THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
(12A), 159mins
★★★☆☆
MARVEL could have called this blockbuster Thor Four – but that would almost be as difficult to say as Taika Waititi.
The New Zealand director/husband-to-be of pop star Rita Ora isn’t normally one to take the easy route.
Waititi’s movies up until this point have been jaw droppingly unconventional.
Hunt for The Wilderpeople, Thor Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit all confounded the cinematic rulebook.
And that’s why Love and Thunder feels like a step backwards.
It’s a sequel that sticks to Ragnarok’s successful formula.
Very little is taken seriously as our Norse God hero Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns once more to save the universe from a single-minded megalomaniac set on a course of revenge.
This time round Christian Bale is a baddie with a cause.
The former Batman star plays Gorr the God Butcher intent on slaying every last all-powerful being.
That includes the Asgardian God of Thunder, Thor.
The problem is that Bale’s humourless, Voldemort-like mass murderer is nowhere near as much fun as Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Love and Thunder’s predecessor.
The scariest thing about Gorr is his teeth, which Thor makes light of by telling him he needs a dentist.
A superhero movie is only as good as its super villain and on that front Thor Four is more drizzle than Thunder.
Fortunately, Bale isn’t centre stage in the movie – Hemsworth and the returning Natalie Portman are.
Their chemistry lends Thor an emotional edge to an otherwise jokey adventure as they fall in love again.
Portman’s scientist Dr Jane Foster also transforms into a version of Thor thanks to a connection with his shattered hammer, which leads to some playful jealousy from Hemsworth when the magical weapon prefers her.
Even funnier are two giant goats and our hero’s laidback sidekick Korg, voiced by Waititi.
The Kiwi uses his native accent for Korg, which Australian Russell Crowe would have been better advised to do.
For reasons only known to Crowe he chose to lend the Greek God Zeus what sounds like a West Indian twang, which will hit you like a lightning bolt and leave you permanently floored.
The splendour of the Golden Temple where Zeus resides is worth the ticket entrance alone, though.
As are the multi-coloured action sequences packed with neat little visual gags throughout the spectacular movie.
By putting comedy into the comic book, Waititi makes Love and Thunder a likeable rumble.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://thecelebreport.com/television/netflixs-girl-in-the-picture-who-was-sharon-marshall-and-where-is-franklin-floyd-now
