Review for THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER:
•Language: ENGLISH.
•Duration: 01 Hours 59 Minutes.
•Genre: AMERICAN SUPERHERO
•REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI.R
• POSITIVES:
1: CHRIS HEMSWORTH AS THOR
2: DIRECTION
3: PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS
4: CINEMATOGRAPHY
5: ACTIONS AND FIGHT SEQUENCES
6: PRODUCTION DESIGN
7: VISUAL EFFECTS
• NEGATIVES:
1: PREDICTABLE STORYLINE
2: MEDIOCRE SCREENPLAY
3: LENGTHY DIALOGUES
•ONE WORD: A thunderous adventure journey into the world of love and emotions.
•STORY IDEA:
Thor leads a happy life with the group of Guardians of Galaxy and soon he will come to know that someone is killing all the Gods. He will find out that God Butcher is the man who is behind the massive killings of all Gods and Thor’s kingdom Asgard is his next target. So Thor meets Valkyrie and plans to stop God Butcher. So Thor during the fight with God Butcher will meet Dr. Jane Foster who is the ex-girlfriend of Thor. Now she is not just a doctor, she is the Mighty Thor of Asgard. During the battle God Butcher will attack the New Asgard and will kidnap all the childrens. So why does Gorr need the children? Why he is killing all the Gods and can Thor stop God Butcher and will Thor will the war against God Butcher is the rest of the story.
•ANALYSIS OF THE DIRECTION, STORY, SCREENPLAY AND DIALOGUES:
The film Thor: Love and Thunder is directed by Taika Waititi after the critical acclaim film Jojo Rabbit and he himself joins with
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson for the script. The film is produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum under Marvel Studios and the film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Made with a budget of $250 million the film is currently running in theatres with a running time of 119 ‘minutes in 2D, 3D, IMAX, 4DX 3D and 3D SCREEN X formats.
What makes the film Thor: Love and Thunder different is its simple storyline and the way of execution, the narration style and the uncomplicated way of storytelling had made the 119 minutes satisfying. While we watch the film the movie doesn’t lead us to think deeply, everything in the movie is told systematically and like other Marvel films we don’t have to complicate ourselves, just sit and enjoy. What I found most interesting is the way they narrated the story, it was nice and the execution didn’t get flattened anywhere. From the very beginning till the end the narration was steadily moving and the kind of method the makers used to unfold the events had given me a pleasant way of cinematic experience. There were some twists and turns which were nice and it was placed in the right places, the impact which those surprises created inside the theatre made everyone to have big applause. I would say that the basic plotline of the movie is interesting, after the first few minutes the several incidents felt good and it was promising. The mixing of emotions, love, comedies and fantasies made the plot of the film wonderful but unfortunately, the full effort was not given to the screenplay.
The screenplay largely focuses on the concept of love, we can find it in our hero, heroine, different characters and even in the villain. How a powerful character like Thor gets into the world of love and how he handles it in his life was written nicely for the storyline but when it comes to the screenplay proper depth was lacking. The movie takes the journey into the emotions of love, it explains the good side of love, the pain in love and the suffering in love and all these factors had drawn my attention. Through the character Thor it was cute to watch this kind of emotion but an impact was slightly missing. If the writers had given more attention to the screenplay the emotions portrayed in the film could have been much better. The added situational comedies were accurately placed, and I enjoyed the jokes in between the conversation. Most of them were funny and I didn’t find them absurd.
The romantic angle between Thor and his ex-love Dr Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman was gorgeous. Their reason for getting apart sounds normal, a bit cliche, still it was convincing but more than that after a long time how they meet each other and how they again fall in love was fascinating. Both of their chemistry brilliantly helped the film to move forward, their combination scene was creating curiosity and was eager to know how it is going to work out again. Both Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman did a fantastic job, the pair looked firm and rigid and had created enough moments. When it comes to action sequences the way they fight each other and the way they help each other was a treat to watch. Thor and the Mighty Thor will surely grab your hearts, and the love they share will also melt our hearts. There are many subplots, here the writer had done a fine job, proper explanations and solid reasons are given for every occurrence. How Dr Jane Foster became the Mighty Thor was written brilliantly, it was my favourite subplot among all. The reason and how she became a saviour was effectively written and it created a big impact on the upcoming situations. The backstory of God Butcher and the reason why he decides to kill all the Gods was also satisfying, so like I said the writing was fine but the predictability was killing my thrills and excitement.
The face-to-face scene between Thor and Zeus was disappointing, I was expecting something big but the ultimate result was not pleasing. Here the writer had made their combination scene look so simple, those areas were having the high scope to make large-scale scenes but it ended like a normal average fight. To be frank, both the director and writer haven’t utilised those sequences properly. Also, the screen space of Gorr was mediocre, for Thor he had given a tough fight but he doesn’t scare much. He should have been portrayed as a fearful villain but his doings and the way he fights was like a normal Marvel villain. His backstory was excellent and his reason for turning into a villain was also justifying but sadly the villain doesn’t create enough fear, his death and characterization stood higher but forgets the viewers to make them fear.
Like I mentioned above, the predictability was causing some kind of trouble for my viewing experience so I didn’t feel the ending was surprising. The climax was good, and the emotional outline of love and parenthood was seen lustrously. The action sequences were stunning, and the visual effects and the 3D effects had given a worthy cinematic experience. With a simple story the makers had done a pretty good job and to be frank Thor: Love and Thunder won’t be contributing much to the future MCU phases but still, the movie is assuring a fun journey into the world of fun, love and emotions.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
The film has the casting of Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe with Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, and Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper reprising their respective MCU roles of Guardians of Galaxy.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor we all know how he will do it, like usual he gives a stunning performance. This time he was given the duty to portray more emotions of love and suffering and he did it amazingly without making any flaws. His drastic screen presence was all over the film and is one of the major positive factors of this film. His dialogue delivery was precise with the right timing and when showing anger his way of having the dialogue and the modulations in it was awesome. Both the angry face and the emotional face were acted out beautifully with the right form of emotions. His action sequences were a treat and whenever he held his hammer ‘Stormbreaker’ fun and thrills are guaranteed. His combination scene with Natalie Portman was lovely and both shared great chemistry. Their romance and actions were heart whelming to watch and loved every single bit of their combination. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor did a shining performance, she was perfect to do the role. Her attitude and personality suited Mighty Thor and he had given her best to make the changer memorable. Her fight sequence and the holding of the hammer ‘Mjollnir’ was so great and I was excited by her superhero avatar. Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Taika Waititi as Korg and Jaimie Alexander as Sif shared great screen space with Chris Hemsworth and their comedies and action had given an extra appeal. Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher was excellent, he was a terrific villain and he did an excellent performance. The villain shade and the negative characterization were acted out naturally and his different kinds of facial expressions were giving more impact. I wish his character could have been given more depth but still the way he portrayed the character was having precise emotions. All the combination scenes with Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman were bewildering with excitement and at the same time, it was thrilling with many adequate moments.
•TECHNICAL DIVISION:
We all know the brilliance of Marvel Studios when it comes to the production value and design, here in Thor: Love and Thunder they offer another visual treat. The visual effects and the graphics were top class and also the 3D effects were creating some magic for the eyes. The cinematography of Barry Idoine looked eye-catchy with many good frames and shots. The action sequences were enriched with cool camera movement and also different sorts of camera angles was impressive. The editing of
Matthew Schmidt, Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche and Jennifer Vecchiarello were extraordinary, the runtime of 119 minutes fitted the film accurately with clean cuts and favourable transitions.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall the film Thor: Love and Thunder had given me a satisfying cinematic experience, the storyline is simply followed by an above-average screenplay but the humour and the emotions that the offers will satisfy and entertain anyone. The production design, direction and performance of Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale is something big that should be witnessed on the big screen. It’s a fact that Thor: Love and Thunder won’t be contributing much to the future MUC phases but still if you are a fan of Marvel Studios and their characters then you should not miss this and also watch with fewer expectations.
- VERDICT: ABOVE AVERAGE
- RATING: 3/5
