Chris Hemsworth is “thundering and sensitive” in Taika Waititi’s latest Thor, writes Caryn James.
When Thor (Chris Hemsworth), that big-hearted hunk of a god, accidentally runs into Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) – his big-brained, astrophysicist, Earthling ex-girlfriend – the encounter is wild even by superhero standards. In the midst of a battle against the latest force of evil, Thor spots Jane, now carrying his very own famously powerful hammer in the film. She is wearing armour and a red cape and has flowing blonde hair. “That’s my hammer you’ve got,” he says, as they stare into each other’s eyes. “And that’s my look.” Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder are a Tale of Two Thors, is a romcom interspersed with Universe-saving battles. It might make you wonder: What if Bogart and Bacall had superpowers?
The first thing to know is that this film is enormous fun. As he did in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Waititi brings his distinct voice to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cookie-cutter franchise. His formula balances a tongue-in-cheek tone with adventure, prizing wit over action; a relief from Marvel’s more sombre instalments. (Doctor Strange has his qualities but he’s not a witty sort.) In Love and Thunder, Waititi injects more emotion than in Ragnarok and goes for weightier themes, about nihilism and belief, love and death. The themes may be half-baked, but they exist.
The next important thing to know is that this is not really Jane’s story. Disney’s marketing talks a good game about how Jane is wielding the God of Thunder’s hammer, Mjolnir, and has become a superhero called Mighty Thor. True enough, but this is still the original Thor film. Fortunately, Hemsworth is better than ever at making the character the most human, lifelike and appealing of gods, a regular guy except when he’s saving the world.
Early on, his sidekick, Korg – a giant, a sweet-tempered pile of rocks with Waititi’s voice – tells children the story of the Thor-Jane romance, filling in any background a new viewer might want. It’s a goofy account that reveals details about their break-up which also manages to name-check Jane Fonda.
Thor : L & T – Voldemort with a nose
Soon the familiar characters are threatened by a new villain, Gorr (chillingly played by Christian Bale), who has become disillusioned with gods in general. Instead of becoming an atheist or agnostic like a normal person in his situation, he goes for revenge and becomes known as the God Butcher. Grey-toned from head to toe, he is basically Voldemort with a nose.
Hemsworth plays into the meta while making his vanity comic and insecure rather than obnoxious
The plot kicks in so fast that it short-changes Jane’s transformation. We see that she is seriously ill but get only a hint about her new identity until the moment Thor spots her in full battle gear. If Waititi was saving that image as a big reveal, the strategy was pointless. Portman’s role was announced three years ago and Mighty Thor is right there in the film’s trailer. It might have been better to know from Jane’s perspective: how weird is it to suddenly be a superhero?
Hemsworth is given much more to work with and beautifully navigates the shifts from comedy to drama. There has always been a meta theme in Thor’s character, as his ego makes him hyper-aware of his image and stature. Hemsworth plays into the meta while making his vanity comic and insecure rather than obnoxious. And his love for Jane is especially deep and touching in this instalment.
En route to the big final battle, Team Thor tries to enlist help in Omnipotence City, a land of deities ruled by the head god, Zeus, hilariously played by Russell Crowe in golden armour and a Greek accent that is, I’m guessing, intentionally comic? He taunts Thor as “pretty boy” and throws lightning bolts around that explode like golden fireworks – one of the film’s best special effects. In another imaginative touch, a pair of goats pull a boat through the sky, with fairy-tale pastel-coloured lights underneath. Overall, though, the effects and even the fast-paced action are more efficient than spectacular, which suits the film just fine. Special effects have never been Waititi’s strength or major interest.
Oddly, the film’s most problematic element is Gorr. In a terrific opening sequence, we see the devastating tragedy that turned him evil. His character confronts the most existential themes. “There is nothing after death except death,” the false god who has failed him says. But that intensity quickly wanes. When Gorr directly threatens the major characters in their final battle, the episode is not nearly suspenseful enough, despite Bale’s lethal coldness.
It’s a problem that by now is built into the Marvel universe, where no one ever has to stay dead. Occasionally, off-screen realities might eliminate a character. The irreplaceable Chadwick Boseman’s early death means there will be no more T’Challa in the Black Panther films, as far as we know. Otherwise, even a snap of the fingers that pulverises half the population (Avengers: Infinity War) can be reversed in another film (Avengers: Endgame), and if that fails there are infinite alternate timelines and universes to play with. It’s hard to create tension when the stakes are so low. But the film’s breezy tone and ultimately strong emotional depths make up for that flaw. This big-hearted Thor, thundering and sensitive, maybe just the diverting hero we need right now.
Thor: Love and Thunder are released internationally on 6 July.
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