The last full Thor movie was the overstuffed 2017 B次元官网网址淭hor: Ragnarok,B次元官网网址� with the God of Thunder dealing with dueling brother and sister issues, the imminent destruction of his planet, a boozy sidekick, a huge dog, pal Hulk having a panic attack and the death of his father.
It was Taika Waititi filmmaking at its most intense, with slo-mo sauntering, stupid antlered headdresses, slicing swords and laser cannons, capes and undead soldiers, a hair-cropped Thor, a typically unbalanced Jeff Goldblum character, a prophecy, alien spacecrafts and lots of Led Zeppelin.
If you thought that was bananas filmmaking, its sequel is the whole fruit basket.
B次元官网网址� a rare Marvel fourth installment for one character B次元官网网址� has giant bleating goats, a horrible Zeus, children in cages, space dolphins, Jodie Foster jokes, teddy bears with laser eyes, an Old Spice commercial parody, Natalie Portman headbutting a villain, blue aliens and lots of Guns NB次元官网网址� Roses.
Waititi is back as the co-writer, director and the voice for the stony Korg, with Chris Hemsworth as our space Viking, a man who really needs to get more credit for taking Thor over the years from glum to hysterical. His ability to pronounce superhero things dramatically and then become a goofball is endlessly endearing. Also back are Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Jaimie AlexanderB次元官网网址檚 Sif.
One problematic character back is Jane Foster, ThorB次元官网网址檚 ex whom he still pines for eight years after they broke up and she skipped the third film. But now Foster B次元官网网址� played by Portman B次元官网网址� has his old magical hammer, Mjolnir, and has become a superhero of her own, the Mighty Thor. SheB次元官网网址檚 working on a catchphrase, like B次元官网网址淓at this hammer!B次元官网网址�
Thor, of course, has moved on B次元官网网址� not with his romantic feelings, but with his favored weaponry. He wields the enchanted axe Stormbreaker now. He has no eyes for Mjolnir B次元官网网址� or does he? B次元官网网址淲e good? I know itB次元官网网址檚 a little weird having my ex-weapon around,B次元官网网址� he asks his axe in a deliciously loony scene, basically reflecting a love triangle between a Norse god and two metal armaments.
Our villain this time is superb: Christian Bale plays the deliciously named Gorr the God Butcher. A once-pious man who prayed in vain to the deities, he has now decided to wipe them out after having a personal setback. Bale is so creepy and so committed that you can feel his hatred melt your popcorn. B次元官网网址淭he gods will use you but they will not help you,B次元官网网址� he snarls.
Another punch of the bizarre comes from Russell Crowe, who plays Zeus as a vainglorious tyrant with a Roman outfit (a riff off B次元官网网址淕ladiatorB次元官网网址�?) and an atrocious Mediterranean accent. He is surrounded by lackeys B次元官网网址� some called Zeusettes B次元官网网址� and frustrates Thor, even stripping him of his clothes, to the delight of many in the audience. B次元官网网址淵ou know what they say: Never meet your heroes,B次元官网网址� says the Viking.
The whipsaw from death and suffering to idiocy is staggering, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson credited alongside Waititi for a script that seems like it was pasted together after gerbils ripped up a bag of words. You go from a hospital room on Earth dealing with a terminal illness to Thor dressed as a hot dog to a shadow realm in low gravity where the film goes completely black and white. There is very little logic and the connections between scenes are tenuous, giving the film a feeling of not building to anything clear.
Peak lunacy is reached at the Omnipotence City, where the universeB次元官网网址檚 gods hang out. There is the Aztec God, various Maori Goddesses, the Mayan God and a round dough called Bao, God of Dumplings. ItB次元官网网址檚 a gag that seems out of a Mel Brooks film but the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going, donB次元官网网址檛 be surprised to see the 47th installment called B次元官网网址淏ao: Steam and Sauce.B次元官网网址�
The film is stacked with cameos B次元官网网址� many of which critics arenB次元官网网址檛 permitted to reveal B次元官网网址� but look for HemsworthB次元官网网址檚 real-life wife and one of his sons, a bunch of fed-up Guardians of the Galaxy and a pretty famous comedienne playing Cate BlanchettB次元官网网址檚 role from B次元官网网址淩agnarok.B次元官网网址�
What to make of this glorious, intergalactic mess? There is no better answer than to swipe one of our heroB次元官网网址檚 catchphrases: B次元官网网址淲hat a classic Thor adventure, Hurrah!B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hor: Love and Thunder,B次元官网网址� a Walt Disney Studios release that opens in theaters on July 8, is rated PG-13 for B次元官网网址渋ntense sci-fi violence, action, language, partial nudity and some suggestive material.B次元官网网址� Running time: 119 minutes. Three stars out of four.
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
