Thor: Love & Thunder?
Nah, Love & Blunder…
Thor: Love & Thunder has been in theatres now for several weeks, and the box office numbers are diminishing faster than expected. It’s Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t terrible, BUT it certainly ranks amongst the lowest rated MCU films thus far. If you read through any comments section related to the film, there is far more disdain for the film than love or thunder. So what’s the problem? Why are fans and general audiences not digging this installment nearly as much as the previous one? Here’s some of the Thor 4’s glaring issues:
Gorr's Look
Gorr's Look
One major gripe fans of the source material weren’t happy with is Gorr the God Butcher’s look. It was way off. The design team decided to remove the Bib Fortuna-like tentacles from his head for reasons unknown. Why? They don’t look nearly as silly as most of the other things in this film, and are a pretty distinguishing trait of this villain. Removing them is like removing webbed ears from Abomination‘s head, which also received backlash, so they fixed it when he reappeared years later.
Some commenters were teasing and calling him Voldemort. To be honest, if he looked more like Voldy, it’d be a step in the right direction. I’m talking about his serpent-like nose and how they decided to nix that look as well. The symbiote-like body markings were replaced with what looks more like scars, and his black cape and hood with a white Jesus-like robe. I’m not usually one to nitpick, but it seems that the folks behind this production were being purposefully divergent.
On top of all this, the character was serious and solemn at times, while coming off like the Joker in other scenes. It felt like the writers didn’t know what type of villain they wanted Bale to portray. Yes, Christian Bale is a phenomenal actor and I believe he did his best with what he was given. But with better writing, he could have really given a performance that would rival Josh Brolin’s Thanos.
Jane Foster Thor
Jane Foster Thor
Let me start off by saying that I actually don’t mind the character of Jane Foster. However, they completely botched her in this movie, on several levels. Where to start… Okay, they insert a flashback of Thor telling his hammer Mjolnir to always protect Jane – got it. In the comics it does just that. It’s revealed in the movie though that it’s actually killing her faster every time she wields it. Her stage four cancer moves faster each time she transforms into…Thor. When Captain America wielded the hammer previously, he didn’t turn into a Thor, so why does Jane? Also, the name Thor is his birthname. I know this happens in the comics, but for general audiences, why not call her something else? Having two people named Thor just seems weird. Even the Mighty Jane would be better.
Jane felt shoehorned in, and because there was jokes being hurdled at the audience every few seconds, her cancer and eventual death from it did not have the gravity it deserved. Should I mention how bad the one-liners she was given were? I love Natalie Portman, and I know she can act, and I also feel like Jane had more to offer the MCU going forward. This felt like an attempt at female power, while writing her character off for good – and both things fell flat.
THICK-headed Thor
THICK-headed Thor
Remember Party Thor from the What If… television series? Previous to this film there was a clear distinction between that Thor and the Thor of our universe. Sure, he started to be a little more silly with Ragnorak, but in Thor: Love & Thunder, he comes off as a total dunce. First he very clumsily destroys this sacred temple during a battle and laughs it off, and shortly after see him riding Stormbreaker like a witch on a broom stick. He comes off more Zoolander meets Michael Scott than God of Thunder throughout the rest of the film. He certainly didn’t grow wiser with age.
Thor does not feel like the same character we were introduced to in his first solo film. He also doesn’t feel like the dad bod version we last saw him as in Endgame. From smashing through ceilings carelessly to pouring beer on Stormbreaker, believing the axe will drink up. This Thor is a caricature of his former self. Lastly, after 1,500 years of being a superhero god around the cosmos, he’s outshined in battle by his girlfriend, who has been “the Mighty Thor” for a day. Add that to the list of problems with Jane Foster in this film as well.
NUMEROUS NITPICKS
NUMEROUS NITPICKS
There are too many gripes to be covered, so let’s just do a speed run through some of them. I can’t possibly cover all of them…
Axl, Heimdall’s son, gets a part in this film. When he’s not really bad CGI, he’s an actual boy. This boy’s real name is Astrid. Because Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” is heard throughout the film, he wants to be called Axl instead. So that’s what they call him. It doesn’t sit quite right, but I guess Korg can mistakenly call him Asshole now, so there is that…
The screaming goats are a gag that repeat throughout the film. Some people found it funny the first time these two appeared on screen, and others did not find them funny at all. Many commenters seem to find them to be distracting and annoying. I lean toward those opinions.
The news was exciting when it was first announced that Russell Crowe was cast as the God of gods, Zeus. I pictured him playing it in a way that was reminiscent of his portrayal of Maximus in Gladiator. What we got was an out-of-shape and inept clown who was referred to as Zeus. Zeus isn’t supposed to be a loving god, but this guy was unabashedly repugnant.
Plenty of WTF
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