Too Much Fun, and Somehow That Makes It Sad "Thor: Love and Thunder" was one of the most anticipated Marvel projects. After all, Chris Hemsworth is the only one of the original Avengers to receive a fourth solo outing (though honestly, it would’ve been better if he hadn’t). Hype was high for several reasons, but the main one was that Taika Waititi once again took the director’s chair. He had drastically shifted the tone of Thor’s saga in Ragnarok, turning it into a colorful cosmic comedy. Here, he tried to repeat that success. The result? To put it mildly, it didn’t work. It’s always tricky to criticize a film—especially if you liked it. But when a movie fails to impress, it’s even harder to point out what exactly went wrong. With "Thor 4", however, the opposite is true. I’m struggling to find anything worth praising. For me, this was a failure across the board. The story actually starts off promisingly. Christian Bale’s Gorr is introduced almost like in a serious drama: a man betrayed by the god he worshipped, now vowing to destroy all deities. The motivation is solid, the premise is intriguing. But the way the film unfolds Gorr’s arc is painfully dull and, at times, outright ridiculous. Add in a handful of awkward jokes and a cameo from the Guardians of the Galaxy, and already in the prologue I was frowning. The dialogues felt wooden, the humor like something written by teenagers trying too hard. From there, things only get worse. The plot feels naïve, even nonsensical at times. One of the central conflicts—children kidnapped from New Asgard—should have been a deeply dramatic thread, yet the film treats it with bizarre levity. Instead of urgency and tension, we get goofy banter, detours, and forced jokes. It’s hard to buy into the stakes when the heroes themselves don’t seem to care. Visually, Marvel delivers as always. The film looks great, the CGI is polished, the sets vibrant. But all that spectacle can’t cover up the fact that the screenplay drags the story down into the dirt with each passing scene. The acting is solid—Hemsworth, Portman, Thompson, and Bale all do what they can with the material. But at times you can almost see them realizing just how absurd the dialogue is. One such moment is Jane Foster’s conversation with Thor about her superhero catchphrase—completely out of character, especially when she should be focused on, say, saving kidnapped children. The tonal mismatch is glaring. The movie clearly sets out to redefine Thor, to ask: who is he after all his losses, what path lies ahead? But it never provides answers. Thor feels unchanged, shallow even, with no real growth. And the weak script makes it impossible to connect emotionally with him or anyone else. The same goes for the supporting cast—Gorr, Valkyrie, Jane Foster—they’re reduced to comic-relief caricatures in a film where even the comedy doesn’t land. On top of that, continuity issues with previous entries only add confusion. Thor’s powers, the rules surrounding Mjolnir, and other elements seem inconsistent or outright ignored. In the end, "Thor: Love and Thunder" is a disappointment on every level. It feels like Marvel is recycling characters just to cash in, with flimsy motivations, a messy plot, and humor that mostly falls flat. I love these heroes, but here they’re completely out of place. This movie will be remembered, but for all the wrong reasons. 4 out of 10