I saw Thor in theatre a few weeks ago, the movie not the god, the god is still refusing to do a stadium tour and wishes to remain fictional. Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installation in the Thor franchise, the fourth attempt at sucking the teat of this bovine beast. Not that I have an issue with it since I obviously bought the ticket and sat in my seat like the lemming I am. That’s the problem with growing up in a household with shitty movies on television, you will never shy away from gawping at CGI that you couldn’t tell is just animation.
Thor 4 had all the honesty of the Nazis telling the allies that Hitler killed himself. Yeah, no need to keep looking for him, especially not on other continents, the Fuhrer was clearly racked with guilt. If you saw Thor 4’s trailer like I did, multiple times, including at work, you must’ve had the impression, and a divine joy, that this movie is going to be about Thor Odinson post-grief. Post-losing-my-mom-and-brother-and-father-and-home and a journey where he refuses to fight back till he figures out who he is. But Mr. Odinson has resolved all of that, conveniently, in the first five minutes of the movie and has already had adventures off screen. Which is upsetting and annoying, not unlike this review you’re reading.
But in all honesty, I wanted Thor’s meditation scene to last 5 minutes with an internal battle ravaging him, voiced over by the actors who played his mum, Loki, Hella, and his father. I wanted it to be a masterclass in grief direction with mainly auditory narrative tools and Chris’ best attempt at representing irresolution and uncertainty with his eyes closed.
He proclaims in the trailer,” my fighting days are over.” And I believed they were. Till like the end of the movie. And then he’s forced to save innocent children like he’s supposed to. I wanted it to be the darkest Thor movie because it is the darkest time of his life; he has lost everyone he held dear and wanders around aimlessly like a galactic hobo.
I sincerely wanted Waititi’s and the writers’ attempt at showing turmoil and tenacity. The Movie definitely did not need to end on a confirmation that afterlife exists and death has less significance than Hawkeye does to the Avengers.
But alright, in their defense I was looking for Thor on a shamanic journey, consuming psilocybin and talking about how he can never be the same again. I wanted a reinvented Thor instead of the 2 dimensional strong-man silly god we get every movie. Not that this 2 dimensional strong-man silly god isn’t absolutely lovable. He is. On that note, why is heterosexuality a lot more fragile around Chris Hemsworth? I’m kidding I actually don’t get women see in him. What is it about his flawless muscular body and stunningly attractive face that ladies find irresistible?
Conclusion
Even with all that said, or typed, and the heartbreaking deception that is the movie’s clear and intentional deviation from the trailer’s promise, the movie had me giggling like a little girl with her dad in the park for the whole first act. Whatever direction Taika decided for the movie shouldn’t be downplayed because of the overpromising teaser, especially since it was executed so skillfully.
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