Of all the characters in the MCU, Thor is the very first superhero to benefit from 4 films. Whether it’s Iron Man, Captain America, or even Spider-Man, no one has had such special treatment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Probably because the leaders of the Avengers retired a few years ago and new leaders must now be found. Thor has therefore established himself as a strong character, he always has been because he is one of the most powerful in the entire MCU, even if his journey has not been easy. It must be said that the character and the license come back from afar, in particular because of the first two episodes moderately appreciated by the spectators (these are the two films with the lowest ratings in the entire MCU), even if they have some undeniable qualities that we will continue to defend. The first, which was a real gamble on adapting a tricky character with this Shakespearian approach by Kenneth Branagh, and the second, The Dark World, which offered a more warlike and darker approach, directed by Alan Taylor, a survivor of Game of Thrones. In fact, the problem with the first two Thors is that they had their ass screwed between two chairs, namely to make epic fantasy tinged with Asgardian mythology coexist with its clownish side (and I’m talking about the guy with the nose red and not from George) with jokes sometimes out of step with the seriousness of the character. A problem that was brushed aside in 2017 with the third episode, Thor Ragnarok, which finally assumed its true status as a burlesque comedy, thanks to the talent of Taika Waititi. By becoming a kind of space buddy-movie against a background of pop-tangy atmosphere, Thor Ragnarok also had the intelligence to offer epic action scenes which also had the advantage of bringing forward a totally under-exploited Hulk.
TOO MUCH LOVE, TOO MUCH THUNDER
Since Thor Ragnarok is often rightly considered one of the best MCU films, Marvel Studios and Taika Waititi decided to repeat the feat with Love & Thunder, which is none other than the 6th MCU Phase 4 movie. A Phase 4 that is still looking for itself and that has not yet established the real threat that will allow the new Avengers to come together. Kevin Feige mentioned it a few weeks ago, we will know more soon, probably for Phase 5 which will be revealed at Comic-Con in San Diego. In the meantime, we must find new villains and that of Thor Love & Thunder had everything to raise the hypometer to its maximum. Gorr the God Butcher, or literally one of the most charismatic super villains in the Marvel Universe, whom Thor has faced many times and whose alien face puts 10 tons of pressure on him just by looking at him. So inevitably, when the first stolen photos of filming began to emerge on the Internet, we were rather worried, Christian Bale resembling more the white lady or the human statues of the street than the slaughterer of gods from the comics. We all thought that Marvel had decided to modify its design so that we could recognize Christian Bale, but above all that we could enjoy his acting and his facial expressions. Finally, we learned during an interview with IGN.com that if his design isn’t comic accurate, it’s simply because he looks too much like Voldemort, you know the Harry Potter villain who didn’t have no nose. Yeah…
GORR, AT THE SPIGER
Still, Taika Waititi reminded us that it’s the character’s story that counts before the design. We don’t agree 200%, but I can understand the idea. On the story side, it is true that the Gorr of Thor Love & Thunder takes up a lot of elements from the comic. There have been some script readjustments, but overall it’s pretty comic accurate. If Christian Bale is doing quite well, he who was inspired by Aphex Twin for the laughter of Gorr, the character is unfortunately under-exploited. Likewise, disappointed with the use of the Necroblade which only appears in one form in the film, whereas it changes according to Gorr’s battles and moods to sometimes become one with him in the comics, he who had his arm severed by Thor in one of his battles against the God of Thunder. If Gorr manages to be visually disturbing in certain passages, his actions are sorely lacking in cruelty, especially for a guy who has been slaughtering the god for millennia. It’s all the more infuriating that you have to wait until the end of the film to have a real confrontation that holds water, most of the time, Gorr calling on his shadow berserkers to do the dirty work, and disappear in darkness every time.
Thor Love & Thunder has far too many new characters to develop. It is indeed necessary to manage the introduction of Gorr, to explain the return of Jane Foster in Mighty Thor, to present the gods of Olympus with a clearly disappointing Zeus and with the comic treatment which is likely to disappoint.
This much too simplistic and classic construction of the story never manages to do justice to the character of Gorr for several reasons. The first is that Thor Love & Thunder has far too many new characters to develop. It is indeed necessary to manage the introduction of Gorr, to explain the return of Jane Foster in Mighty Thor, to present the gods of Olympus with a clearly disappointing Zeus and with the comic treatment which is likely to disappoint. And above all, the film is much too short to develop all these subjects and characters. 1:59 is one of the shortest MCU films, knowing that we recently learned that significant cuts were made in the film. Peter Dinklage as Eitir, the giant dwarf, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, who was fantastic in Ragnarok and finally Lena Headey, who is none other than Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones does not appear in the film either and who is also being sued by her agency for unpaid commission. Great actors, strong characters but removed from the film at the last minute. There is reason to be frustrated.
But let’s go back a bit to the case of Gorr. If the film starts strong with its introduction, which is faithful to the comic-book and allows to place the stakes and especially the threat that it will represent, quickly, we realize that the dark side of the character has trouble sticking to the very family friendly spirit developed by Taika Waititi. It is therefore difficult to impose a certain stature on this Gorr who kills shamelessly and without pity in comic books, when he finds it difficult to be threatening in the face of Asgardian children. And the moment when this dramaturgy collapses is during the final scene where simple children boosted with Thor’s lightning are able to stand up to Gorr and his army of berserkers, there we understood that Thor Love & Thunder is primarily a family show.
BIS REPEAT
Since we are dealing with grievances, we can also mention the fact that Taika Waititi never manages to go beyond what he did with Ragnarok, as if he constantly needed to tread on his own toes. , or to tick the boxes of a market book meticulously taken from his previous film. Everything looks like Ragnarok, everything is calibrated as such, from the narration to the structure, including the gags which are downright reused. I am thinking in particular of this theater scene where Matt Damon plays Fake Loki, Sam Neil Fake Odin and Luke Hemsworth, Chris’ big brother, the role of Fake Thor. Melissa McCarthy also takes on the role of Fake Hela in a sequence that will make you smile for sure, but which proves once again that Taika Waititi is only aping the Ragnarok recipe, without ever transcending it. So be careful, as I said at the beginning of the video, I love Thor Ragnarok, I even place it in my Top 5 MCU films, but imitating a film is never a good idea, especially since the effect surprise is gone, especially 5 years later.
This is all the more true since Thor Love & Thunder also fails in its action scenes, which are far too shy, far too rare and above all lacking in scope. It is felt visually with a staging no longer has the amplitude of the first Marvel, with tighter frames and a depth of field often absent, a bit like in the latest Star Wars productions. And this feeling is normal, since Thor Love & Thunder is the first MCU film to use Volume technology, which consists of recreating digital sets using giant screens that surround the actors. It is a system that makes it possible to do without green or blue backgrounds, so that the actors can be more immersed in places that they no longer have to imagine. For them, it’s certainly more immersive, but for the viewer, we feel this somewhat synthetic side to the image, and above all the lack of visual scope. I think the technology is not yet mature and it will take a few more years to master it better.
JANE FOSTER, THE GOOD SURPRISE
Not everything is disappointing in Thor Love & Thunder, we even have a pretty good time, but the film never manages to really take off. Already because of non-existent stakes, but also because Gorr would have benefited from being darker and more cruel. Where the film surprises, however, is in the character of Jane Foster, who allows Nathalie Portman to return almost 10 years after her last stint in the MCU. 2013, yeah, time flies. The actress returns in Mighty Thor, which was not won. We all thought that would be the disturbing element of the film, but in the end, we realize that it is she who is doing the best. Nathalie Portman clearly manages to convince us in her role as Mighty Thor, her fight scenes are rather well done and above all, the fact that she wields this new Mjolnir capable of decomposing to hit several enemies at the same time allows her to ensure a certain screen presence. On top of that, the character is totally comic-accurate, and I’ve known about that for at least 4 months since toys had spoiled what happens to him in the movie. But I refrained from making a leak spoiler video for you last March… Another appreciable element: it’s the customization of Thor’s weapons. Whether it’s Stormbreaker or Mjolnir, there’s an incarnation of these instruments of war that are now considered characters in their own right. And it’s true, they are characters in their own right, with this almost triangular love relationship between Thor, Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. It is rather well found and quite well brought.
We could continue to procrastinate for a long time yet, but we will rather conclude and let you form your own opinion from July 13 in France, the 7th in the town of Tonnerre and the 8th in certain Pathé cinemas which make previews, since the film is released on the 8th in the United States. Basically, if you liked Ragnarok, you’re going to have a very nice time watching Love & Thunder, which is a nice tribute to the 90s, both visually and sonically, with references in all directions. Unfortunately, the movie fails to transcend the Ragnarok recipe, no doubt because the stakes aren’t high enough and mostly because the MCU has yet to define the next big threat that will bring the Avengers back together. Basically, Love & Thunder is a kind of episode filler, but a good episode filler, which we consume without taking the lead.
OUR RATING: 6/10