The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best shot at Oscar fame arrived in the form of Christian Bale’s ferocious Gor, God of Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.
He’s as fantastic a Marvel villain as you’ll ever see. More menacing than Thanos and richer than Hela from Thor: Ragnarok. He has the complex motivations of Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger, but with the mesmerizing physical transformation we’ve come to expect from Bale.
The Brit is a glutton for punishment.
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Duration: 125 minutes. Rated PG-13 (Suspenseful sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity.) In theaters July 8.
Able to slim down and bulk up with the seeming ease of Alexa relaying the weather forecast, he’s Hollywood’s most addictive freak. In his latest role, the actor is lean (no Batman biceps here) and looks like he might have fleas. And unlike so many of his A-list friends who casually appear in comic book movies to pay for their kitchen renovations, he can act sensitively against a green screen. He is sensational.
Bale is part of a thoroughly exciting action film written and directed by Taika Waititi that brings the MCU’s spotty Phase 4 to life. It’s as if The Eternals never happened. If only…
The New Zealand director reprises his role as the rock alien Korg, who quickly recalls Thor’s story with his typical dry, pop-culture-oriented sense of humor. The “before” segment is set to “Time Only” by Enya.
Christian Bale is crushing in Thor: Love and Thunder. Marvel Studios Chris Hemsworth stars as Thor in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder. Jacin Boland
These days, we learn that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) sits Zen-like under a tree awaiting missions to save the universe. Then he learns of Horus, a vengeful man who kills gods in response to the death of his young daughter in the desert.
If Gor can reach a device called Eternity, he can defeat any ethereal being in one fell swoop. Including Thor. Only the God of Thunder himself can stop him.
Well, Thor and the returning Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, who everyone forgets was in the MCU). Back on earth, Jane is sick, and the estranged couple are reunited in an unexpected, bad way.
Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Thor (Hemsworth) reunite. Jacin Boland
Tessa Thompson’s party-hardy Valkyrie rules over New Asgard—a fun mix of gods and school board meetings—here on our planet. And she is drawn into the conflict when Gor kidnaps all of the town’s children.
Waititi, who did an equally great job with “Ragnarok” and should direct every Marvel movie, never gets lost in the plot or vocabulary. Instead, it draws us in with stratospheric stakes for each character and a real sense of danger. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was touted as a rare Marvel horror film. Love and Thunder, as funny as it is, is much, much scarier.
For example, near the end of the film, Waititi uses mostly black and white, and Bale’s Gore begins to look like a tortured Nosferatu.
Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is along for the ride. Jacin Boland
Don’t worry—Thor isn’t just horror. This subseries, along with the highly enjoyable Spider-Man movies, is among the funniest in the MCU since Waititi took over.
We meet new gods like Russell Crowe’s Zeus, who is straight out of Monty Python. And there’s a creepy, hilarious rivalry between Thor’s Hammer and Stormbreaker, two inanimate objects.
And as much praise as Bale deserves, Hemsworth’s Thor still manages to take on a regal, impenetrable figure and make him, for lack of a better word, human. We’re as worried about the God of Thunder saving all the gods of the universe as we are about him being dumped by a note left in the kitchen.
“Love and Thunder” is an urgent reminder that for the MCU to continue, in a fun, heartfelt way, creativity and innovation are needed. You can’t just say “multiverse” 1000 times and call it a movie.
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