Writer/director Taika Waititi is going down the same trajectory as Robin Williams did for me. The first thing I saw from Waititi was the hysterical show Flight of the Conchords and then What We Do in the Shadows (the movie, not the TV show). There was also the understated comedy and warmth of Hunt of the Wilderpeople. And when I met him at a dinner where he was promoting JoJo Rabbit, I thought I was going to go all fanboy on him about those projects I just mentioned. Instead, I was so surprised he used a song by Arthur Lee & Love as the war ended, we talked about our love of Love.
When he got to do a bigger budget project – Thor: Rangnorok, everyone went nuts over it. I thought it was a mixed bag, and was a bit disappointed. This all reminded me of Robin Williams. As a kid, I laughed when he first popped up as an alien in Happy Days, and then got his spin-off show Mork & Mindy. Then I saw a comedy special on HBO, and he was hysterical. And he did the dark comedy The World According to Garp, one of my all-time favorite movies. Then he did so many awful films, and talk show appearances where he seemed coked out of his mind, talking a mile a minute, and just got annoying.
Waititi now appears on talk shows and awards shows, talking fast and trying too hard to be funny; instead, he should just let his natural comedic brilliance shine, while being a bit more restrained.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the perfect example of what I feared was happening with Waititi. This film is filled with so many jokes, yet only three funny things. A party with Zeus (played nicely by a heavier Russell Crowe); two huge bleating goats that never shut up. There were also a few great bits with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) yearning for his old hammer (which is now being used by Jane Foster). His new weapon seems jealous, and you crack up each time. Almost all the other jokes fell flat.
Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) shows up buffed out when she’s fighting along with Thor. She’s not only battling Gods, but cancer. The chemistry between her and Thor never quite works (although as I said, the chemistry between Thor and his (literal) battle ax…you could cut with a knife…or, an ax).
There’s a running joke about Jane trying to come up with a catchphrase, which should be funny, but never really works.
Waititi does the voice of Korg. He narrates the story and ranks as the second most annoying narration of the year – Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis is still tops. And if you had a problem with the two women kissing in Lightyear, you won’t like a naked Thor being gawked at by the women, as well as Korg. There’s a bit too much exposition in what we’re told, and mythological mumbo-jumbo.
The opening sequence, with Gorr dying in the desert, is rather moving. Gorr is played by Christian Bale, looking like Marilyn Manson. Manson should have been cast, as Waikiti is trying to make a heavy metal movie out of this, with all the Guns ‘N Roses songs and the ending credits with Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark.” Even the font on the movie poster is heavy metal style.
When Gorr kills a God, and then wants to kill all the gods…it’s hard to root against him when we see what his god did to him as he lamented the death of his daughter; and the way Zeus seems all about flashy entrances to his bacchanalian orgies, doesn’t make us care if he bites the dust. I suppose until Gorr kidnaps kids, we’re all on board with him being the bad guy, though.
The first battle Thor is called to, we get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy crew. Again, the jokes in that scene don’t work, and the battle scenes have bad CGI.
Jane heads over to New Asgard, hoping to find a cure for her cancer and possibly meeting up with Thor. It’s being run as a tourist trap by King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). As much as I love her (even in Men in Black: International, which was criminally underrated), it’s a shame she was wasted here with nothing much to do (aside from also showing she has the hots for Jane).
I’ve never cared for the fight scenes in Marvel movies, and the ones here were especially weak. At one point my wife leaned in and said, “Do you realize most of their fights involve someone just smashing their weapon on the ground causing destruction?”
All the G ‘N R needle drops bugged me, but it was fun to hear Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and Abba’s “Our Last Summer”, but we really do have to retire Enya songs in movies as a gag. The only time it ever worked for me was when Daniel Craig was about to get sliced up in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
This movie gets 1 ½ stars out of 5, and is easily one of the worst Marvel movies ever made.