Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) Dir: Taika Waititi
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Way back when this project was announced, I was incredibly excited. But, as the last couple of years have progressed, my apathy to the MCU, as well as to this project, has grown exponentially - particularly after reading the vast majority of reviews on this 2022 sequel.
It is once again directed by Taika Waititi, who has made some of my all-time favourite films, but ultimately, his involvement would, ironically, mark this film's biggest weakness, as it had done the prior film's biggest strength. Waititi's quirky comedy actually hinders this film far more than it helps, which is a great shame.
It's main problem being that it makes the story's antagonist look like a joke half the time, which is all well and good until you actually look at the villain and see the potential they had as a character.
Unfortunately, Waititi's antagonist; 'Gorr' turns out to be utterly wasted. Furthermore, the story is quickly exposed as being devoid of any true depth, with it being painfully tedious and empty, for the most part.
Chris Hemsworth is at least more likeable than he has been in other Marvel performances, save the previous Waititi directed Thor. I prefer him being goofy than serious, but his performance, like the film, lacks any tangible depth.
Natalie Portman, meanwhile, has her best Marvel showing to date, although that is not saying much, considering her dire role in the first Thor film. Regardless, I thought she was second only to the next actor I'll mention.
That actor being the incredibly versatile and famed Christian Bale. His character, and performance for that matter, belonged in a far better film. He was excellent at making his character feel as threatening as possible, despite the film's best efforts to thwart him. I truly wish he had a better story to work with, how popular his villain could have been.
Tessa Thompson returns to the MCU with a more diverse and interesting performance than her previous appearances. I must say, one think Waititi did genuinely well here is explore her character a little more, allowing her to very nearly steal the movie.
Director and writer Taika Waititi has a gives himself a far more substantial role in his second Marvel outing, with a mixed result. His natural charisma and quick wit allows him to produce laughs at will, but his character feels almost needless for the most part, beyond those comedic moments.
There was also a raft of cameos and minor appearances, featuring a litany of big names, whom I felt were worth mentioning - however, if you'd rather not know who these are, skip to the 'overall' section of the review.
The aforementioned superstar names included Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill, Melissa McCarthy, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn and Pom Klementieff, many of whom are familiar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Overall, after the success and popularity of 'Thor: Ragnarok', Waititi's Marvel acclaim comes crashing to the ground in humbling fashion. Many expected this to be similarly funny and well told as its predecessor, but ultimately it fails, instead mirroring the lacklustre quality of the first two films. Desperately disappointing.
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