How many screaming goats are too many?

So, I’m going to try something a little different here this week. With the newest Marvel movie, Thor: Love and Thunder to hit Disney+ this week, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the film (which I saw in theaters earlier this summer) and write a review. And who knows? If it goes well, I may do something similar in the future. If it goes horribly, well, at least newspapers make good fire starters, right?

Thor: Love and Thunder is the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, arguably the biggest pop culture franchise of the last decade. It is the fourth Thor- centric film in the series and the second headed by director Taika Waititi. Anyone familiar with the director/writer’s previous work can expect more of the same from the man who has helmed What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Thor: Ragnarok.

Waititi’s filmography has always teetered on the edge of outright ridiculousness, and Love and Thunder might just venture too far over the edge, especially if the onslaught of quips and jokes don’t land.

I was one who had fully embraced the turn the Thor series had taken in its third installment, Ragnarok, where it went from a serious melodrama about space vikings to a bombastic, hilarious adventure film about space vikings, and Love and Thunder doubles down on the vision presented in its immediate predecessor. Eighty-percent of the film plays itself as a comedy, perhaps more-so than any other prior Marvel film, and if you look at it solely through that lens, then I believe that the movie works fairly well. Your mileage will vary, as humor is highly subjective, but I found myself laughing at many of the antics that Thor and his crew get into.

That being said, even as someone who enjoyed much of the humor, there were times even I cringed slightly (one character testing out their catchphrases is one such sequence), so depending on your sensibilities, Love and Thunder may turn into an uncomfortable ride. Many jokes, some revolving around screaming goats and jealous magical weapons, are reoccurring, and if one does not find them funny the first time, they certainly won’t the fourth.

If the humor lands, viewers will find that the film does a pretty good job building the relationship of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster. This movie has to do a lot of the heavy lifting here, as the pairing didn’t offer much in the first two Thor films and Portman’s character has been absent since then. By the end of the film, I do think most audience members will at the very least be fond of what has been developed and the ending should weigh appropriately.

That being said, this is where the film runs its biggest risk of overstaying its welcome. The jokes come so fast and furious that they at times undercut the drama that is trying to be built. Most Marvel films suffer from this, but Love and Thunder certainly tiptoes the line much more closely than even its predecessor. While I felt it didn’t quite cross that line, there is a good chance that other viewers will not feel the same.

Christian Bale does an excellent job as Gorr, the film’s antagonist, whose plight is certainly more understandable than your standard Marvel villain. Unfortunately, he is underutilized, and I would have liked to see some of the screen time that is dedicated to a scene of attempted dark humor instead used to build him as an even more credible threat to the heroes and their world. Most of Gorr’s horrible deeds are done off screen and the audience is merely told of them, which isn’t ideal.

As with any Marvel film, the special effects and fight scenes are competently done (if perhaps a bit standard at this point), with a black-and-white sequence towards the end of the film being a standout for myself.

For those eager to see where the over-arching Marvel Cinematic Universe story is going, this movie will unfortunately disappoint just as much as the other Phase Four films, if not more. The franchise in general seems a bit listless in that regard and Thor will do nothing to sate your curiosity as to what the next big story arc might be.

Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder is a mixture of humor, action and drama that more or less coalesces into a middle of the road film. I think some credit should be given to Waititi for trying to break free from the standard Marvel movie formula, but the tonal shifts are not as deftly navigated as his first Thor film, leaving viewers with an enjoyable, if not overly memorable, experience.

Score: 6.5/10

A C ERTAIN POINT OF V IEW

NATHANIEL U NDERWOOD R EPORTER