Ruth Scouller’s review published on Letterboxd:
Is Thor. Is good. I just find these films very lovable and Love and Thunder makes 4/4. I'm completely ambivalent to universe connections and epic gravitas in these Marvel things, and the Thor films have the right mix of levity, brevity, pomp, comic-myth blur and freedom in order to pull me in.
Love and Thunder is the best time I've had in Phase Four and proves smarter than it looks and from the go is playing cheekily with some poignant existential themes that wouldn't be amiss in recent Ridley Scott. Our gods, whether forged in myth and/or illusions beamed from our worldly masters, will tend to disappoint. If you look at the drives of the characters, it is refreshing for one of these MCU flicks. Thor misses Mjolnir and feeling...anything, even wretched (preferably for that one that got away Jane) and needs to put his flippant remove aside and make himself vulnerable to intimacy. He gets all that. Gorr (the cursed sword wrath aside) wants his dear daughter to live. Tick. Jane wants to go down swinging and feel empowered rather than brood on her drag of a stage four. Welcome to Valhalla Mighty Thor! The structured focus of this one is a winning departure. The theme of love, togetherness, disillusionment and empowerment is well expressed in a tale that sees Thor's powers now in his old girlfriend and a group of kids, and a villain with both compelling motives and no ego.
I also found myself charmed by the throwback 80s aesthetic here, which felt more authentic heart-on-sleeve child-gaze than some other recent 80s-signalling blockbusters. I was taken back. I was never partial to GnR growing up and of course the couple tracks are the obvious picks as you'd expect, but it works, and you also get Enya, Abba, and most of all that hype earworm theme from Giacchino in The Ballad of Love and Thunder.
Bale and Crowe are genuinely fantastic, the kind of performances seldom seen in the MCU. Portman's return allows her to take a fuller grasp than was possible in the first two (and should enrich those parts in hindsight). I liked that Tessa Thompson was content to take a slight backseat for this adventure which she plays well. It's a highly un-American film which I loved, full with antipodean vibes. Some reminiscent moments here find that sweetly twisted family bridge between the UK & NZ. Those scenes when they bifrost and hit the grass are so Sydney to me it hurts. I can understand American audiences being baffled by some of this with the accents, perspective and even some humour, but beyond that there is a noble risk and creative ambition to the filmmaking here which they should be capable of appreciating. Whilst Taika Waititi's films can be hit and miss with me, this is a hit. Stuff like the goats, lurking jealousy of Stormbreaker, Mjolnir-doll and stuffed rabbit weapon was hilarious to me, and Chris Hemsworth returns to comic form (after that dreadful MIB International), increasingly filling out Thor and finding new possibilities in the role. Stephen Curry as Yakan was a nice surprise, although I was sad to glimpse Simon Russell Beale's Dionysus for only like a second (compounded by his getting main cast credit in those delicious closing credits prior to the first post-credits scene). In Omnipotence City only Zeus is really given more than a second of dedicated screentime, which feels a missed opportunity. The Asgardian stage also pops up again, seamlessly providing some relevant last time on... plot foreshadow along with the riotous bad-acting big-name cameos.
Love and Thunder won't be to all tastes, but its an infectious tale with a good heart that transcends the dork, and for mine the best we've seen from the genre in this decade so far. I feel like this is one for defenders of such things as the Hawaiian pizza topping, Care Bears, etc.
