Thor Love and Thunder Movie Review: Grand affair loses its charm trying to be too funny but Christian Bale doesn't disappoint

Thor Love and Thunder Movie Review: This is for the first time that it happened, that the audience in the theater cheered when the villain came to the screen mouthing dialogues in a screechy voice. Veiled Christian Bale as Gorr The God Butcher deserved every bit of this laudation, after all not everyone can manage to pull off scenes in monochrome in a film full of advanced VFX. But he alone couldn't hold a film with a weak storyline and pretentious dialogues.

But first things first. If you're among those who are unsure about what to call Natalie Portman's Thor, the film does answer that. Many like our villain have been calling Natalie Portman's Thor as 'Lady Thor' and Taika Watiti very cleverly tells them "Firstly, it's Mighty Thor!" Secondly, it's "Doctor Jane Foster!"

Meanwhile, plenty of things happen in Thor 4. Odinson is hunting down Gorr to save a bunch of kids. Concomitantly, he is attempting to figure out who he is as he steers his patchy love story with Jane. Along the way, Thor and his team wage war with Gods, encounter old friends, get new pets, and goes on a rollercoaster ride across the galaxy. 

While the film has its focus on narrating the adventures of Thor, the Odinson, it forfeits its villain's trail that the Asgardian is rowing in the first place. Gorr was tossed as a sinister and menacing butcher who slays Gods across universes and realms and exhibits no mercy, but not even once do we see him do it. Yes, we do see corpses of dead Gods hanging in terrifying locations and listen about his deadly assassinations from Thor and his fellow members, but we never witness the process on screen. The character doesn't get enough time to establish why he should be feared and the film never justifies if Gods should really deem his threatening claims. In fact, when Thor goes to Zeus and tells him about Gorr, the God of Lightning dismisses the God of Thunder and pays no heed to him. Thanos, has been Marvel's most successful villain so far because the audience saw him wiping half of the universe. They felt the loss and they fathom his impact. But Gorr, despite having a mythological backstory, a terrifying appearance and dangerous claims couldn't climb the ladder. It's just a waste of the character. Regardless, Bale manages to find his way and set mayhem on screen keeping his charm intact.

With the last three Thor films, the audience is familiar with its setting and knows how comical it can be. Seems like the makers took the funny part too earnestly and were ready to compromise on the story. It is the weakest Thor film so far. The first half vacillates between being superficial and preposterously comic. Sometimes, the punch lines and jokes are so forced and out of place that they dilute the gravity of the event taking place. There are moments when you're sceptical if you should be thrilled about the sequence or simply laugh at it and move on.

The introduction of Mighty Thor was one of the better scenes. Thor asks Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) who is that guy, and her inundated "guy" in response sets the tone for Mighty Thor's trajectory. She not only mocks the stereotype of superheroes being manly figures but also teases Thor about his ex-girlfriend. Natalie Portman without a doubt delivers exceptionally.

There are grand sequences in the film, an obvious for a Marvel film that fans will love. Also, confrontational scenes between Thor and Gorr before they meet Eternity are particularly well shot, in the otherwise banal film. The music stands out though. Soundtracks by Guns and Roses are perfectly in sync with the theme and gel well with the surroundings. 

Thor Love and Thunder is not what was expected out of it. Apart from a few selected scenes and Christian Bale, there's nothing extraordinary.