Thor: Love and Thunder

Scott Hardie: “It was ok.”

This movie suffers from a few big problems. One is a tonal mismatch, where the humorous vibe left over from Ragnarok clashes with an otherwise elegiac tone. Sometimes Thor himself varies from moment to moment whether he's behaving like a clueless sitcom dudebro or a serious and intelligent adult. Another is the pacing, as the first act rushes to set up a ton of characters and backstory while the rest of the film hurries from one action scene to another with barely any time to develop the relationships in between. The original cut was twice as long, which explains a lot, but also there's just more happening than is needed; I'd have cut the Guardians of the Galaxy who contribute almost nothing. Another problem is the unbelievable love story between Jane and Thor. Just like in their previous appearances, I find it very hard to believe that two people would fall so deeply in love after maybe five minutes of screen time together. I've had longer relationships with checkout clerks at grocery stores.

This is still a very entertaining film, with plenty of jokes and action and deep references for the fans, just like nearly every other MCU title. It's certainly not bad, and if you're a fan of the rest, you'll definitely enjoy this too. Its transcendent accomplishments are Gorr, a frightening and creepy villain brought to life by a committed Christian Bale and the makeup team, and a mid-film sequence set on a tiny moon that is as visually stunning as anything in the MCU's 29 films to date. The price of admission is worth it just for that sequence alone; it's a jaw-dropper.

− July 14, 2022 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply

Scott Hardie: This reply contains spoilers. Reveal it. − July 14, 2022 • more by Scott

Scott Hardie: This reply contains spoilers. Reveal it. − July 26, 2022 • more by Scott

Scott Hardie: Spoilers are beyond these links...

In my review last year, I mentioned "a mid-film sequence set on a tiny moon that is as visually stunning as anything in the MCU's 29 films to date." I was referring to the battle on the moon in the Shadow Realm, which loses some of its impact on a small screen but remains technologically impressive.

How technologically impressive? Here's a look at how the dynamic lighting was achieved. It's clear to me that for movies with the money to shoot this way, the ability to change the lighting on the fly in the editing room, without having to do re-shoots or even multiple takes, will revolutionize that aspect of production. This can be of benefit to nearly any kind of movie, not just giant science-fantasy epics with spinning moons. Neat stuff. − June 6, 2023 • more by Scott

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