with numerous cinematic styles, running the gamut from the slapstick and the medical to the nightmarish and surreal. Consequently, it’s hard to engage with it on any level. And with the action scenes rendered immaterial by the meretricious CGI, this fourth outing in the Thor franchise at times feels like an epic burlesque directed by Terry Gilliam. In one sequence, set in Omnipotence City – like a floating Byzantium in the sky – a bloated Russell Crowe turns up as Zeus with a Russo-Australian accent. He looks like he’s enjoying himself enormously, which is more than can be said for the viewer.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Kieron L. Dyer, Simon Russell Beale, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, India Hemsworth, Jonny Brugh, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Elsa Pataky, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy, Sam Neill, Ben Falcone, Idris Elba.
Dir Taika Waititi, Pro Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum, Ex Pro Chris Hemsworth, Screenplay Taika Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Ph Barry Idoine, Pro Des Nigel Phelps, Ed Matthew Schmidt, Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche and Jennifer Vecchiarello, Music Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad, Costumes Mayes C. Rubeo, Sound David C. Hughes, Samson Neslund and Steve Orlando, Dialect coach Victoria Mielewska.
Marvel Studios-Walt Disney Studios.
119 mins. USA/Australia. 2022. UK Rel: 7 July 2022. US Rel 8 July 2022. Cert. 12A.
