I too watched Thor: Love and Thunder now that it’s on Disney Plus, and I’ll say that I’m higher on it than most folks here. Part of that is because I’m currently knee deep in AC Valhalla and am in a mood for Norse mythology, but also because I do think it executes perfectly on where Thor is in life, and where the MCU is as well.
In the first episode of She-Hulk, Jen rips into Bruce about how being an Avenger has left him with nothing. He’s alone on an island and his friends are either dead or simply not around anymore. All that’s left to do is to wait for a Sakaarian spaceship to ferry him away to the next world ending catastrophe. Thor is in a similar state. Left with no family, he tries to forge a new one with the Guardians, but it’s not a great fit. He could go back to Asgard, but there lies monuments to his failure everywhere he turns. He’s simply lost and alone, even after saving the universe for the millionth time.
A lot of criticism I see is that Thunder is no Ragnarok, both in terms of the level of humor and the level of pathos for our hero. And I do agree with those criticisms. But Thunder I don’t think aims to top its predecessor in that regard. Ragnarok is set after the Avengers have saved the world twice over and are a full familial unit. Though separated by the vastness of space, Thor has his family back on Earth. He even finds that one missing family member out in the far edge of the universe! It’s a joyous movie about the childish prince becoming the leader he was destined to be. And while Asgard got destroyed, its people are safe and can look forward to a brighter tomorrow.
And then we know what happens. Thanos comes and immediately destroys what’s left of Asgard’s army. From there, he wipes out half the universe, all because the mighty god did not aim for the head. And while Thor manages to undo most of this damage, it costs him his family and his identity as King of Asgard. He’s a better man now, a better hero. But that’s all he is, and that’s where Thunder begins. A recurring motif in the movie is Korg rehashing Thor’s exploits in the past tense, and I think that’s deliberate. All Thor is now is a book of tales to be shared to the next generation. And that in and of itself isn’t too bad. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are now legends as well, but the difference is that their stories definitively ended with their deaths. They don’t have to live up to their legends anymore. Thor, being effectively immortal, has no such luxury.
Thunder, to me, is all about Thor grappling with the fact that there will always be a next chapter for him. How does he go on when there’s no realm of Asgard, no Avengers, no Jane? Even the ending to the movie only partially answers that. I guess he’s going to be an adventuring dad for a while, but what then? Obviously, at some point Chris Hemsworth is going to exit the MCU, and so there will be an end for Thor, but for now it’s clear that he’s going to outlast the mortals around him, and this movie asks him to sit with that knowledge for a bit.
Also, I just have to gush over Christian Bale’s performance, and the makeup and wardrobe that completes his look. Dude’s straight up a Dark Souls protagonist, looking like a skinny zombie with a fuck-off sword slaying all manner of gods. If he doesn’t inspire some fashion souls looks imma be disappointed.