REVIEW: Thor: Love and Thunder

This film is as fun and wild as it is inconsistent and frustrating—that is to say, quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong: This is an enjoyable movie with a really compelling set of character arcs.My problem with it, however, lies in the fact that I really just don’t feel the stakes of—or maybe I just didn’t care about—the central plot: a madman killing gods across the universe. It just felt hollow.While the performances are incredibly strong, particularly from Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and Christian Bale as Gorr, the script the cast was working with felt as if its scenes (some of them my favorite so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) felt like they were plucked from multiple movies and lacked a flow and consistency in tone. But it was good, and something fun and interesting.For all the terrific storytelling that came in director Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Ragnarok” in 2017—it’s in my top five comic book films—lightning failed to strike twice with this entry. Again, it’s a fine movie, and certainly not a movie that I would shy away from watching again. And I’m hopeful that future viewings will warm me further to the movie and resolve some of the consistency issues.Be sure to stick around for the post-credit scenes.(If this review reads sort of inconsistent and like it cut corners for you, that’s how I felt watching this movie.)Malia absolutely loved this movie, and said it’s one she wants to see again.The bottom line: Check it out! 7.5/10