The new movie introduces us to Gorr (Christian Bale), a man that loses everything yet still worships his god. However, once his god turns on him, an ancient god killing sword called the Necrosword chooses him and he quickly becomes Gorr the God Butcher. After losing everything, his only goal is to seek revenge and kill all of the gods in the MCU.
Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) returns but she's not doing so well. She has developed stage four cancer and is dying. When science fails her, the shattered pieces of Mjolnir call for her to come to New Asgard. Once there, the pieces start to come alive and she is deemed worthy enough to become the Mighty Thor!
How about our original Thor, though? Well, at first, he's still briefly with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the team he ended up with at the end of "Avengers: Endgame". Thor is still trying to find himself and he eventually leaves the Guardians only to find himself going after Gorr when he attacks New Asgard and this is where he and Jane reunite alongside King Valkyrie, once again played by Tessa Thompson.
Now, it may seem like I'm giving away the whole store here with my description of the movie, but trust me when I say that this is only the beginning of this particular Thor adventure. Now, before I talk about anything else, here's my criticisms for the movie. First off, as I mentioned before, it's just not as good as "Ragnarok".
A major reason for this is that this film's tone and script just aren't as tight as the previous film. The film goes dark sometimes, heartwarming at other times, and then straight up comedy for the rest of the time. Sometimes the comedy outweighs the drama and sometimes the lightheartedness clashes with the film's darker elements.
Despite the tonal inconsistency, though, this movie is still a lot of fun to watch. The action is still fantastic and the visuals are a feast for the eyes. There is also another killer soundtrack to go along with all the craziness this time out.
The performances are also solid throughout. Hemsworth really started having fun with Thor with "Ragnarok" and he continues to have fun here. The movie leans into his comedic talents, of course, but they also let him have a few good serious moments as well, especially when he's with Jane.
Portman delivers as the Mighty Thor. Jane knows that she's running on borrowed time, so she's having as much fun as she can as Mighty Thor before the end she feels is coming sooner rather than later. One of the film's better moments is when she's trying to figure out just how to be a superhero and one of the things she has trouble with is hilariously trying to come up with a catchphrase. There is also some real drama that Portman effortlessly handles when concerning Jane's illness.
Finally, there is Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. From the moment this movie starts, this villain gets more character development than 75% of the other villains featured in an MCU film, so that's already an improvement. Gorr is a creepy and sadistic villain, to be sure, but he also has a very tragic and real reason for why he is going after the gods. After all, these are gods that actually do prove to be quite vain and silly, as is evidenced by Russell Crowe as Zeus in another memorable performance for the movie.
At the end of the day, the movie is tonally inconsistent and the script could have actually used a little more meat on the bones in order to develop some of the film's subplots. In spite of these problems, though, Waititi set out to create another fun adventure with a character that still has stories to tell. The action, the performances, and the visuals come together to make up for the film's shortcomings and deliver the fun and spectacle that we've come to expect from an MCU film.
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