#MovieReview: Thor: Love and Thunder, an oddly boring rollercoaster

Thor: Love and Thunder is doing everything it can to be a humourous thrill ride, but delivers neither in quantity.

Much like Ryan Reynolds before him, too much of Waititi has not been a good thing, with the New Zealander bringing his trademark humour to too many projects.

His indie credentials emerged in Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, while his clear comedy chops were well suited to What We Do in the Shadows and one of the best Marvel movies, Thor: Ragnarok.

But he has since become Hollywood’s go-to quirky guy with wide appeal and his comedy has been spread too thin, with most people’s mileage on JoJo Rabbit and Free Guy varying.

He is, of course, a major talent, but Love and Thunder feels like an attempt at Ragnarok’s lightning striking twice.

Critics have been split on the movie, with those who praise it enjoying the self-contained nature of the story, where the spectre of decades-long Marvel Cinematic Universe plot is largely left out.

What then is the point of Love and Thunder?

Following the defeat of Thanos, this universe is floating listlessly in space, waiting for some new grand villain to unite the disparate heroes.

Mild spoilers to follow

Love and Thunder follows the titular Thor trying to make sense of his life, with no existential threat to move towards.

He is a god without anyone to smite or love and misses the team dynamic that the Avengers brought him.

Luckily, a new evil appears in Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) whose mission is pretty clear given his chosen nickname.

Bale is giving it his all and delivers, but in a performance that is out of place with the rest of the movie’s jokey, yacht rock tone.

Hemsworth is typically solid as the lead, ably backed up by the wonderful Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.

A returning Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is less successful as a renewed love interest, with Portman’s manifold talents suited better to dramatic outputs.

There are moments to like, including a beautifully shot black and white fight sequence and some jokes do land.

But it is not enough to rescue this tonally uncertain genre mash-up that is oddly boring despite its explosive technicolour palette.

It is on neither end of the Marvel spectrum such as Eternals or Civil War, it’s just disappointingly bland and forgettable.

Rated 13 for Language and Violence.
2/5.

Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news

Telegram Broadcast Service: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0

WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Add The Courier to WhatsApp at 082 792 9405 and WhatsApp your name and surname to be added.