Thor: Love and Thunder (Mini-Review)

Thor: Love and Thunder tells the tale of how Thor finally found himself. Shortly after parting ways with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor finds himself thrust into war yet again. Gorr the God Butcher is slaughtering every deity he can reach as his own deity was revealed to be nothing more than a spoiled brat. Along the way Thor finds that Jane Foster, his true love that broke up with him, now wields Mjolnir and all that comes with it. So as Thor fights to stop Gorr, he must also deal with matters of the heart. Thor: Love and Thunder was released in 2022. It was directed by Taika Waititi. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, and Tessa Thompson.

Avengers: Endgame seemed to set up Thor's next film having a focus on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yet in his latest standalone venture, the Guardians barely appear. They seem to be in the movie merely because Thor was with them last. On one hand this bothers me but on the other hand I can understand this decision. The movie would have been much too bloated if the Guardians had a decent amount of screen time.

Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor caused a big uproar when it happened in the comics. To me, someone who doesn't read comics, it appeared like Marvel was trying a marketing stunt to sell more comics. And it did get people talking but I can't remember if that translated into more comic book sales. I was neutral on Jane becoming the new Thor in the comics. As for the movie...I like Natalie Portman and was just glad to see her returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

In this movie Jane Foster is suffering from cancer and is looking for a cure. It's her fear of dying that causes her to seek out the broken pieces of Mjolnir in New Asgard. This subplot helped create an emotional center to the movie. I think it's her battling cancer that explains something that happens near the end of the movie. Her battle with cancer also reminds me of the movie Annihilation (2018) that both starred Natalie Portman and dealt with cancer. Though the cancer was more metaphorical than anything else in that movie.

While not a major part of the movie, I loved the two goats. Near the beginning of the movie Thor is gifted two goats since he helped save the day. They start to play a bigger role as they're a system of travel for Thor and his friends. The reason I love the goats is because they make the most amusing sounds. Every time they yelled I was barely holding back my laughter.

Thor is given a good character arc in this film. When the movie starts he is searching for meaning in his life. So when he finally meets up with Jane again and she is wielding Mjolnir, he is thrown into more emotional turmoil. And, of course, he has to deal with a dire threat to the galaxy so his thoughts about Jane are a distraction at times. After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, I'm glad that Thor wasn't just a side character in his own film.

I would highly recommend Thor: Love and Thunder to fans of the MCU. I would also recommend Thor: Love and Thunder to those looking for a fun fantasy movie.