Thor: Love And Thunder
Taika Waititi's Heavy Metal Power Ballad 🎸
Welcome to Pop ‘n’ Pizza, a weekly newsletter highlighting what’s new in pop culture and pulp fiction. This week, I’m talking about the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. 🍕🥤
Thor: Love And Thunder
Genre: Superhero Fantasy
Release Date: July 8, 2022
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Studio: Marvel Studios
Behind the Scenes
Directed by Taika Waititi
Written by Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Cinematography by Barry Idoine
Music by Michael Giacchino
In Front of the Camera
Chris Hemsworth (BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, THOR)
Christian Bale (THE DARK KNIGHT, AMERICAN PSYCHO)
Tessa Thompson (ANNIHILATION, CREED)
Natalie Portman (VOX LUX, ANNIHILATION)
Russell Crowe (THE NICE GUYS, GLADIATOR)
The Guardians of the Galaxy are also featured, with Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper reprising their respective roles as Star-Lord, Mantis, Drax the Destroyer, Nebula, Groot, and Rocket.
What’s It About?
“THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced — a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods.
To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who — to Thor's surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor.” — Marvel Studios
Why You Should Check It Out
Co-written and directed by Taika Waititi, THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER provides a much-needed escape from the nightmarish dystopian hellscape that has become existence.
For 2 whole hours, it filled me with absolute joy — grinning ear-to-ear, belly laughing with tears in my eyes. All the anxiety and depression melted away for a bit. I feel lighter, more hopeful. Unburdened.
Take the chaotic energy and maximum silliness of Sam Raimi’s ARMY OF DARKNESS, mix it with the pulpy space fantasy of FLASH GORDON, the pathos of Darren Aronofsky’s THE FOUNTAIN, and the sweet, savage sounds of Guns N' Roses, and you’ve got an idea of what awaits you with THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER.
If that reference to THE FOUNTAIN leaves you perplexed, just know that both stories involve men traveling to the center of the universe to cure the cancer that is killing their soulmate. Additionally, I found myself thinking about Ingmar Bergman’s THE SEVENTH SEAL, especially when Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher was on screen — a man tormented by God's silence, who gives himself over to death in an attempt to spare others.
Anyway, I found LOVE AND THUNDER to be a wildly entertaining, completely unhinged comedy that serves as a conduit for more profound ideas. It’s subversive in that way, disarming you with screaming goats and magic hammers while delivering a cathartic, heartfelt message about, as Huey Lewis would put it, the power of love.
Kudos to cinematographer Barry Idoine (THE MANDALORIAN), production designer Nigel Phelps, costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo, makeup department head Matteo Silvi, visual effects supervisor/second unit director Jake Morrison, and the entire cast and crew for creating such a dazzling, rapturous movie. I really, really, needed it.
Slices (Out of 5)
🍕🍕🍕🍕
You May Also Like…
If you dig this, you may also enjoy:
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (Spotify)
THOR: THE SAGA OF GORR THE GOD BUTCHER (Barnes & Noble)
JANE FOSTER: THE SAGA OF THE MIGHTY THOR (Barnes & Noble)
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (Hulu)
OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH (HBO Max)
Trailer
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