Taika Waititi’s 2022 Marvel movie “Thor: Love and Thunder” starring Chris Hemsworth follows Thor after the events of Anthony and Joe Russo’s “Avengers: Endgame” from 2019. After temporarily joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor felt unsatisfied with his life and their adventures, bringing him to separate from them. Soon after, he stumbles across a new threat, Gorr the God Butcher. Gorr wishes for the death of all gods and has kidnapped the children of New Asgard to follow through with his plan. Simultaneously, Thor has to also heal the wounded relationship between him and his ex-girlfriend, Jane, because she has somehow gained the ability to wield his previous weapon, Mjolnir. Thor and his allies King Valkyrie, Korg, and now even Jane join forces to defeat Gorr and bring the children he took back home. With a soundtrack filled with Guns N’ Roses, you’ll be sure to jam out and have a memorable viewing experience.

This film has garnered many opinions on opposite sides of the spectrum with some adoring it and others strongly disliking it. We believe that the movie shouldn’t be receiving so much hate, but some of it is justified.

Things to like about the movie include that we get to see Thor somewhat develop more humor in his character in the newer movies compared to the old ones like in “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World” where we just saw more of Thor’s heroics rather than his personality. Recently his loving side was revealed and how he longs to find the person for him. You could even argue in a sense that this shows some character growth for Thor, being able to laugh and still fight to protect people even when in his journey he’s lost so much, like his family and old Asgard.

And to the comic lovers out there, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) can be seen trying to set the stage with its newest TV shows and movies for the next generation of heroes. In this film we see Gorr’s daughter, who in the comics is the hero Singularity, a sentient quantum-being containing powers that are drawn from a pocket universe. She is able to create teleportation warps that can send anything or anyone to wherever she chooses, even other realities. She also has some mentions of being on the superhero team called A-Force with other heroes such as the new Hawkeye Kate Bishop, Captain Marvel and She-Hulk, though at the end of this movie we only see her powers of being able to create energy beams and being worthy enough to hold Thor’s Axe, Stormbreaker. Only time, and the Russo brothers, will tell what direction they will take these new heroes in, and for what we all hope to be good. 

Along with Marvel’s progression, though mentioned briefly, some representation for the LGBTQ community lies in the characters of Valkyrie and Korg. Though we wish we could’ve gotten more of a background on Valkyrie’s story of losing her girlfriend, it was an interesting way to bring more depth into her own character that had been previously established in “Thor: Ragnarok” where she first appeared. A lot of people critique the inclusion of LGBTQ characters, arguing that it is just to pander to a progressive audience. While this is partially true since obviously Marvel is a company that wants to make as much money as possible, Korg for example is also gay in the comics, meaning it wasn’t just out of the blue. Marvel has just made sure to stick to its character origins.

So what went wrong?

There are some big weaknesses clearly showcased in the movie. One of these is the entire beginning with the Guardians of the Galaxy. They are barely in the movie at all, disappointing the many fans who were looking forward to the collaboration between them and Thor which was hyped up by Marvel. Adding on, they feel out of character since they were rushed in and some, such as Drax, didn’t even get any lines. It is definitely one of the biggest bummers when watching.

The missed opportunities with the Guardians of the Galaxy combined with how the humor is fairly overdone in some areas of the film. One of the dry jokes can be observed with Jane trying to find out her “hero catchphrase” for instance. The constant framing of her as just the new lady-Thor became very overused and missed an opportunity for her own unique twist. However, there is some humor in the film of the usual Marvel quips along with some screaming goats. It definitely could have been brought to a much higher level if the Guardians of the Galaxy were more utilized.

Another issue we have with the movie is the main villain who was played amazingly by Christian Bale, Gorr the God Butcher. The problem isn’t with the character and his motivations. Actually, we were really interested in his disdain for gods based on the selfish acts he had seen them commit and how they were responsible for his daughter’s death. We are upset that they didn’t show more of him. As mentioned before, the movie needed more time to develop all of its plots and such. The same could be said for Gorr. He was really fascinating, but so much of his potential was wasted by the end. 

Overall, we think the movie was alright yet a bit disappointing among some qualities. It surprisingly wasn’t really a movie that made your heart swell despite some serious side plots. Instead, it mostly wants you to laugh but doesn’t do quite as well as its beloved predecessor “Thor: Ragnarok,” also directed by Taika Waititi. However, it is definitely still worth a watch to find out what you think. We would give it a 7/10 because it isn’t necessarily revolutionary in its writing that has several flaws, but it is still fun and charming.