<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Taika Waititi. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe

The MCU universe is getting bloated and boring now – even fans want a change. Thor: Love and Thunder stands out from the crowd with its cheesy, slapstick and irreverent attitude but that doesn’t mean it’s a good film.

Chris Pratt as Star Lord and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Ragnarok was a very fun film that was done to resemble an 80s movie so as to bring back the nostalgia of that time since fan boys used to love comics and action heroes a lot back then. Love and Thunder doesn’t really attempt a nostalgia trip, instead going for a more cheesy and slapstick tone of voice where nothing is really taken seriously and everything is a bit of joke. Thor has a new sidekick (no not Korg, voiced by director Taika Waititi), Storm Breaker, the axe that replaced his Mjolnir hammer after it was destroyed. He keeps reassuring it that he’s gotten over his ex-hammer sidekick but this becomes difficult when Mighty Thor – in the form of Jane Foster who has stage 4 cancer – wields it.

King Valkyrie and Thor share a moment in Thor: Love and Thunder

Have to mention the start of the film does feature the Guardians of the Galaxy battling random bad guys with Thor. But then they part ways and Thor and Mighty Thor and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) have to stop the evil Gorr (Christian Bale) from getting his revenge for his daughter’s death by killing all the gods. The two Thors even try to enlist the help of Zeus (Russell Crowe), god of all Gods, but this doesn’t end well, other than the scene where we get to see a naked Chris Hemsworth (well what Disney is okay to show us).  While Hemsworth certainly is the beef cake everyone would want, he is looking older now and I feel his days of playing Thor are pretty numbered. Even Tessa Thompson looks like she hasn’t been getting any sleep with her dreary, yawn-inducing performance.

Chris Hemsworth showing off in Thor: Love and Thunder

Natalie Portman looks lovely and she does try and bring some seriousness to the role. And so does Christian Bale, oh my god, he is so good! His scenes are riddled with pathos, darkness, pain and mystery. Finally, a good villain. Perhaps this was intentional to contrast with the frivolous and jocose nature of the film (Zeus telling Thor: “So chill baby cake.”)

Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder

The last part of Love and Thunder is certainly better than the middling and silly first half. It does pose questions about whether the people need Gods or if the Gods even care about their people.

Do we need any more Thor films? Do we need any more Avengers movies? Probably not.

Watch the trailer: