THOR : LOVE AND THUNDER : Wednesday 6th July 2022.

I saw the M Rated 'THOR : LOVE AND THUNDER' at an early screening this week, and this American Superhero offering is Written and Directed by Taiki Waititi who returns to the Director's chair following his success with helming 2017's 'Thor : Ragnarok' (which grossed US$854M off the back of a US$180M production budget) to which this is a direct sequel. This is the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fourth instalment in the 'Thor' series, and is part of the MCU Phase Four. Filming took place in Sydney, Australia at a production cost of in the region of US$250M and was originally set for release an early November 2021, but was delayed to mid-February this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then delayed once again to early May before shifting for the final time to the July 2022 date. The film has generated largely favourable Reviews. The film has so far taken US$16M.

The film opens up with a man carrying a young child through a dry, barren desert landscape with the sun beating down. He cradles the young girl in his arms as they take shelter from the sun and a sand storm behind a rock. He calls out to his gods to protect his daughter and save her. Later, the young girl dies, leaving the man distraught. He falls asleep from exhaustion and wakes to the sound of a faint whisper in the distance. He follows the whispering to an oasis in the desert where he meets his god who taunts and derides him which quickly turns him into a non-believer. Ultimately, he is chosen by a long sword, called the Necrosword, which enables him to create an army of shapeshifting shadow creatures and to use the sword to kill all gods, starting with the one who has just turned his back on him and disregarded his cries for help. 

After the opening credits have rolled we turn to Korg (Taika Waititi) telling a story to a group of gathered children giving the back story of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and how he turned from being a Dad Bod into a God Bod, how he once loved a Jane Fonda (corrected to a Jane Foster) and how he teamed up with The Guardians of the Galaxy. After this brief recap to bring us up to date, Thor receives a distress signal from his childhood friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander) that The Guardians (Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel and Bradley Copper) need his help on some distant planet to thwart an attack, after which the Guardians depart to fight some battle in another part of the galaxy, leaving Thor and Korg looking on as their ship leaves. Sif warns Thor of Gorr, the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a being possessing the god-killing weapon the Necrosword seeking the extinction of all gods as revenge for ignoring the death of his family, and that his next target is New Asgard. 

Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is first seen in a hospital receiving chemo therapy treatment for her Stage Four cancer. She returns to her lab to run further tests of her own in trying to find a cure, when she turns to a book of Viking myths. In it she reads of the healing powers of Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Jane takes a trip to New Asgard to see the old fragmented hammer encased under a glass dome as a tourist attraction. As she stands besides the glass dome the broken pieces of Mjolnir begin to vibrate, shake and reform as it bonds itself to Jane after sensing her worthiness and so giving her the power of Thor. Gorr attacks New Asgard at night just as Thor arrives to begin battle with his shadow creatures, and is surprised to find Jane wielding Mjolnir like there's no tomorrow as Mighty Thor. Thor, Jane, Korg and Valkyrie, the King of New Asgard (Tessa Thompson) do battle with Gorr and the shadow creatures, ultimately overcoming them, but Gorr is able to escape, but not before he kidnaps all the children of New Asgard. 

The group travels to Omnipotent City to warn the other gods and ask for their help in destroying Gorr, The God Butcher. The god Zeus (Russell Crowe) is not prepared to help and has Thor captured, forcing the group to fight off Zeus's men. Zeus reduces Korg to nothing more than a pile of volcanic rubble and so in retaliation Thor appears to kill Zeus using his own thunderbolt, which Valkyrie then steals during their get away. 

They then travel to the Shadow Realm to save the children. However, this turned out to be a diversion for Gorr to take Stormbreaker (Thor's mighty and powerful axe), which he intends to use on the Bifrost to enter Eternity and seek the destruction of all gods. Gorr manages to overpower Thor's group and successfully steal Stormbreaker. Gorr uses Stormbreaker to open the portal to Eternity. With Valkyrie injured from being stabbed by the thunderbolt, and Jane suffering from the effects of her progressive cancer, Thor is left no option but to go it alone to confront Gorr once and for all. Once he has found the kidnapped Asgardian children, he temporarily imbues them and their weapons with the power of Thor to fight alongside him. Jane joins Thor in fighting Gorr and destroys the Necrosword, so diminishing the power of Gorr which ultimately will lead to his own death. However, Gorr stumbles through the portal and enters Eternity. 

Admitting defeat, Thor manages to convince Gorr that all he wanted from Eternity was not to destroy the gods but to get his daughter, Love, back. Jane dies in Thor's arms after succumbing to her Stage Four cancer which was only sped up by taking on the mantle of Mighty Thor. Eternity grants Gorr's request to revive Love (India Hemsworth), whom he asks Thor to take care of before he dies from the effects of the destroyed Necrosword. The children all return safe to New Asgard where they are greeted by the welcoming and relieved parents. Sometime after Valkyrie and Sif begin training them combat skills. Meanwhile, Thor, now in possession of Mjolnir again, continues to go on adventures to help people in their time of need, with Love, now wielding Stormbreaker, by his side, as the pairing of Love and Thunder. 

The film also stars cameo appearances from Matt Damon, Sam Neill, Luke Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone and Idris Elba. Remain in your seat for the mid-credits and end-credits sequences, although if the truth be told, you won't be missing much if you choose not to!

'Thor : Love and Thunder' for me is the most disappointing film out of four in this franchise so far as it trades in a lot of substance for style, wisecracks and quips that often fail to land, and a whole dollop of cheese and corn that is enough to make even Thor's Dad Bod former self belch. That said, this has all of the Waititi touchstones over it that made 'Thor : Ragnarok' so welcoming and refreshing, including the thumping soundtrack, the colourful visuals, his irreverent sense of humour, the action set pieces, and he has proven here too that he can get serious and emotional when it is called for. And whilst Chris Hemsworth glides through his role as Thor, Christian Bale as Gorr shines through in his role as a mash up of Voldemort, Pennywise and Gollum, and Natalie Portman provides a welcome distraction as Jane Foster that brings the story full circle. It's not a great film, but it's also not that bad either and at just on two hours in length it's long enough to keep you engaged and doesn't outstay its welcome.

'Thor : Love and Thunder' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-