Following on from the incredibly well received Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel has once again to allowed Taika Waititi to helm the Marvel cinematic universe in the latest instalment titled Thor: Love and Thunder. Unsurprisingly, the film follows Thor, played once again by Chris Hemsworth, picking up where we left him after the events of Avengers Endgame. However, do not fear that you cannot remember what the last thing was to happen to Thor: the film comes packed with a useful, albeit heavy handed, recap of what actually happened. The film also rejuvenates older characters, such as Natalie Portman's Dr Foster now empowered with the abilities of Thor, as well as bringing us up to speed with the film's Villain, The God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.
As far as structure goes, I don’t think I really need to explain the tried and true formula of Marvel's content. Love and Thunder is largely no different in that regard. What is noticeably unique to the film is the flamboyant tone, a tone that, at times, reaches into the realms of parody. The best way to summarise the style of the film is to compare it to one of its more obvious inspirations: music. Apart from the uninspired needle drops, the film's aesthetic feels akin to a progressive rock band, complete with guitar solos and the hair. Unfortunately for the film, the over-reliance on this aesthetic wears thin after a short while, revealing the hollow bones of the beast resulting in a perfectly forgettable venture. It ends up feeling like the film is more similar to a baby sensory activity rather than resembling film at the height of Disney's studio power. Even Bale, who couldn't try to do a poor performance if his life depended on it, feels wasted in the mess, making what could have been an intimidating and iconic role be rendered 'meh'.
What the film does advance is the state of LGBTQ+ representation within modern Hollywood. For too long has Disney either half-arsed or pussy footed around the non-issue of representing a major demographic of their consumer base within their products. Love and Thunder does not exactly break binderies in this matter, but it does get some things right. Firstly, topics such as homosexuality and transgender identities are treated as fairly normal topics in the film. Other than one introductory scene, it doesn’t feel like at any point there is a large spotlight over sequences which scream "Here I am! Here is the representation in a handy throwaway scene which can easily be edited out for foreign markets!" This is not something which should be uncommon, let alone uncommon to its very inclusion acting for a point of praise, but I suppose it is a baby step in the right direction.
Love and Thunder is not awful, just distinctly fine. It will certainly fulfil a need of distracting the kids for ninety minutes once it hits Disney plus. We should expect more from big studios here though. They have the money, talent, and effort to make quality but it feels like they choose not too. Mediocrity is safe but just makes Love and Thunder another entry into the endless stream of noise coming from the Mouse.
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