Did I enjoy this movie? Yes. Was it as good as Thor: Ragnarok? No. But that's not a bad thing. It's still easily one of the better Thor movies. One of the criticisms you may have heard about this movie is that some of the jokes don't work. I agree that it's true. My only defense is, what movie that has comedy had ALL the jokes work in it? None. So let's set that expectation. One running joke that specifically annoyed me are the pair of screaming goats that Thor gets. Yes, we remember this meme or whatever from a few years ago. I feel like that is a cultural reference that is past it's prime. Using it once or twice at the right time is funny. Unfortunately, they go to that well way too many times.
Another joke that was too much was during an initial fight scene where Thor does a split to keep two enemy ships apart. It's a dumb moment that is not needed. It is the kind of gag that can turn people off from the movie. They'll feel like, "Oh, is this what this movie is going to be?" Because it's been a few weeks, I can't think of other jokes that bothered me. All of these movies have a lot of moments of levity that can be a bit much at times. This movie gets serious when it needs to get serious, but maybe jokes a little too much when it's not.
I also take delight in those that hate on this movie because it has too many strong females, too many LBGTQ characters, too many people of color, etc. and etc. Sorry if these movies reflect the world around them. Sorry if the "wokeness" of the world means we get more representation outside of straight blonde white guys. Sorry you feel you the need to protect a "norse" god in a fictional movie. You're being replaced by fans that are more willing to be accept more differences than you.
Now that I'm off my soap box, I loved the collection of characters here. I am glad that the army consisted of our four main characters (Thor, Jane Foster, Valkyrie and Korg). I was worried that the Guardians of the Galaxy would have too big a presence here, but they only show up in the first act of the movie and then are gone. I was glad we finally get insight into Thor and Jane Foster's relationship. Previously there were offhanded comments about how they were no more and that was it. They finally show that here rather than tell us and it feels about how that relationship would go.
Now that I'm a father, I could relate and was on Gor the Godbutcher's side in this one. If something happened to my kid and no one did anything about it that had the power to do so, I would burn it all down too. I mean, those gods kind of had it coming to them, but I can see where Gor should have stopped at one. We can blame the sword that he carried for it, but I like to think it wasn't JUST the sword controlling him. Christian Bale did a good job portraying this character that was the main villain.
Now there are some good action scenes here, but it will not be the hand to hand stuff that I love. It's a lot of lightning bolts and energy blasts flying all over the place. That's fine. It may seem corny, but I liked the scene of an army of kids at the end. Again, I think as a new father, this hits a little different now.
I think Natalie Portman and the Jane Foster character finally get their due. Finally, she has something to do other than pine for Thor and she has some real agency here. Her arc is also sad and is another emotional beat in this movie. Tessa Thompson is also good, but this movie isn't about her, so she doesn't get as much time as I would have liked. They should really do a show on the politics of New Asgard with her as it's ruler. We only get a taste of it here.
Finally, it's clear that Chris Hemsworth is enjoying playing Thor and will keep playing him until the wheels fall off. I hope he does. He's got comedic timing and these movies let him flex those muscles. He seems to have hit on the right mix of buffoonery, but seriousness when the moment calls for it.
This movie is now on Disney Plus, so I say give it a watch there. I don't think this is a movie that is enhanced by seeing it in the theater. That's my recommendation.
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