Spoiler-Free Thor: Love and Thunder Review: Rock, Goats, and Gods

Who has never dreamed of embarking on the celestial waves aboard a Viking ship pulled by two giant goats who bleat constantly? It is the constant proposal of Thor: Love and Thunderat the cinema this July 13, 2022. The change of atmosphere with Doctor Strange 2 is radical: this new adventure with Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman is pop, colorful and delirious at every moment.

Without a doubt, director Taika Waititi has succeeded in his main bet: to make us laugh every 5 minutes without getting tired of it. This comes at the expense of the film’s cinematic value. Thor: Love and Thunder is not very thick, and we will especially remember the hilarious babble of the goats. But is that necessarily a bad thing?

intergalactic gags

If the first scene of the film takes on a tragic tone – a character named Gorr loses his daughter, the starting point of his journey as a supervillain – it does not last very long. Very quickly, we find Thor ready to do battle with his big hammer against the backdrop of Gun N’ Roses, accompanied by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Our hero is overtaken by the misdeeds of Gorr, which pushes him to leave the guardians, to form a new team – with Valkyrie, Jane Foster (Mighty Thor), Korg.

The atmosphere of Thor: Love and Thunder is light from start to finish. No scene, or almost, is exempt from a gag. No tragic scene takes place without being defused by a touch of humour. It’s consistent. This direction could have been a total wreck of heaviness, but, fortunately, Taika Waititi’s recipe, built with Ragnarok, still works. And this can be heard, moreover, in the projection, in the bursts of laughter in the room.

We owe it in large part to the second degree of Chris Hemsworth, who manages to deliberately ridicule himself by playing on the absurd virility of the character. Tessa Thompson’s charisma allows her to be funny very naturally. Even Natalie Portman, whose humor seems less spontaneous, manages to make people laugh. And we must recognize a real presence in her: imposing, mischievous, she is convincing as Mighty Thor, although her origin story is somewhat parachuted.

glory to rock

Thor: Love and Thunder enjoys an electrifying coating. It’s certain Welcome to the Jungle of Guns N’ Roses that the very first fight takes place, while the last clash sends us Sweet Child O’ Mine in the ears, before a final credits on the riffs of the Rainbow in the Dark by Dio (revisited cover with Corey Taylor).

In the wake of the two Guardians of the Galaxywhere music was part of the charm, rock infuses the whole atmosphere of Thor: Love and Thunder. This contributes to the frenetic pace of the film, where everything takes place for fun.

Don’t expect more than a comedy

What are we looking for when we go to the cinema to watch a Marvel? Have a good time, first of all, and Thor: Love and Thunder keeps its promise. Living an adventure with super-heroic stakes too: on this point, the observation is a little more mixed. The adventures of Thor, Mighty Thor, Valkyrie and Korg are certainly breathtaking thanks to the action, the rhythm and the humor; but clearly not because of history.

Although the confrontation against Gorr is far from without interest, Thor: Love and Thunder does not shine in the narration. The story is inconsistent, literally flying over all its issues and struggling to get us involved. A fortiori because, no doubt through the fault of chance or else because of specifications, it is not without redundancy with Doctor Strange 2. Again, the antagonist is on a quest for revenge after the loss of children, from which many common points arise. It’s all the more unfortunate that Christian Bale is impressive in Gorr.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a rock comedy, a little less exciting than Ragnarok, but funnier still. If we don’t expect more, Taika Waititi’s film fulfills its mission very well.