Tonight I had another go at watching the Marvel THOR movie Love and Thunder.
I had a go a while back and gave up. Tonight I persisted and after putting up with Zeus, romance and daft silliness, I ended up enjoying it.
Its not the best THOR film by a Mojlnir, but its OK.
The good points are Christian Bale. Christian Bale is probably the best thing in the film, his character the God Butcher is the most interesting. The opening five minutes could have been a prelude to completely different and grittier film.
The bad points are the schmaltz, schmaltz and schmaltz. Love and Thunder, the title, is probably a bad sign that this is the way it'll go but really; even Odin would have trouble wading through the romantic goo.
Still, I struggled but somehow, I enjoyed it!
Have you seen Love and Thunder?
I liked Thor and (SPOILER) his kid having breakfast together at the end.
ReplyDelete...and screaming goats!
Oh God [s], those screaming goats! That noise drove me batty Looey!
DeleteIt's good of you to wade through these movies so I don't have to. Try watching and enjoying the best of the Star Wars style movies: 'SPACEBALLS' by Mel Brooks.
ReplyDeleteIts on my Bucket list Terran!
Deleteand youre welcome!
DeleteWoodsy, you've never seen the magnificent SPACEBALLS!?!? I am shocked. It's a darling homage to the Star Wars universe, funny as hell, and in my opinion, much better than the real thing! SFZ
DeleteIts not the best by far, as its a weird mix of trauma and comedy. I feel its really tasteless to have someone feature in a show with a terminal disease and then have a sudden complete magical recovery! Also The God Butchers plight seems trivialised somewhat by all the aforementioned schmaltz and comedy. At the end of the day, Thor is a god and looks the part - surely he would not be swayed by a mere mortal, when he could potentially have the pick of any partner in the Nine Realms! Arriving as it does late in the MCU pantheon, it also insists that you have watched and absorbed the countless other films, mini series and comics and are familiar with the Marvel lore, in order to keep abreast of events - such as the breakfast scene - which I couldn't figure out at all! The inclusion of the Greek gods was a surprise, as there has been no mention of any rival pantheon besides Asgard, or any intervention on Earth of any other divinity. If you sit back, suspend disbelief and dont examine the whole thing critically, its fun and in some parts, quite exciting, but as always with modern media, its tempered by high tragedy juxtaposed by inane comedy. If I want to laugh, I want to giggle unreservedly, not be made to feel guilty for chuckling along and then confronted by a surprise death scene or loss. 'Ragnarok' is much better, as its daft, colourful and you know where its headed. L & T just feels like filler and an excuse to pad out the franchise. It will be interesting to see where the next round of films go to after Deadpool and Wolverine seem to have reset the bar. Bill
ReplyDeleteNot seen Deadpool and Wolvy but but I'm looking forward to it. I was reading that Logan is viewed as one of the best supe films ever made. I imagine its to do with the aged character and his lonely path to redemption, Marvel's dip into grittiness. DC have gone full-throttle into realism with Joker 2 and Penguin, stripping away any childishness to offer hard-boiled thrillers by the looks of it. I haven't seen either, so I'm going on Joker 1, which reminded me a lot of Taxi Driver and the demented Travis Bickle. Maybe he's a DC character too! For me grittiness and super-heroism is the key, I need both in spades and very little comedy. Wolverine Origins managed it really well and I adored Leiv Schrieber's Sabretooth and his 'creepy black coat'. In many ways the modern bar was set by Tim Burton's 1989 Batman with Michael Keaton playing for me the definitive dark knight and giving us the best super hero film of all time imho.
DeleteGreat review of Love and Thunder Bill.
Deleteas a final observation I do enjoy seeing whop is worthy enough to handle Moljnir. In L&T its Jane, a veritable Lady Thor. My fave hammer-switch is when Captain America picks it up, much to Thor's utter consternation, uttering the words 'I knew he was worthy!'. ha ha, class. Similarly the Cap's shield moving around is fun, finally handing it over to the Falcon. There have been a few Captain Americas but Steve Rogers is THE Cap for me.
ReplyDeleteI really struggle to rate any of these movies.
ReplyDeleteFor me, they were created as two dimensional characters and are best left that way. To try to turn these comic book ideas into literary epics almost never works and is often rediculous. Stan Lee is no Shakespeare.
I'll admit, Tim Burton pulled it off with Batman and Batman Returns, but these were the exceptions that prove the rule, and the best Superman is still Christopher Reeve (and even he was wearing thin by Superman IV).
Whats more, I resent the production companies squeezing every last drop out of these exhausted and overated franchises.
I can still enjoy some of the Marvel/DC films for their spectacle and adventure, but 'great' films ?
Sorry, not for me.
I know what you mean about long franchises Mish. I suppose when Marvel make a real stinker like The Eternals it's just easy to fall back on crowd pleasers like the Avengers. It's series I struggle with, like Moon Knight. Far too much talking and not enough action!
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