Rewatched for the Once Upon a Franchise podcast. Listen to the full episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CikTTTDWgpgZH47klxw4Y?si=5995ddfbfeb54a23 Rating: B- THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER still has a beating heart I can't ignore: Christian Bale's terrifying yet tragic Gorr, a moving final act where love beats vengeance instead of a hero simply beating a villain, Natalie Portman giving Jane the closure she always deserved, and a bold black-and-white set piece unlike anything else in the MCU. But on a rewatch, everything around that heart wore thin. The humor is far too frequent and hit-and-miss, the goats and Guns N' Roses gags are annoying from the start, the gods are reduced to caricatures, too many "deaths" are taken back, and the shadow-heavy action is often too dark to see properly. Worst of all, Thor himself ends the film largely where he started, with fatherhood feeling more like a gimmick than a real evolution. It's a movie with a great idea about finding love amid grief, buried under a comedic formula that has lost most of its charm.

After a rocky start, _Thor Love and Thunder_ is able to find its footing during delivering a fun and despondent Thor adventure filled with a tremendous amount of heart. It is no surprise that this film is far from perfect, and that is not more evident than the beginning of the film. The entire first act feels so disjointed and rushed. You get thrown plot point after plot point and get whipped from planet to planet which results in the viewer not being able to lock in on the story. I really enjoyed the scenes we got from Gorr and Jane during this act, but they felt a little underdeveloped and rushed. The comedy was a little thick during this section, some jokes completely missed, but it was nothing that was overbearing that it hurt the experience. Once the movie enters the second act and begins focusing on Jane the entire gets much better. It is here where you can really see the balance that Taika Waititi brought during Ragnarök with some moments rivaling the best from that film. The ending of this film has some really great action and cinematography, some may argue it's among the best in the MCU. As the movie credits rolled, I was very satisfied to the conclusion of this film and am ready for more Thor action in the future. The acting all around was excellent in this film, I found the dynamic between Jane and Thor worked much better than in previous films. They had real chemistry on screen, and you could feel the love the two previously shared unearth with each additional scene. There are some really great conversations that dive into their relationship that were done fantastically. Christian Bale was menacing as Gorr, his demeanor was sinister and completely unhinged as he delivered crazy laughs while delivering his villain manifesto. It gave me serious flashbacks to Heath Ledger’s Joker. I just wish we got to see more of him in the film, but the bit we did see was top tier villainy in the MCU. The music in this film blends with the scenes very well. When the Guns N' Roses guitar starts playing you know it is about to go down and I could not help but smile. While the beginning of this film was bad, I can admit, the ending was so great that it averaged out the movie and made it a very enjoyable experience. **Verdict:** _Good_ **Score:** _7/10_

**Thor: Love and Thunder** is a sequel to the 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok. It is written and directed by Taika Waititi and based on, of course, the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor, and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. And the story? The gods are in danger! The God Butcher is coming for them! And only the mightiest of them all can stop him: Thor. But Thor is in bad shape. He's lost his hammer, his friends, and his confidence. He'll need all the help he can get to save the day. He'll have to relearn what it means to be a hero, and Jane Foster will have to become the Mighty Thor. I was looking forward to this movie. I loved Taika Waititi's direction in Ragnarok, and the cast is amazing. I was hoping for another fun, fast-paced, and humorous film like its predecessor. But unfortunately, Thor: Love and Thunder falls flat. The story is convoluted and slow-moving, and there are too many characters for any of them to get enough development. The humour is forced, and it frequently fails. And the ending is just...Stranger things have happened, I suppose. I was disappointed in **Thor: Love and Thunder**. If you're a die-hard Marvel fan, you might enjoy it, but if you're looking for another fun and exciting Thor film, I think you'll be disappointed, too.