By Carolina Alphonso, Staff Writer
Thor: Love and Thunder, came out on July 8th this year and is now on Disney+, ready for all the Marvel fans who had been waiting for the second to last installment of Phase 4.
The Thor movies had an extraordinary comeback in 2017 with the release of the movie Thor: Ragnarok. It was a complete twist from its other movies, adding more humor while still keeping its action and adventure genre, something that wasn’t really seen in the first two Thor movies; Thor and Thor: The Dark World.
Love and Thunder takes place after Endgame, where the Avengers go back in time and collect the infinity stones to restore the people they lost. Once the universe is saved, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) teams up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He seems to be on a quest for inner peace and a greater purpose, putting down the ax and retiring from the battlefield. But when a man named Gorr (Christian Bale) starts to slaughter many of the gods he must return back into the field. To fight the God Butcher, Thor asks for help from King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now (somehow) wields Thor’s old Hammer, Mjölnir, to fight this God Butcher.
When asked about the plot and how it compared to other movies. Some had similar opinions. Bennet Ababio, a sophomore, said “The plot was decent and had an interesting climax. But there were definitely better plots in other marvel movies.” and Ariella Schulterbrant, another sophomore, talked about how, “The plot was good, but unlike the other Marvel movies, it was more humorous instead of it being so serious like others.” While others like Bennet and Ariella thought the plot was fine, others had different opinions. Junior Anthony Meoni commented, “There was no real plot to it at all.” and sophomore Fernando Barker had said that “The movie was an interesting way to get to know more about the character. But in the end, it was kinda dumb story and how it connected to the rest of the films. It was as if Hallmark and Marvel had a baby. It wasn’t horrible, it just wasn’t great.”
Many of the actors are reprising their roles with a few new but very familiar faces. Christian Bale joins the Marvel villains in this installment in the franchise, being best known for his role as Bruce Wayne from the Batman trilogy. Russell Crowe, best known for Gladiator, even plays a part of the film as well and might be seen in other films. There were even some small roles played by Matt Damon and Megan Mcarthy. Although their roles were very short and small, it was still a treat to see them in a marvel film.
This film was directed by the academy award winning director Taika Waititi, best known for Jojo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows, and of course, Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi started off as a small actor, voicing characters in short animated films and movies when he decided to pick up the writing and directing hat for himself. He kept doing small films but later on created bigger productions. Thor: Ragnork became a hit across the world, earning 854 million dollars at the box office. With such big success with his first Thor film, it was only natural for him to come back and do his second.
Regarding the sound track, Love and Thunder consists of numerous classic rock songs from the 80’s like songs from the band Guns N’ Roses. This was similar to the soundtrack in Thor: Ragnarok, giving us similar style music from the same era. The music is certainly recognizable by most viewers which is a great way to get their attention.
After watching the film myself all the way through, I can attest that the movie would be on the mediocre scale. It wasn’t mind blowing like some other Marvel films, but I wasn’t completely upset with it either. The music will always be the best thing about these new Thor films. I love the classics that I hear when Thor goes into battle with his friends, giving it a more fun atmosphere than a serious tone one. But as much as I want to defend the plot, I can’t. The plot was messy and hard to follow. It is supposed to be straightforward, but as you watch, you start to lose track of what’s happening. Like always, though, the actors do a great job with the acting and really give us the best they got. Overall, I would give this film a 6 out of 10. Not terrible but could definitely be improved on. The MCU’s Phase Four will end with the movie Wakanda Forever. Let’s see if Marvel studios can give what many of us fans want, the goosebumps, the shivers down our spines, the tense and ecstatic energy following through our veins. We want the thrill of a lifetime.