In the latest installment, Thor: Love and Thunder, the superhero sets off on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – one of self-discovery. But his efforts are interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late. 

As we previously mentioned in our Endgame write up, any great action or superhero movie consists of a formidable villain, who, like the hero, is pivotal if not more. In the Avengers Trilogy we got the likes of Loki and Ultron but ultimately the best one came in the shape of Thanos, who didn’t disappoint. In this instance, the choice of the character was interesting and made even more intriguing by the fact that it’s played by Christian Bale, who not so long ago was a hero in his own right in the legendary Batman trilogy… very sneaky Marvel. The question is, is he as good of a villain as he is a hero? We know we’re probably crossing some sort of line with the mention of a DC character in an exclusively Marvel piece but it’s hard not to, especially considering the circumstances. 

It won’t come as a surprise to many, considering his body of work, but Bale does a stellar job as the main instigator in Marvel’s latest outing. We liked the fact that his character’s main ‘why’ of what he does is uncomplicated, some might argue that it is too simplistic but sometimes you need that especially in a movie like this which feels more like a fun ride than anything else. Following the heaviness of the two-part Avengers ending, Thor: Love and Thunder calms things down a bit and mostly finds Hemsworth being his goofy and, at times, clumsy self.

Having said that however, the movie isn’t all fun and games with some great fighting scenes and moments of real action where the main characters outside of Thor, Valkyrie and Jane Foster aka Thor (you’ll get it when you watch the movie) go toe to toe with the villainous Gorr the God Butcher. We also especially liked the numerous references to Vikings (which we’re huge fanboys of… nothing new there) throughout the movie. The movie also introduces other interesting and familiar legendary characters that open up further and intriguing chapters in the ever evolving Marvel Universe. Speaking of which, as customary with the majority of Marvel movies, stick around until the end, this one has two end credit scenes.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a great and fun watch that many will naturally take a liking to. It’s a classic Marvel movie full of humor, intrigue and great action sequences. The storyline is a bit thin and isn’t the studio’s best movie (not by a long shot) but it’s one that will be remembered for all the right reasons – the great characters assembled ensure that. 

Directed by Taika Waititi (also responsible for Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit) and produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum, the movie officially opens in local theaters this week on Friday (July 8, 2022). Tickets are now available, get yours now, you’ll be glad you did.

Our thanks to Disney Plus for the prescreener. 

Cast – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo & Anthony Hopkins

Director – Taika Waititi

Genre – Fantasy/Science fiction film

Running Time – 2h 10m

The Plot

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!

One of the movies I’ve been anticipating (no guesses why) has finally landed on the big screen. Needing no introduction, the character Thor has firmly established themselves in the Marvel Universe. Played by the oh so cool Chris Hemsworth (who I admit to having a small “man crush” on), our hero returns in a new edition simply titled Thor Ragnarok.

I always make it a point to check what the guys at Rotten Tomatoes (one of the most reliable movie sources) make of any movie before deciding whether or not it’s worth checking out. Surprisingly and utterly blown away to find out that Thor Ragnarok is rated at an astonishing 96% from a 100! A very and I mean very rare rating for any movie especially since the site includes the harshest of movie reviewers around. Losing my mind over the prospect, I couldn’t wait to check it out. Thankfully MNet Movies and Ster Kinekor came to my aid with a cool pre-screening.

Shot in Australia and featuring two Aussie actors in the main cast: Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett (who plays Hela, the first female villain to appear in the MCU), the movie’s events are set two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and perfectly sets up the next big MCU ensemble movie, Avengers: Infinity War.

It’s no secret I love comic book based movies and one of the reasons why is they allow you to escape the real world and into a fantasy world that’s usually mystical or magical in some way. Thor Ragnarok has this and more, including cool action sequences and hilarious moments throughout, the humour is what sold it the most for me. It’s a well put together movie with a cool plot that’s not difficult to follow or believe.

Unlike DC, which is usually dark and mysterious in its approach, Marvel has always been lighter, Thor Ragnarok is another good example of this. After finally seeing it I can declare that it’s the best superhero movie this year. Should be interesting to see if it takes the bragging rights outright especially with DC’s much-anticipated Justice League movie also coming through later next month…so once again, over to you DC!

Marvel comes through and kills it once again. Thor Ragnarok is less serious in its approach but the same can be said for many of Marvel’s other offerings. A good warm up for the main event, The Avengers: Infinity War, Thor Ragnarok will easily appeal to any movie watcher who just wants to check out a good, light hearted movie that also has cool action sequences. Best comic based movie for 2017 so far, go check it out…and no it has nothing to do with my man crush…okay maybe a little. Bottom line is you won’t regret it, Thor Ragnorak get a cool 4.4 out of 5 rating from me.