From Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When Thor: Love and Thunder came out, I was just as disappointed as most Marvel fans who wanted more of the flawlessly strange, flawlessly cozy atmosphere of Marvel Thor: Ragnarok. Certainly director Taika Waititi’s second superhero film isn’t quite as good as Ragnarokbut it’s not nearly as bad as the haters make it out to be. And as I was re-reading old Thor comics, it occurred to me that this film is much better than its reputation, and far better than other MCU films that haven’t generated nearly as much excitement among fans.
After Ragnarok
Let’s start with the hard truth: critics almost agree on this Thor: Love and Thunder was a disappointing follow-up film. To Rotten tomatoes, Love and thunder has a rating of 63 percent, meaning it’s dangerously close to being… well, rotten. In the meantime, Ragnarok sits at the top of the Asgardian throne with a critical score of 93 percent. If these two films were precocious young gods going to school in Asgard, Ragnarok would be the price student during Love and thunder would be the class clown who barely passes the class, let alone the assignment.
I’m ripping the band-aid off now because I don’t want any of you to think I’m saying it Love and thunder is better than Ragnarokwhich effortlessly combined humor and action, relying heavily on the comedic aspects of Chris Hemsworth (It turns out they’re just as developed as the rest of his muscles). However, this fourth Thor film is infinitely better than Thor 2a film that simultaneously managed to waste the talents of Chris Eccleston and Chris Eccleston Natalie Portman. By the way, Taika Waititi deserves full credit for bringing Portman back into the game MCU to a considerable extent Love and thunder.
Compared to Iron Man 3
Plus, I personally love the movie (Shane Black can do no wrong in my book), Iron Man 3 is considered an early MCU douchebag who many fans lambast for wasting the reveal of the Mandarin (among other things). Common points of criticism Thor: Love and Thunder Add that it’s a little too silly, but ask yourself: are a few too many jokes in this movie really more vile than Ben Kingsley’s terrorist mastermind being exposed as a junkie actor? Besides, even I have to admit that Love and thunder has a straightforward plot (albeit an uneven tone). Iron Man 3The plot is a convoluted mess.
And while this is of course entirely subjective, I can’t help but feel like Waititi’s big, creative drive comes into play Thor: Love and Thunder resulted in more memorable moments than most modern ones Wonder Movies. The screaming goats are annoying and the whole “Jane has cancer” plot was exciting, but almost every frame of this Asgardian adventure is more memorable than anything I’ve seen Black widow or Shang Chi. And this Thor movie will probably leave you smiling and cheering… Just compare that to movies like Quantum that confuse you or Eternal That just put you to sleep.
Not perfect, but not bad
The same applies here: none of this needs to be said Thor: Love and Thunder is a flawless film… it really is a tonal mess, and things like Jane dying and Gorr’s tragic backstory seem crazy next to scenes of Chris Hemsworth having his clothes ripped off. But I can’t help but evaluate films based on their entirety (that’s literally my job!), and it turns out that a collection of tonally mixed but forgettable scenes makes for a memorable and (most importantly) entertaining film. The fact that I didn’t have to look at anything on Disney+ as “homework” before tuning in is just icing on the cake for Frost Giant.
If you decide to visit again Thor: Love and Thunderyou may find it a refreshing change from the endless amount of holiday programming. And if you’re disillusioned with the modern Marvel world Dead Pool & wolverineit’s great to return to a classic comic that’s better than you remember. If we can accept that Tony Stark is flawed but brilliant, then it’s certainly time to accept that in regards to Thor’s most maligned film appearance.
Thor: Love and Thunder is available to stream Disney+.