Reviewing - Thor: Love and Thunder (***)
Thor may be the only original Avenger to get a fourth solo film, but maybe that’s because he’s become the character with the least sense of purpose.
The first two Thor films kind of sucked. The moments where Thor has shined the most has been in the Avengers films, and the reason for that is because he’s the most out of his element in those films. When Thor spends time on Asgard, he’s stuck with people who behave and think the same way he does – and that gets boring fast. That’s what made Ragnarok such a breath of fresh air – all of a sudden, Thor spent pretty much the entire film out of his element. More than that, it literally destroyed Asgard. It meant that wherever Thor went from now on, he’d be a stranger from a distant land. That’s great. Infinity War and Endgame continued his development by leaning into the grief and despair that had built up within him over years of consistent loss. But when the credits for Endgame rolled, we ended up with a sort of aimless Thor. As big of a paradigm shift as Ragnarok was, Thor was still the protector of Asgard by the end of that film. Endgame showed us a Thor who walked away from whatever family he had left, in search of…himself? I’m not sure. There’s nothing wrong with the way they decided to leave Thor there, but it meant that whatever came next, we’d have to figure out Thor’s new purpose. He’s now a man without a family, without a kingdom, and without a home. So who is Thor now?
Love and Thunder gives us an answer by the end of the film, but it still doesn’t feel to me like Thor has finally found where he belongs. Thor’s fourth flick ends with him becoming the single adoptive parent of a young girl named Love, the daughter of the film’s now-deceased primary antagonist. While it’s cool to think of Thor being a parent, it doesn’t necessarily give us a clear picture of where Thor is headed next. Sure, he’s a father to this young girl now, but is he still a superhero? Who does he fight for? Why is he training her to be a superhero? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just feels like Thor hasn’t found that thing that really grounds him yet. Maybe I’m the only one. In any case, I hope that whenever Hemsworth finally hangs up the cape, he’ll have an ending to his character worthy of the years of service he’s put in.
Don’t let this make you think I didn’t enjoy the movie. Hemsworth is tons of fun to watch in his eighth outing as the titular character. Natalie Portman gives us a compelling performance as Jane Foster – and honestly, her character arc probably has more purpose to it in these two hours than Thor has ever had. There’s a lot of laughs, and the Guardians of the Galaxy get a few seconds of screentime. Christian Bale plays a phenomenal villain too. There’s very prominent LGBT representation in this film, which will delight some and trouble others. All in all, this was a fun popcorn flick, which is exactly the kind of film that the MCU knows best. I just hope that the next time we see Thor, we get a clearer understanding of how his story is going to end.