Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
July 6, 2022 4:24 PM - Subscribe

Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.

It's ... ridiculous. Hilarious. Affecting. Bloated. Faux philosophical. A love story. The most comicky-book comic book movie.
It ... features a bunch of amusing casting decisions (cameo Matt Damon! cameo Sam Neill), a dollop of Idris Elba, three scoops of Russell Crowe as Zeus, and .. whoever that was as Hercules in the credits.
As well as ... screaming goats, Mjolnir the unfaithful, Stormbreaker the sulking puppy, the inimitable Tessa Thomson as the King of New Asgard, Natalie Portman as Jodie Foster, Christian Bale as the villain with a heart of gold, a swole Chris Hemsworth & the Guardians of the Galaxy.

It's directed by only-his-face-is-alive Korg (Taika Waititi) and backed by a rollicking soundtrack of late 80s long-haired metal, in particular Guns n' Roses.
posted by chavenet (82 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Taika Waititi said something on one late night show or other that made me laugh out loud:

"It looks like we asked a bunch of six-year-olds for ideas about what we should put in the movie, and then we said 'yes' to everything they said."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:48 PM on July 6, 2022 [22 favorites]


"Natalie Portman as Jodie Foster"??

This I gotta watch :)
posted by techSupp0rt at 1:10 PM on July 7, 2022 [4 favorites]


I’ll probably end up watching this but without Loki I’m just not as keen.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 1:16 PM on July 7, 2022 [3 favorites]


There's a Loki!
posted by chavenet at 3:30 PM on July 7, 2022 [2 favorites]


With hair care product!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:35 PM on July 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


I liked it! It had the best third act of any of the Thor movies.

Ars Technica: Thor: Love and Thunder is a must-see Marvel homage to Jim Henson.

I disagree; I did not get a muppet vibe from it at all. I thought it was very close stylistically to Terry Gilliam, especially Munchausen.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 8:09 PM on July 7, 2022 [6 favorites]


The screaming goats are hands down the best part of the movie.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:27 PM on July 7, 2022 [15 favorites]


I disagree: it was the revelation that Darryl leveraged his connections with his ex-flatmate Thor to become a tour guide.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:01 AM on July 8, 2022 [11 favorites]


Partway through I was starting to feel like this was perhaps too silly.

The ending was poignant enough to bring me around, though. Overall I enjoyed it.

- I enjoyed the moments with jealous Stormbreaker
- I am looking forward to the screen grabs of all of the gods in Omnipotencity.
- The debating about shoes/attire with Love was a very relatable parental moment
posted by Fleebnork at 5:15 AM on July 8, 2022 [6 favorites]


I concur on it feeling too silly for a while, but the ending was poignant. Hell, the death and the making it to Valhalla with Heimdall was so poignant and good, that I was in tears (wife passed earlier this year) and my friends were like "I'm sorry I didn't know it was end like that, are you ok?". It was all good.

The goats and jealous Stormbreaker were great. I want buddy movie now with Stormbreaker and Dr Strange's cape, that would be hilarious.

Was that two Celestials I saw outside Zeus's palace/home of the gods?

The Guardians felt a bit off, it seemed as though they were directed and written by Taika Waititi with little input by James Gunn, who's done their movies. As far as Marvel tie-ins to the larger franchise go, they were thankfully brief in this film.

Curious, does Thor run around being a hero with Gor's daughter in the comics? That seemed like an odd pairing, but could see it working in the future.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:22 AM on July 8, 2022 [15 favorites]


Gorr's daughter died and stayed dead in the comics. Love is an original character to the MCU, although various versions of Thor's daughter have turned up in the comics.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:28 AM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


Saw it last night and really enjoyed it. Laughed countless times at some great gags and one-liners. After all of the talk about how silly it was going to be, I was surprised at how coherent the story was and how poignant the ending turned out to be.
Russell Crowe was flamboyant as Zeus, and Matt Damon is the best budget Loki.
Jealous, skulking Stormbreaker made me laugh every time.
posted by OHenryPacey at 10:40 AM on July 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


whoever that was as Hercules in the credits

I was quite surprised to recognise Fanfare favourite Brett Goldstein, of Ted Lasso fame, was Hercules. IMDB confirms.

There were a whole bunch of Hemsworths on the cameo list also. His brother makes up the third actor in the stateside with Matt Damon & Sam Neill, but there are others too.
posted by biffa at 2:18 PM on July 8, 2022 [7 favorites]


Jealous, skulking Stormbreaker made me laugh every time.

There was a guy behind us who laughed constantly at the movie, very loudly and very forcefully. He was having a really good time, one that I envied him for having. But Stormbreaker and the goats were the things he could not stop shouting out his laughter at. I never really laughed much at the movie itself, but that dude and this guy sitting a few seats away from me, when he would lose it at the goats, made me laugh out loud. Clearly the goats and the axe gave them their money's worth.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 2:41 PM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


Sam Neill, Matt Damon and brother Hemsworth are reprising their roles as Asgardian actors from Ragnorok.

I watched Ragnorok a day before seeing this, and it’s not operating on that level (I think Ragnorok is maybe the best MCU movie) but it held together plot-wise (definitely better than Multiverse of Madness) and really leaned into its own silliness. It was giving me Clash of the Titans vibes but no one seems to agree with me on that.
posted by jeoc at 6:16 PM on July 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


HE'S HERE! HE'S THERE! HE'S EVERY-F*UCKING-WHERE! HERCULES! HERCULES!

the movie was ridiculous and amazing in the best way!

In Omnipotence City (would have loved to see the lord librarian from the comics) I think I caught a glimpse of a statue/bust of both Uatu the Watcher and the Living Tribunal. We're getting more of the Marvel cosmic entities which is.... intriguing.
posted by alchemist at 11:13 PM on July 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


I loved the absurdity of it. The goats! The useless Zeus! The deputized kids!

I think I might still like Ragnarok more overall but this was close.

I had not read the comics and thought Jane's storyline was going to go differently. I feel like that aspect of the movie was trying to do a mood whiplash thing and didn't really land, but probably because I assumed that the Eternity wish thingy was going to heal her (even thought for a minute that Gorr was going to save her).

Gorr was 100% a better villain than Thanos.
posted by Foosnark at 8:41 AM on July 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


Who among us did not root for Gorr when he offed his awful sun god? That guy was the worst.

Anyway, I very much enjoyed this, though I could not help wishing for a return-of-Loki tease (the back tattoo was nice).

Thor really loved those goats and I'm happy for him and them.

I did cry when Jane died, don't judge me.

Hercules? eh. I mean, he's fine but it wasn't something that got me excited.

Valhalla for Jane? Nice but seems like she will get bored just hanging out.
posted by emjaybee at 12:09 PM on July 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


Valhalla for Jane? Nice but seems like she will get bored just hanging out.

“Come, Jane! We are feasting and drinking and regaling each other with tales of battle!”

[Jane continues writing her paper on how Valhalla proves string theory]
posted by ejs at 12:36 PM on July 10, 2022 [18 favorites]


One aspect that I absolutely loved was seeing Eternity on the big screen. Here’s what Eternity looked like back when I was reading comics, and the CGI version lived up to the awesomeness of the character design. It certainly helped that I was watching in IMAX 3D—Eternity looked like a genuine hole in space, through which was space!

Though I don’t remember the whole “granting a wish” thing from the comics.
posted by ejs at 12:42 PM on July 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


It looked like they flew past two Celestials during their escape from god town.
And it also looked like there was a Celestial head-shaped piece of debris during the final battle.
Finally, Bao.
posted by LostInUbe at 3:00 PM on July 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


I continue to be delighted at Taika Waititi's MCU Thor outings, featuring Chris Hemsworth, the human golden retriever. Was this better than Ragnarok? Pffft no, you can't improve upon perfection.

But you can give me:

* Tessa Thompson eye candy thankyewvermuch
* Darcy
* SCREAMING GOATS
* the amazing "it'sa-me Mario" accent of Russell Crowe
* sulky Stormbringer
* A very very good and relatable villain in Gorr
* Natalie Portman looking fine af as the Mighty Thor
* guys i loved the screaming goats so much
posted by Kitteh at 4:30 PM on July 10, 2022 [11 favorites]


I loved the goats. I loved how much this movie loved Guns n Roses. I continue to love Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie. I loved Thor being jealous of mjolnir choosing Jane and Stormbreaker hanging around moping about it.

Otherwise, I thought this was mostly boring. I had high hopes after Ragnarok, and was disappointed. I am not interested in complaining about it though, so circling back to the screaming goats pulling the New Asgardian booze cruise boat, how great was that!
posted by the primroses were over at 5:52 PM on July 10, 2022 [5 favorites]


I enjoyed the ride very much. Became emotional at a few points (everyone Thor loves dies, huh?), and laughed at many, many others. A win in my book.

That said, I felt that Bale was acting in a different movie. I suspect that I can chalk it up to the sword but his intensity was tight and the superheros were loose. I understand that Gorr was the really bad guy but I never got the sense that Thor² and the others took him seriously.

How did Thor give his powers to the kids and is that how Love got her powers (blasting hole in frying pan)? I found their end scene cute but confusing.

Anyway, I look forward to watching it again. Of the three MCU films I've seen in 2022, I preferred Spider-Man (didn't see it until Jan ;) over this, but this over Dr. Strange.
posted by bacalao_y_betun at 9:33 PM on July 10, 2022 [3 favorites]


Comparing this to Ragnarok seems kind of unfair, because that film not only revived and redefined Thor's subfranchise, but redefined what a superhero film could be, I think. Plus, it had Loki, who is busy with his own show/the timeline, I guess. (Was kind of hoping that Damon would be revealed to be Loki in disguise, playing an actor playing him, which would be on-brand for him. Or Sylvie.) It was good for what it was, which was to bridge where Thor was at the end of Endgame with whatever's coming next, which probably involves Hercules (here's hoping that he's bi/pan as in the comics) and maybe more with Love. (By the way, just found out that Love is played by Hemmo's daughter, and that Bale, Portman, and Waititi's children play some of the New Asgard kids/Lil' Thors. How cool!)

I'll look out for a handy God Guide for all the deities that were on hand (didn't see Khonshu; he's probably been banned for being a killjoy), and wait for the D+ release to find out what Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey were going to do before their parts were cut.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:59 PM on July 10, 2022 [7 favorites]


Thor abdicated as King in favor of Valkrie, but he did still technically inherit some of Odin's AllFather mojo. The dwarves forged Mjolnir, but the worthiness requirement and transferrable power was something Odin added afterwards. I can see Thor using essentially the same spell funneled through Stormbreaker without having too much strain on my suspension of disbelief. The best theory I've heard about Love's powers is that it's a result of being resurrected by Eternity. Being resurrected by a Celestial should probably result in a little extra oomph.
posted by Karmakaze at 8:05 AM on July 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


Here's a God Guide for the movie.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:39 AM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]


The best theory I've heard about Love's powers is that it's a result of being resurrected by Eternity.

Thank you!

Speaking of "God Guide": did anyone else catch the mention of the "Carpenter God" or was that something I made up? I thought it was when the group entered the Pantheon, after they landed in Omnipotence City.
posted by bacalao_y_betun at 11:39 AM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]


I kept thinking, "surely the screaming goats gag will get old." But nope, nope it sure did not. Fuckin love those screaming goats.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:23 PM on July 11, 2022 [9 favorites]


> But Stormbreaker and the goats were the things he could not stop shouting out his laughter at.

That was me, sorry. My former neighbors were goats and that sound they make! Everyone else in the theater would stop laughing and I'd still be cackling away.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:49 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


Jane's statue at the end was nice also.

I wonder if Love will be part of the Young Avengers? So far we've already seen a young Alt Universe Loki (who killed Thor), Billy and Tommy (Wiccan and Speed) (real, just not in this universe), Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop? some of whom were YAs in the comic books...there's a lot to choose from.
posted by emjaybee at 5:29 PM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]


(Also America Chavez)
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:32 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]


Also Eli Bradley, aka Patriot (not so named in the MCU; there's someone who used Patriot in Agents of Shield), who appeared in the MCU in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier without displaying any unusual abilities. Plus, Riri Williams, aka Ironheart (successor to Iron Man) is going to be appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with her own series on Disney+ after that.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:29 PM on July 11, 2022 [2 favorites]


The best theory I've heard about Love's powers is that it's a result of being resurrected by Eternity.

I thought Thor actually said something like that at the end. Something like "your powers that you got from being brought back to life."
posted by straight at 12:12 AM on July 13, 2022 [3 favorites]


OMG I, too, LOVED the screaming goats. I was sad there wasn't one more callback to the screaming goats near the end, when Thor and Love go out to fight. (And wow, Thor/Chris Hemsworth as longsufffering dad was so appealing). After the goats, I'd say my second-favorite moment was the kid who channeled Thor's power through their stuffed animal. I want more of that kid.

I did think that this movie was a bit of a departure from Ragnarok and most of the rest of the MCU in feeling like the cast was so stripped down, in a way? Like, so much of the movie was just Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie (plus goats and sulking weapons) as opposed to the usual more sprawling ensemble that we've had in more recent movies, and that affected the pacing and jokes a bit. Though I did enjoy a more focused fight scene for the final act.

Gorr seemed a bit boring to me, but I though humorless Christian Bale was on-the-nose casting.
posted by TwoStride at 5:33 AM on July 14, 2022 [4 favorites]


> The best theory I've heard about Love's powers is that it's a result of being resurrected by Eternity.
I figured Gorr just spiced up his wish a little, like “I wish for my daughter to be brought back to life with the power of a god, that she might have the strength to keep herself safe.” That seems a suitably poetic dying wish for someone who spent the first half of his life as a god’s faithful adherent, and the second half avenging his daughter upon the gods.
posted by Syllepsis at 9:17 PM on July 14, 2022 [3 favorites]


There was a guy behind us who laughed constantly at the movie, very loudly and very forcefully. He was having a really good time, one that I envied him for having.

That same guy was sitting right next to me, and his girlfriend. They laughed constantly through the whole thing.

I mostly liked it but could have done with less jokiness in the middle. I did appreciate that they found a way to end it without just having the hero hit harder and the exchange of Jane for Love was nicely done.
posted by octothorpe at 12:51 PM on July 17, 2022 [1 favorite]


When Melissa McCarthy appeared, it was the cherry on top of a hilarious scene.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:22 PM on July 17, 2022 [12 favorites]


Miek in the ladies pantsuit with the pussy bow blouse was brilliant. I cacklesnorted.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 3:53 PM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]


A little too much tonal whiplash for me, but that may be because I'm feeling especially vulnerable to sadness right now. At least it was one movie where the endless-faceless-boring-CGI henchmen made sense (because the kids had to fight them). And, uh, it was totally someone else applauding Hemsworth's ass.
posted by praemunire at 10:09 PM on July 17, 2022 [2 favorites]


I really enjoyed it and am pleasantly surprised to find I am in good company on that here. In some of the other circles I run in on film, this is the movie that is activating people's Marvel Fatigue. I thought it was fantastic, very nearly as good as Ragnarok.

(My Marvel Fatigue hit on the last Dr. Strange, but thankfully, it had bonkers direction from Sam Raimi to prop it up and get me through.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:46 AM on July 18, 2022 [3 favorites]




Saw it last night and enjoyed it a lot. "Goat yelling like a man" was one of my favorite early YouTube viral videos - I probably think about those goats once a month at least - so I was clearly in the target audience for this one. What a weird target audience, but hey.

I was impressed by how genuinely creepy it went, visually. I don't expect that from Marvel movies so much. Some interesting work with lighting and color. And I didn't even recognize Russell Crowe.

I'm here for basically anything Taika gets up to, but I don't think I lowered my standards to enjoy this movie. I'm not generally a big Marvel fan but I turn up for his because he takes these things to interesting places.
posted by potrzebie at 9:59 AM on July 19, 2022 [3 favorites]


I didn't even recognize Russell Crowe.

I was just thinking yesterday that it's a real pity Orson Welles wasn't still alive to take that role.
posted by praemunire at 10:13 AM on July 19, 2022 [6 favorites]


Watched it on my laptop last night. Gotta say - I was way more invested in the relationship between Thor and Jane than I expected. It's been a long time since I fell in love with Natalie Portman and I didn't expect it again from a Marvel film.

The Thor films are some of my favorite, because they feel totally aware of themselves as comic book movies and have some great humor in them. Comments above suggested the GotG were not properly directed, but I felt they were meant to represent thor's own perception of them. Wonderful.
posted by rebent at 5:14 AM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Just watched it last night. Really really enjoyed the goofiness. It's exactly what I personally needed.

So many very great lines - even the significant silences delivered by Stormbreaker. Ditto to the earlier suggestion re: Stormbreaker/Cloak of Levitation buddy adventures. I'd love to know what they do in their "time off".

Also? Taika/Kork as narrator is so great. Similarly the further development of the Asgardians turned boat people turned quasi rez tourist trap purveyors is so poignant and so Taika. Hits very close to home here from my Canadian perspective as well.

Tag line: Fighting the good fight; for those who don't fight good.
posted by mce at 9:05 AM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I wasn't entirely enamoured by the scene where Thor recruits a bunch of child soldiers (lightning bunny notwithstanding).
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:56 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


I didn't see it as recruiting child soldiers, but as empowering the children to save themselves.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 4:15 PM on September 9, 2022 [4 favorites]


Love in that reflection shot looks a lot like the comics character Singularity, who hung out with the Young Avengers at some point.
posted by sixswitch at 4:26 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


I think Waititi has proven that lightning can strike twice in a superhero franchise. It was a lot of fun.

I do find that the whole dying of cancer thing is pretty traumatic for people who have close experiences around that. Not really me, but it is a tough thing to bring into a “fun” movie and it seems to happen a lot (guardians, etc.).
posted by snofoam at 7:17 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]


Beloved Spouse and I finally watched this today.
Yeah, I generally don't care about the Odinson, and find the other characters to be far more interesting. So this movie was fine.
I did want more Valkyrie/Jane interaction, because I liked seeing them supporting each other.
I also liked Axl, Heimdall's sun. Hoping they'll bring Axl back in a few years as someone for the younger Avengers to reach out to.
I was a little bummed about Dr. Foster's ending here, although I recognize that if Disney backs another dump truck of money to Ms. Portman and the writers give Ms. Portman stuff she wants to do, we either get this Dr. Foster back or an alt-universe Dr. Foster. If we do get her back, I also hope we get Mr. Horse from the most-recent Valkyrie comics runs.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 5:20 PM on September 10, 2022 [1 favorite]


did anyone else catch the mention of the "Carpenter God" or was that something I made up?

You didn't make it up, and it was conspicuously one of the only gods mentioned but not shown.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 9:23 AM on September 11, 2022 [2 favorites]


It was "god of carpentry" which gives a little more deniability.
posted by praemunire at 10:48 AM on September 11, 2022 [3 favorites]


The movie killing off Jane was some bullshit.

Otherwise pretty fun.
posted by medusa at 8:02 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


Her dying is straight from the Mighty Thor comics.
posted by octothorpe at 5:41 AM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]


Finally watched, surprised to say that I did not really like it at all. It felt plodding and really overly long for what it had to offer. For all the coolness of Jane being Thor, her character was still minimized throughout: we were denied seeing Mjölnir actually reassemble and turn her into Thor for the first time, and it ultimately felt like her character arc was for someone Thor loved to die so that he could find meaning in his life again. So she wasn't in the movie for her, she was in the movie for his character development.

And also, so completely Wagnerian, just way too much. I can't stand those fucking operas, and I hate seeing them in movies.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:09 AM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]


Yeah, that's the difference. In the comic book story of Jane's battle with cancer, taking up the hammer and name of Thor, and her (temporary, of course) death, Jane was the protagonist rather than a supporting character in Odinson's story.
posted by straight at 10:34 AM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]


Not knowing it was from the comics, I imagined that killing off the character was part of how they got Natalie Portman to agree to come back for this one.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:15 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


And the rationale was much better in the comics. Every time Jane picked up the hammer, it purged her system of the chemo that was trying to kill her cancer. I guess Mjolnir's enchantment protected her from "attack" by poison, but not sickness originating from her own body.
posted by straight at 2:19 PM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]


Oh how I wanted to love this movie! But wow that first half was so haphazard and bad! Thor's seemingly hefty "meditation" storyline was rushed through and then forgotten except a mention that apparently meditation didn't help him?? What? And they clearly didn't know what to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy, why have such a big scene with then for the whole first 20% of the movie when it turned out they would disappear cleanly from the rest of the movie? There were like six different movie angles I thought they were headed in but no, it was just a shitty "prologue" that wasn't even a real prologue because nothing in it matters to what the story becomes.

All of that wasted time could have been used to provide some character development for Jane, who *really* needed it! We were never told how come she's worthy of Thor's hammer, we don't know why she suddenly started fighting bad guys with Valkyrie instead of doing astrophysics with her temporary good health powers, we were not even shown her reaction to her transformation into Thor. Ugh.

I wish the movie had STARTED with a nice, long Jane Foster catch-up that digs into her battle with cancer and her desires, motivations, frustrations, etc. Then she hears the call of the hammer, it vibrates, aaand opening credits! Then we go straight to the scene of the bad guy stealing children... and then, in the ensuing chaos at New Asgard where everyone is planning haphazard rescue efforts, we could get HIS backstory from Axl during one of Thor's astral projections, as a substitute for Korg telling Thor's pointless one. Maybe have Thor's conflict be "Oh no, I can't punch my way past shadow monsters and murdering a star doesn't get kids out of this cage!" instead of "I need a girlfriend because helping people is not a meaningful way to spend my life."

Anyway.

Later, when Thor was tied up and pleading with Zeus, I was cheering, I felt like the movie had finally found its most perfect groove: funny and earnest and swashbuckling and genuinely moving heroics. But (a) we had to wait literally half the movie to get to its first coherent spot?? and (b) after this scene the movie still just kinda coasted to its end, not being actively *bad* but doing nothing to top that mid-movie bit of awesomeness.

Such a frustrating movie! Somewhere in this disjointed mess are the scattered bones of a brilliant, funny, *worthy* follow up to Ragnarok. But then apparently someone tore it to pieces like Korg or Mjolnir or the Necrosword, and hurled the pieces into the air like Sam Neill throwing so much dead god glitter, and this is what we got.

-----

This review from Vulture puts its finger on the problem of Jane Foster:

> [The] film doesn’t bother making the case for why Foster should be ["worthy" of Mjölnir] ...

> [So] the odd character out is Jane herself, whose relationship with Mjölnir fails to solidify. ... Was there another motivation, separate from curing her cancer, that inspired Jane to take up Mjölnir? In a post-Thanos world, what does wanting to be a superhero look like? How did her early training and experimentation with her powers go? What excites her about the gig, and what disappoints her? Did she hear from any other superheroes after taking up the Thor mantle? Doesn’t she want to see Darcy lose her mind over all this “Viking space magic” stuff? Where is the interiority! ... All of her defining qualities — in particular her astrophysics genius — fade away by film’s end, once Love and Thunder collapses into another CGI-heavy battle scene.

posted by MiraK at 12:25 PM on September 19, 2022 [3 favorites]


In a post-Thanos world, what does wanting to be a superhero look like? How did her early training and experimentation with her powers go? What excites her about the gig, and what disappoints her? Did she hear from any other superheroes after taking up the Thor mantle?

I don't totally disagree with this critique generally, but, assuming the film is actually in chronological order (and that I'm remembering it right), Jane was Mighty Thor for maybe a day or two before Thor came back to New Asgard. Basically the longest it can be is however long it took from the battle on the Murano planet to leaving to check on Sif. Her own trip to New Asgard is sandwiched between the battle and the Guardians packing up to leave. Thor teleports via Bifrost to find Sif and then Bifrosts back to New Asgard, so essentially no time passes there.

I saw this film a few times in late night deserted theaters with my pass and I usually left when the crew actually entered the shadow dimension. The Omnipotent City caper is a genuine high point and Valkyrie jumping onto the platform to grab the lightning bolt and kissing the maiden's hand would be my lesbian aesthetic if I had any lesbian in me.
posted by praemunire at 3:09 PM on September 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


> [The] film doesn’t bother making the case for why Foster should be ["worthy" of Mjölnir] ...


I feel like based on this movie you can make a strong case that the "worthy" thing is just marketing and Mjölnir responded to Jane because Thor told it to, and not really any other reason.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:59 AM on September 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


This movie could have been so much better, but I still enjoyed it. It was better than The Dark World, at least.

I really liked Gorr--who doesn't love a villain with a clear and understandable motivation?--but the bit where he kidnapped the kids just felt off to me. I mean, for a character whose backstory is that the needless death of his daughter made him furious enough to kill God(s), abducting and terrorizing children doesn't really seem like something he'd do.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:04 AM on September 20, 2022 [3 favorites]


> based on this movie you can make a strong case that the "worthy" thing is just marketing and Mjölnir responded to Jane because Thor told it to, and not really any other reason.

Yes! And I hate it :( among other things, it takes all the wind out of that awesome Endgame moment when Cap gets the hammer.

> Jane was Mighty Thor for maybe a day or two before Thor came back to New Asgard

Oh, wow, you're right. I didn't realize it was such a compressed timeframe. Still kinda hate it that nobody in her "real" (astrophysics) life gets to have a moment's reaction to her as Thor or to her death. She deserved better.
posted by MiraK at 7:41 AM on September 20, 2022


Still kinda hate it that nobody in her "real" (astrophysics) life gets to have a moment's reaction to her as Thor or to her death.

Fair.
posted by praemunire at 7:55 AM on September 20, 2022


the bit where he kidnapped the kids just felt off to me

I think the implication was that the Necrosword corrupted Gorr and turned him into an evil monster.

It's kinda like how they had to make Killmonger start saying some over-the-top evil stuff lest we take his side. After seeing Omnipotent City, who wouldn't want to pick up a necrosword and start swinging it at all the gods? Oh but some of the gods are children...
posted by straight at 3:53 PM on September 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


He lost his own child, he was more than happy to take others' away. The scene where he deliberately terrifies the kids struck me as cruelty designed to kill something in himself.
posted by praemunire at 4:49 PM on September 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


I think the implication was that the Necrosword corrupted Gorr and turned him into an evil monster.

This is something that was part of the story in the comics, that I wish they had given time to in the movie.

There was very little time given to Gorr's journey from "justice for my people" to "I have become the monster", and I think Christian Bale would have done a fine job of acting that.
posted by Fleebnork at 6:05 AM on September 21, 2022


I feel like the Gorr parts didn't mesh well at all with the jokey tone of the test of the film. Waititi is a pretty limited director and can only seem to do one thing.
posted by octothorpe at 6:56 AM on September 21, 2022


I feel like the Gorr parts didn't mesh well at all with the jokey tone of the test of the film. Waititi is a pretty limited director and can only seem to do one thing.

While I appreciate the film was ONLY 2 hours, it was still too overstuffed. They really could have split this into 2x90 minute films and it would been better for it.
posted by mikelieman at 3:58 PM on September 21, 2022


With Disney+, there's really no reason why they can't do longer films. Release a theatrical version then do shorter prologue or afterlogue on D+, charge $5-10 bucks for it.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:08 PM on September 21, 2022


calll...the axxxxxe


maximum christian bale! A++ would monochrome again!
posted by lalochezia at 9:11 PM on September 21, 2022


One of the bits that doesn't fully land for me, with the Necrosword here and with the Darkhold in Multiverse of Madness, is that Gorr and Wanda each have gone through enough suffering to be sufficient to twist their view, and I don't think 'evil corruption from some outside source' is even necessary.
Gorr spent his entire life believing in this god, and the shattering truth that his family died through the neglect and contempt of his god is enough to fill him with hate and rage toward everyone else.
Wanda has been traumatized continually (the bomb incident / Strucker's experiments / Ultron weaponizing her home / restrained and helpless in the Raft / on the run / Thanos killing Vision / another effing Thanos battle / SWORD dissecting Vision / her breakdown in Westview) with NO real support system, and barely a break between any of them.
Maybe it reveals flaws in my character, but at a personal level, I can immediately grok Gorr wanting to burn every last god in the universe, and Wanda wanting to steam roll any and all obstacles, because the pain is so much, that they would cling to any lie that promises an end to the pain, or a meaning for the pain.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:30 PM on September 30, 2022 [2 favorites]


I feel like I'm being generous when I say there's a good movie buried in here somewhere. There are a smattering of good scenes, but it just didn't tie together for me. Having the stupid stick out to randomly turn characters into complete idiots didn't help my disposition. It was very funny at times, though. The goats were just ridiculous, far more funny than they had any right to be.
posted by wierdo at 2:11 AM on October 1, 2022 [1 favorite]


> Gorr and Wanda each have gone through enough suffering to be sufficient to twist their view, and I don't think 'evil corruption from some outside source' is even necessary.

I think this Gorr, at least, we needed the corruption angle to explain why he would refer do something so goddamn senseless as to kidnap and severely traumatize so many Asgardian children when his trauma is that his kid died. And all the while His motive wasn't even to bring back his kid, even though that's possible??? He wasn't set up as capable of THAT much selfishness, that he only cares about his own kid to the extent that no other child's suffering matters to him. Only external influence could do that to him.

Wanda, you have a point! Everything she does is rational-for-her because long before she was corrupted by the Darkhold she was already capable of kidnapping and severely traumatizing the whole town's worth of people, *including children*. We never needed any corruption to believe she's able to kill America to get back inside her hallucination again. She's been there and near enough done that already.
posted by MiraK at 12:36 PM on October 1, 2022


This movie was such a mixed bag. I finally got bored enough to watch it on D+ and I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater. I took like a 24 hour break to finish watching it, even. To be fair, i think all Thor movies are a mixed bag that have some good moments, but this one more than most.

There are a smattering of good scenes, but it just didn't tie together for me.

Agreed.
Good moments:
(a) Jane in general, albeit I haaaaaaaate the cancer thing so much and killing her off so much.
(b) Finding out why Thor and Jane broke up, finally, and that he's still pining.
(c) The whole Axl thing, which was making me go, "wait, you named yourself after a rocker?!"
(d) Weirdly enough, the whole kids thing worked, especially them getting empowered, especially with the bunny.
(e) The bad actors.
(f) The adoption and the slipper scene is really cute.
(g) It was kind of amusing how Thor kept losing teammates until it's finally him and the kids fighting.

Weird/eh moments:
(a) Valkyrie in a suit? I was all "who IS that?"
(b) Russell Crowe as Zeus, wtf was that accent? So bad.
(c) Gorr was just bleah to me. All of him, until the end, anyway.
(d) There's a dumpling god and somehow this has not become a giant merchandising thing?

Overall, it's a mishmash of plots that I didn't love, but there's moments.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:17 PM on October 9, 2022


I just finally got to see this over the holiday, while traveling. Ummmmm... how did they get the bits of Mjolnir from the field where Hela destroyed it to the little display case in New Asgard? "You can almost feel the power of these magnificent and immovable stones"... but, you guys moved them, right?
posted by hanov3r at 3:41 PM on January 4, 2023


"how did they get the bits of Mjolnir from the field...?" - hanov3r
Given that Mjolnir seems to have its own sentience, maybe they asked nicely.
Or Thor went back and picked up the pieces later, and put them on that pedestal.
Or a Beta Ray Bill did it while no one was looking.

" albeit I haaaaaaaate the cancer thing so much and killing her off so much" - jenfullmoon
I know we can't prove it, but I strongly believe that is the ONLY way they could get Ms. Portman on board.
"You get to have a real arc, and you get to be bad ass, and you get killed off so you don't have to do two more of these."
"And?"
"And we'll back a dumptruck of money up to your house."
"Well, some of my friends and I would like to own a football club...."
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 5:02 PM on January 4, 2023


Why is there no TV show about Natalie Portman and co.'s sports club?!?! I demand one this instant.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:12 PM on January 4, 2023 [2 favorites]


"Why is there no TV show about Natalie Portman and co.'s sports club?!?! I demand one this instant." - jenfullmoon

As of this week, apparently, you will get your wish. (I only just got this advertised to me now.)
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:46 PM on May 17, 2023


HAHAHAHAH I didn't even remember this!!!
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:59 PM on May 17, 2023


Where is New Asgard? I thought they put it where Odin was hanging out when he passed on. So I then assumed the bits of Mjolnir were exactly where they fell, and they just dug out around it to make a tourist attraction. It was on grass atop the pedestal after all.

And for me this was almost the inverse of a typical Marvel movie, where they have a lot of fun and character stuff that’s often quite good - but then they’re seemingly contractually obligated to cap it off with a big, dumb CGI slugfest at the end. (Cough. Black Panther. Cough.)

This time I was not digging the first two acts at all. It seemed like Watiti (sp?) had slipped over the line and gone too far with the goofiness. Thor was so dumb and useless and absorbed in his own bullshit he didn’t even seem heroic anymore. But then they pulled it out with a big slug fest at the end that was actually just what was needed. It had emotional weight and real stakes (beyond just the usual “end of the world, yawn”) and it felt earned. Even the army of kids, which could so easily have seemed cheap, felt right to me as the kids stood up to fight to shape the future that was going to be their future after all. Gorr was a great villain, and his final choice worked so well to tie off the movie’s theme. Just a great third act.

Goes to show, you can get away with a lot as long as you stick the ending.
posted by Naberius at 12:26 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]


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