In a far-off desolate desert world, Gorr (Christian Bale) and his daughter Love (India Rose) move through dust storms and are striving through famine. Despairing but surviving after his Love dies (that’s a quirky metaphor, when you think about it), Gorr stumbles into an oasis where the resident god Rapu (Jonathan Brugh) enjoys fruits and merrymaking.

Gorr is devastated when Rapu tells him that there is no afterlife. Angry, and conveniently within the reach of the Necrosword — the only god-killing weapon in existence — Gorr uses the weapon to kill Rapu, and start his crusade against all gods.

Gorr and the Necrosword is a port-over from 2013’s first issue of the Thor: God of Thunder comic series. In the film Thor: Love and Thunder, much of Gorr’s backstory has been slimmed down to fit this cinematic retelling. The story, mostly, is about Thor’s return to form (he was fat in the Avengers: End Game finale), and sees the culmination of his romance with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

The first 20 minutes of Love and Thunder are comical and breezy, as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and regains his physique. After another “worthy Thor adventure”, the group split to save the universe. Thor returns to the village of Asgard on Earth, where his people have settled, in time to fend off monsters from Gorr.

Thor: Love and Thunder is a step forward in the Marvel cinematic universe, but it is also a step backwards

He and Jane Foster — who miraculously wields Thor’s once-broken hammer Mjolnir (it was shattered in Thor: Ragnarok) — nevertheless fail to save the town’s children from Gorr, who takes them to an unknown black-and-white section of the universe.

Foster, it is revealed, has cancer, and the hammer, with its phenomenal powers, brings her vitality back as the new avatar of Thor. Together with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the rock man Korg (director Taika Waititi), they travel to the pantheon of the gods, chaired by Zeus (Russell Crowe, a hoot with his hilarious parody of the Greek accent). Piecing clues, they battle Gorr before he kills the cosmic being Eternity — one of the handful of entities that make up the existence of the Marvel universe.

Love and Thunder is a step forward in the Marvel cinematic universe, but it is also a step backwards. Fun and funny, and overflowing with cinema-worthy spectacle, you can’t doubt the scale or the intent of the production. The film is meant for entertainment, but is not particularly worthy of long-term remembrance. At its best, it is ‘just another’ Marvel movie entry, held together by the charm of the director and its lead actor Chris Hemsworth.

Ho-hum, but still fun, the laidback, retro style harks of an ’80s’ kiddie adventure flick, made to Marvel scale. However, the choice of the tone contradicts the emotional angst of Gorr’s story arc. A more serious story would have suited this particular retelling. Love and Thunder, then, is recommended for the kiddies and the adults who want to keep their Marvel cinematic universe’s catalogue updated.

Rated PG-13, Thor: Love and Thunder is playing in cinemas right now

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 17th, 2022