Latest ‘Thor’ sequel a worthy MCU flick

Thor has been one of the most popular characters in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Besides appearing in his own series, Thor has also appeared in the ‘Avengers’ movies. After his second solo movie, ‘The Dark World,’ received mixed reactions, the God of Thunder had a slight change of pace with the 2017 movie ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’

Now, the team behind ‘Ragnarok’ is back to bring you another action-packed and hilarious Thor adventure with ‘Thor: Love and Thunder.’

The next ‘Thor’ adventure finds the God of Thunder 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, who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg, and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who — to Thor’s surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor.

Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

‘Love and Thunder’ is an entertaining and really fast-paced adventure for the God of Thunder and the Mighty Thor. The latest from the MCU delivers a lot of tense action, quite hilarious humor and some awesome music (which I’ll get to shortly).

Like the previous ‘Thor’ solo outing ‘Ragnarok,’ this ‘Thor’ sequel is packed with scenes deserving of a few laughs. A good amount of the humor comes from Thor himself. But, in the first 20 minutes or so of the movie, the Guardians of the Galaxy have a helping hand with the laughs. The Guardians are definitely one of the major highlights in this movie. And, even though they aren’t in the movie that much, you will have a few more attempts to see them in the MCU soon. The humor in the movie can be fairly entertaining, yet also can be a little too silly at times.

The action sequences are really incredible to watch and visually well-done. Some of the action gets to be a little tense, especially when they are against Gorr the God Butcher. Speaking of Gorr, Christian Bale really knocks it out of the park as this sequel’s villain. He can be menacing and sympathetic at times which helps make a compelling villain once you see his back story in the opening minutes. The character also has one or two bits of humor as well. The entire black and white sequence featuring Gorr, Thor, and the Mighty Thor is, without a doubt, one of the best sequences of the entire movie. Russell Crowe also steals the show as the god Zeus as well. ‘Love and Thunder’ can also be heart-felt at times, especially with the return of Jane Foster and how she becomes the Mighty Thor. Don’t worry, I’m not spoiling how she becomes the Mighty Thor. Some of the impactful emotion really helps balance the comedy out. And, of course, the film’s soundtrack. If you enjoy 80s music, primarily Guns N’ Roses, you will absolutely love this film’s soundtrack.

Overall, the latest ‘Thor’ adventure is loads of fun and die-hard MCU fans will likely enjoy this great time at the theater. And, as usual, stick around for two after credit scenes.

The cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor; Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor; Christian Bale as Gorr; Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie; Taika Waititi as Korg; Russell Crowe as Zeus; Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Dave Bautista as Drax; Karen Gillan as Nebula; Pom Klementieff as Mantis; Sean Gunn as Kraglin; Bradley Cooper as Rocket; and Vin Diesel as Groot.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (HBO Max’s Unpregnant; producer of Disney Plus’ Hawkeye) and co-written and directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok; Jojo Rabbit).

The ‘Thor’ sequel is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity and has a running time of 119 minutes.

What did you think of the latest ‘Thor’ adventure? Let me know what you think on my Wyoming County Press Examiner Reviews Facebook page.