I think most people thought it was a big mistake when Disney cut ties with Lord & Miller before they completed their Solo film. Now I'm not so sure. It's a little off-putting having a downright farcical movie in an established cinematic universe. Thor: Love and Thunder is about as grounded as a Naked Gun movie, but for some reason the comedy rarely hits for me, where I can enjoy it in an actual spoof. I was surprised, despite the nearly constant attempts at humor, the crowded theater I was in rarely did more than chuckle. If they're going to make a straight-up comedy then they need it to be more laugh-out-loud funny. Of course comedic taste is extremely subjective, so I'm sure some people enjoy laughing along. I just wish it was as effective as Taika Waititi's other films have been for me (including Thor Ragnarok.)
The real problem with Thor: Love and Thunder is that it is so irreverent but they also try to tackle heavier topics. The film starts with the death of a child, it focuses on a major character dealing with cancer, and the villain is literally called "the god butcher." Going back to my comparison to The Naked Gun, it's like you are watching that film and the filmmakers expect you to feel bad about Nordberg almost getting killed. There is no weight to anything, and it undercuts any attempt at emotion. I'd be genuinely shocked if someone told me they shed a tear while watching this movie, even if the humor lets up at the big climactic moment, though it clearly is trying for some real heart-tugging. I can take a light-hearted movie in the MCU where nothing of vital importance happens, but there are some important plot points, and that's a problem.
That's not the only problem with Thor: Love and Thunder, and I could probably go on a full tirade about many of the other issues. However, I will restrain myself and just hit each one like quick bullet points. The handing off of Mjolnir like a loyal pet kind of undermines the magic of the whole "worthy" thing established prior to this film. The quick shuffling off of the Guardians of the Galaxy is about as shoddy as Chris Pratt's hair in the film. The whole god convention sequence is atrocious and makes you feel like Gorr has the right idea. Thor has become as shallow and dumb as the version they featured on the What If show. The handing off of Thor's lightning powers to anyone at any time with any weapon makes him look rather selfish in prior films when they could have used a bit of extra help against someone like Thanos. The deus ex machina of the Eternity wish now makes previous plans of people like Thanos and even the Scarlet Witch feel over-complicated when all they needed was a quick trip with Stormbreaker. I'll stop there, but the really sad thing about all this is that it has taken less than 3 years for the MCU to go from a franchise where I couldn't bear to miss a single film, to a franchise where I might just skip out on some movies because the quality has dipped so dramatically.
The real problem with Thor: Love and Thunder is that it is so irreverent but they also try to tackle heavier topics. The film starts with the death of a child, it focuses on a major character dealing with cancer, and the villain is literally called "the god butcher." Going back to my comparison to The Naked Gun, it's like you are watching that film and the filmmakers expect you to feel bad about Nordberg almost getting killed. There is no weight to anything, and it undercuts any attempt at emotion. I'd be genuinely shocked if someone told me they shed a tear while watching this movie, even if the humor lets up at the big climactic moment, though it clearly is trying for some real heart-tugging. I can take a light-hearted movie in the MCU where nothing of vital importance happens, but there are some important plot points, and that's a problem.
That's not the only problem with Thor: Love and Thunder, and I could probably go on a full tirade about many of the other issues. However, I will restrain myself and just hit each one like quick bullet points. The handing off of Mjolnir like a loyal pet kind of undermines the magic of the whole "worthy" thing established prior to this film. The quick shuffling off of the Guardians of the Galaxy is about as shoddy as Chris Pratt's hair in the film. The whole god convention sequence is atrocious and makes you feel like Gorr has the right idea. Thor has become as shallow and dumb as the version they featured on the What If show. The handing off of Thor's lightning powers to anyone at any time with any weapon makes him look rather selfish in prior films when they could have used a bit of extra help against someone like Thanos. The deus ex machina of the Eternity wish now makes previous plans of people like Thanos and even the Scarlet Witch feel over-complicated when all they needed was a quick trip with Stormbreaker. I'll stop there, but the really sad thing about all this is that it has taken less than 3 years for the MCU to go from a franchise where I couldn't bear to miss a single film, to a franchise where I might just skip out on some movies because the quality has dipped so dramatically.