So this movie was a lot of fun, it just wasn't really good when you really think about it. I mean I had a blast watching it, there wasn't a dull moment on screen. I was intrigued, I was engaged and that's it. It was a forgettable movie at the end of the day. But the ending and post credit scenes saved the movie in my opinion. You will remember them.
Let's face it, the ending of this movie made this movie. It was an okay movie all in all, just not as great as Thor: Ragnarok. Taika Waititi returned to directed and write the movie and it very much feels like his movie. But it also feels like it is too much his movie, or not enough. There are too many plotlines in this movie and none of them fully work. It makes the movie feel rushed and choppy, it should have been longer and less humorous.
There is the Mighty Thor plotline. Natalie Portman did an okay job in this movie. Physically, she looks the part. Portman did all of the hard work during the COVID lockdowns, she looks buff and strong. I never really liked Mighty Thor in the comics and the onscreen translation of the character arc just didn't work in my opinion. Her plot seems rushed, meaningless, and here for jokes. I mean this is a serious issue that the movie tries to deal with and it fails. Portman did the best with what she had, but it wasn't much.
Chris Hemsworth is a great Thor. It is Taika Waititi who discovered that Hemsworth is actually a great comedian. Hemsworth has perfect comedic timing, he has presence, he has charisma and no one can take that away from him. I mean he basically carries this movie on his very massive shoulders. But it would have been nice if he actually had a plot. I think that he was left with a clear path at the end of Avengers: Endgame and this movie did nothing with it. His new tattoos are the closest that we get to character development with his character until the ending of the movie. I am sure that a lot of people will not like this ending.
Plus, the two Thors together didn't work in my opinion. Not as warriors and not as a couple. Portman and Hemsworth don't really have good chemistry. They were sort of cute in their first movie together, but that didn't go anywhere. I just never liked them as a couple, having equal powers doesn't make me like them more apparently. Maybe because Mighty Thor was new, it just felt like the two were out of sync and didn't work. I think that each should have continued in their own movie. Together, they just didn't work for me. And don't get me started on the silly two hammers romance.
I love Tessa Thompson, but she hardly has anything to do in this movie. It looks to me like King Valkyrie of New Asgard didn't really like the new job. When she said she would make a lot of changes to New Asgard I didn't think she meant she would turn it into a tourist attraction. I guess I was more thinking along the lines of worrier people with more decent homes, not marketing and branding deals. Although I guess they bring money. She just looks so unhappy unless she is fighting and being sarcastic. Plus, she seems devoid of compassion for her people which is a major minus compared to Thor. Her friendship with Mighty Thor was the best part of her character. Their interaction was the only good thing about them both in my opinion.
Christian Bale is fantastic as Gorr the God Butcher. First of all, he is one the few really good MCU villains. What makes a villain good? He has really good reasoning and motivation. Yes, the gods in the MCU are hideous and selfish. Thor is one of the rare exceptions. Even though Gorr knows Thor is one of the good guys, he still wants to kill him, because he is a god. Not totally logical, but not illogical. But yeah, the character design is pretty cool and so are his powers. And of course Christian Bale is a fantastic actor, I mean he is on another level from everyone else in this movie. He manages to break from the ridicules comedy that surrounds this movie and make his villain a good one.
If you want to see this movie for the Guardians of the Galaxy then don't. They really are hardly in this movie. They are just there because that's where they were at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but they have no role here and they disappear pretty fast.
This movie was way too comedic for me. I felt that Thor: Ragnarok walked the line and crossed it too often, but this movie, threw the line in the garbage. I get that humor is important to the MCU, but this didn't feel like MCU humor. This is Taika Waititi humor and I don’t think I am a big fan of this humor. It just made the movie feel like there was nothing on the line, no risks at all. So what if all the gods died, it doesn't seem like anyone cares or that it matters. Plus, you'd think that the multiverse would finally come into play now that we have two Thors, but no. Alas, this movie doesn’t feel like it moves the MCU forward.
This movie also suffers with the lack of Tom Hiddleston. A Thor needs his Loki and he was really missed in this movie. A lot. This movie needed Loki or a Loki variant. Both to elevate the movie and to make it feel more connected to the larger MCU.
I had fun with this movie, but I don't feel like I need to watch it again at the cinema. One of the few Marvel movies which I won't watch again on the big screen. Probably because it lacked amazing action. Thor: Ragnarok had the amazing rainbow bridge fight, this movie doesn't have that level of action, or any really big, splashy and super cool fight sequences. Nothing super special that has to be seen on the big screen.
The best thing about this movie was the ending and the post credit scenes. Finally Thor gets a character development which is totally awesome and unpredictable and other new cool characters are introduced into the MCU which I kind of wish that were in this movie from the start and making Thor feel like a small part of a big MCU.
So yeah, it is not one of the best Marvel movies. It is fun, it is just really forgettable. That is its biggest sin, not been an important part of the puzzle in the MCU. I guess all the other superheroes actors that only got trilogies shouldn’t feel too bad about it now.
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Could have used like a full on extra 20 minutes of just Gorr the God Butcher scenes worked into the movie to provide even more backdrop and him killing Gods and all those deleted scenes we got to read were made. While missing real Loki, I didn't hate seeing the Matt Damon gag again. I agree with most of your review, I don't think it will be fully forgettable, but time will tell.