I’m pretty concerned with Taika Waititi’s directorial future. Because if he keeps on churning great work, he may not have time or energy to go back to his indie-level comedy works like with What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilder People, and Jojo Rabbit.

On the other hand, we do need an influx of comic book movies like Thor: Love and Thunder, a lovely sequel to the last Marvel Cinematic Universe comic book film Thor: Ragnarok. It retains the manic pace and direction while delivering a fine blend of comedy, action, and storytelling. It may take a number of liberties from the comic book source material, but if it’s for the sake for a cohesive and evenly-paced film that’s guaranteed to captivate anyone’s attention, I say butcher away.

Lightning Crashes

Thor: Love and Thunder picks up after the main man Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) and his post-Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame storyline: he teams up with the space crew Guardians of the Galaxy much to the chagrin of Starlord (Chris Pratt). Thor is still finding his purpose and drive, so the film’s call to action involves him splitting up with the space gang and going back to New Asgard to deal with a new threat: Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) who has a Necrosword that can kill gods and give him shadow demon-summoning powers.

Meanwhile, Thor’s scientist ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) somehow can wield Mjolnir and ends up teaming up with Thor, making for an awkward kind of reunion. Together, alongside Korg (Taika Waititi who is a character, the director, and the show’s narrator) and New Asgard mayor Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), they go through a series of classic Thor adventures across universes as you would expect from a Jack Kirby-penned joint.

And what a lovely tour we get, along with some fun bantering between our heroes and the people they meet. We’re talking colourful gaudy worlds that look like they were inspired by the late 80s and 90s metal/rock band album covers. I mean, if you’re going to go all out with the Guns n’ Roses soundtrack, you might as well make your space viking fantasy look as awesome as possible. Props to the third act’s world effect and its twist though; it’s creative and sets out to instill a sense of awe and dread.

The main cast also get their time in the limelight, with props clearly going to the chemistry and reconnecting between Thor and Jane Foster, as well as the now-ladyboss Valkyrie who has her own lamentations or two. Christian Bale’s Gore is the kind of villain you feel for, given the intro the film setting up the main reason why he’s doing the deity-slaying in the first place.

We even get to see Russell Crowe ham it up as arrogant Greek god Zeus and Korg the rock buddy sharing his insight with the Thor gang with his quips or two. The show’s comedic edge from its director is also in full swing, from the obliviousness of our main character in any situation, to the show’s new pair of four-legged additions that will make the rounds on TikTok and/or Twitter due to their one unique trait. We’re not kidding around.

And it also gets its well-paced story arc resolved in under an hour and 50 minutes, including the obligatory mid-credits and post-credits scenes that will make fans of the MCU universe and comic book lore jump for joy. It doesn’t outstay its welcome and has a ton to surprise many folks from a storyline and lore perspective. Fans of the characters will get the payoff they deserve given the MCU version’s context, especially with Natalie Portman’s character and Chris Hemsworth’s future in the comic book movie plot threads and many phases.

Thunder Peel

If anything, the only fault I can bring up with Thor: Love and Thunder is that its bombastic fights are what you would expect from an MCU joint: big, loud, epic, and safely edited for consumption. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially with the fight involving Thor bestowing his powers to the unlikeliest of subjects, but there’s nothing that really stands out unless you aren’t completely desensitized by the MCU line of films.

Thor: Love and Thunder is the perfect summer movie treat, as well as a funny and exhilarating action thrill ride with some touches of heart and drama. With a cast that clearly loves working in the film and a good amount of humour and comic book nods here and there, not to mention the action scenes and the lovely choice of music -the majority from Guns N’ Roses’ best album– you’ll be sure to ride this lightning more than once.

Final Score: 90/100