Thor: Love and Thunder Strikes Out in a Chaotic Quest for Balance

Thor: Love and Thunder — currently showing in theaters — feels excessively hurried. It’s as if the senior leaders at Warner Bros., who had a hand in Justice League turning into a failure, temporarily took over Marvel Studios and insisted that writer-director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) condense his film to under two hours. The fourth Thor installment runs for 119 minutes, which includes the customary lengthy Marvel credits. To clarify, I’m not a fan of lengthy films, but considering all that Waititi tries to include here, Thor: Love and Thunder could have benefited from a longer runtime to fully explore its potential. As it stands, the film exhibits narrative inconsistencies, erratic tonal shifts, and a sense of insignificance. More critically, it fails to effectively utilize nearly every actor and character available to it.

Attempting to juggle elements of a romantic comedy, a story of a mourning father, a god lacking direction, a scientist aiming to conquer death, an adventurous monarch, and a whimsical journey through space, Thor: Love and Thunder strives to cover too many bases that, at times, it ends up being about nothing substantial. It’s just a collection of vibes and one-liners. Even when the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film aligns with one of those themes, it feels as though conflicting plots are vying for attention and screen time. In the editing room, Waititi and his quartet of editors — Matthew Schmidt, Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche, and Jennifer Vecchiarello — have pieced together these various narratives as best they could, mashing them together in an almost slapdash manner.

Waititi makes continuous attempts to infuse comedy, but tragically, not even a couple of bleating goats, a love triangle driven by jealousy involving Thor and his two metal companions, or Russell Crowe adopting a flamboyant Greek accent while portraying a hedonistic Zeus can distract from the film’s issues. In the end, the movie is sorely lacking in character development. Additionally, Waititi’s challenges persist. His approach to action sequences has not seen any improvement. Shot in a chaotic style against dull CGI-heavy backgrounds, and poorly edited with nostalgia-filled music laid over, Thor: Love and Thunder presents some of the most quickly forgettable action moments found in an MCU film.

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Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, where Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) partnered with the Guardians of the Galaxy — Chris Pratt and his crew appear briefly, mainly to fill space — Thor: Love and Thunder catches up with a wandering Thor in search of his next thrill. However, Thor remains oblivious to the fact that the Guardians have grown weary of him. Upon discovering that a figure known as the God Butcher (Christian Bale, from The Dark Knight) intends to target New Asgard, the Guardians seize the opportunity to part ways, leaving Thor, his rock-like friend Korg (Waititi), and the two newly-received giant goats behind. As Thor makes his way back to (New) Asgard, he encounters two former flames: Mjolnir and Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

What brings Jane — who has not been seen in the MCU since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, as her cameo in Endgame relied on unused footage — to New Asgard? As has been revealed for three years, Portman returns to wield (a reforged) Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor. Battling stage four cancer, Jane feels a call from Mjolnir, whose fragmented pieces are displayed for tourists in New Asgard. However, Thor: Love and Thunder is so keen to advance its narrative that it glosses over crucial elements — what does it feel like to suddenly take on superpowers? How do the Asgardians respond to this new Thor? — even leaving out the origin of the “Mighty” prefix. Instead, the new Marvel film seems more focused on Jane’s quest to find a catchy tagline. What is that about?!

Remarkably, however, Portman’s storyline is perhaps the richest. Promised a significant queer narrative at San Diego Comic-Con three years back, Tessa Thompson — who is third in the billing — ends up being entirely sidelined in her role as Valkyrie, the New Asgard king. Her character is given a secondary position, and the acknowledgment of her bisexuality merely consists of her kissing a woman’s hand. Really, Taika, we anticipated much more from you. Even Bale — second-billed — feels underutilized, serving more as a plot device than a fleshed-out character with agency. He begins the movie with deep existential themes but spends vast stretches of Thor: Love and Thunder offscreen. A villain with depth is wasted if he’s not integral to the narrative being told.

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Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman in Thor: Love and Thunder
Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios

Several characters have been entirely omitted from the film. Jeff Goldblum and Peter Dinklage were anticipated to reprise their roles as Sakaar’s flamboyant ruler Grandmaster (from Thor: Ragnarok) and the giant dwarf weaponsmith Eitri (from Avengers: Infinity War), but their moments were excised. Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey also featured in Thor: Love and Thunder, but she has likewise been cut from the final version. Existing characters have lost significant interactions, with Portman even acknowledging this before the release, humorously noting that the omitted material between her and Thompson could be used for a potential Valkyrie and Mighty Thor spin-off. This results in a disjointed film that lacks coherence.

India’s censor board has also intervened, significantly censoring the notable scene of Thor being “flicked” by Zeus. Rather than simply blurring it as Marvel did for YouTube, the CBFC opted to crop out Thor’s butt entirely by awkwardly adjusting and zooming into the shot. Furthermore, every mention of Zeus’ orgy has been muted. Regarding that scene, Thor: Love and Thunder features Crowe extensively as a lewd and self-indulgent showman — Thor admits to modeling himself largely on Zeus — but his almost caricature-like performance goes quite overboard.

Hemsworth, on the other hand, strikes the right balance with his nearly caricature-like portrayal that showcases his self-importance. He is allotted more material to work with — from Waititi and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet/Vicious) — than anyone else in Thor: Love and Thunder. He adeptly handles the grandiose statements expected from a god of his caliber and showcases his comedic talents well. Much of the humor arises from the dynamic between Thor and his weapons — with Stormbreaker exhibiting jealousy, acting out, and not being pleased with Thor’s reunion with Mjolnir. As in Ragnarok, Hemsworth leans into Thor’s vanity and insecurity, repeatedly making himself the punchline throughout Thor: Love and Thunder.

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Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder
Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios

Waititi endeavors to bolster Hemsworth’s comedic flair through the screenplay and Korg’s lines and narration — a character he portrays himself. The space goats deliver one of the film’s greatest laughs, becoming the subject of humor, and a passing social commentary on domestic labor strikes a note, landing beautifully in a mid-movie montage that illustrates the dissolution of Thor and Jane’s relationship. Nevertheless, a recurring gag involving Korg forgetting Jane Foster’s name feels like an extra and instead reads as unintended commentary on how Waititi’s former Thor film neglected Portman’s character.

However, Waititi stumbles badly in other areas. The director has mentioned that Thor is undergoing a mid-life crisis, but while Thor: Love and Thunder establishes this, it is quickly brushed off for “more entertaining” antics. Instead, it feels as though the Thor franchise itself is undergoing a mid-life crisis, searching for new meaning after the tumultuous events of Infinity War and Endgame. Where does one take a hero who has experienced both the deepest lows and the highest peaks?

Additionally, the MCU once again presents a villain who articulates the right ideas but executes them poorly. Gorr’s main contention is that the gods prioritize their own interests above all else. Yet, Thor: Love and Thunder shows most gods as smug, silly, and self-absorbed. They exhibit no willingness to aid the faithful who earnestly pray to them. When faced with dire threats, they retreat into their comfort zones. Perhaps all the gods deserve to perish?

The central issue for Thor: Love and Thunder is its inability to successfully navigate the multiple narratives it attempts to encompass. It clumsily transitions from satire to heartfelt romance, from harrowing tragedy to exuberant adventure. Waititi managed to do this to an extent in Ragnarok — although action sequences remained a weak point — but he cannot recapture that dynamic here. Thor: Love and Thunder embodies Waititi’s style throughout, yet we now possess a deeper understanding of what that entails.

While credit is due to Waititi for revitalizing the Thor series — and kudos to Hemsworth for adapting gracefully to his new role — the writer-director relies too heavily on familiar material. This is evident in the soundtrack that feels hastily assembled, as well as the return of Matt Damon and his Asgardian compatriots for a sequel to their stage play. When previously experienced, these moments don’t quite resonate as powerfully. Ultimately, there’s a distinct lack of love and thunder in this fourth Thor installment.

Thor: Love and Thunder premieres Thursday, July 7 in cinemas globally. In India, Thor: Love and Thunder can be viewed in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.