Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Teaser - Review

Last time we saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) at the end of Avengers: Endgame, he was engaging in playful banter with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and had taken up with the Guardians of Galaxy or “Asgardians of the Galaxy” as he had rechristened them. The teaser makes it clear that Thor has checked out on his superhero duties and is looking to enjoy his life. Similarly, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is bored taking care of New Asgard. The teaser ends with our first look at female Thor (or Mighty Thor as per IMDB).

Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) continues the colorful and playful tone of the previous movie. Can't help but point out how different this movie is from DC's latest offering (The Batman). The latter is dark not only in terms of lighting and cinematography, but even content wise. I personally enjoy both flavors of superhero movies and would like both the studios to play to their strengths. DC does standalone movies well and Marvel has pretty much written the rulebook on creating a shared cinematic universe.

Check out the trailer below:

Back to the movie - Korg too returns. The biggest addition to the cast is arguably Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. Very smart marketing decision by Marvel Studios to not feature Gorr in the teaser. Russell Crowe portrays Zeus and we get a fleeting glimpse of him. Both these actors have portrayed DC Characters before (Batman and Superman's dad respectively) and would be great additions. 

Chris Hemsworth's Thor is enjoying himself as the God with no plan and is living his life to the fullest. He is seen briefly as a pirate on a ship and this reminded me of Drax's description of Thor from Avengers: Infinity War as being the child of a pirate and an angel. Hemsworth has great comedic timing and has an excellent chemistry with Chris Pratt. I look forward to their interactions in this movie and beyond.

 

Kevin Feige is taking the MCU in a new direction in Phase 4. Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness looks set to bring in the X-Men (and possibly Fantastic Four) into the fold and is rated R. Now we have a female Thor - Natalie Portman returns to the MCU and looks beefed-up for the role. This is an exciting time for MCU fans and I cannot wait to see how the MCU is shaped by the events that transpires in these two movies.

 

Trivia: The song “Sweet Child O' Mine” by Guns N' Roses is played in the teaser. 

 

Click here to read all my posts related to Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

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Thor: Ragnarok Trailer - Review and Reaction

We have our latest trailer of the next Marvel Cinematic Universe offering - Thor: Ragnarok.

Taika Waititi (Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) takes the directorial duties for the first time in MCU and looks to have done a great job. In addition to the  regulars (Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson), we have a few newcomers: Cate Blanchett as Hela, Karl Urban  as Skurge and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.

Check out the trailer below:

The trailer succeeded in selling the movie as a colorful and fun joyride with characters we are familiar with. The color palette looks very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. This is a movie I would spend money to watch in the theaters.

There is no grim mood or overly serious faced actors populating the screen. Plus the movie is shot in glorious colors that prevents the movie from being an eyesore. In short, this is NOT a DC Films movie.

Speaking of colors, the movie sports a strong hue of green. Hulk is not getting his standalone movie - Mark Ruffalo confirmed this recently. So Marvel Studios decided to make what should have been a solo Thor adventure into a Thor/Hulk buddy movie. Marvel Comics fan would be able to identify the “Planet Hulk” storyline. 

An animated movie of the same name was also released in 2010. That movie was fantastic and if this movie is even half as entertaining as the animated version, then Marvel has a huge winner on their hands.

Chris Hemsworth is his usual self as the never-too-serious but noble God of Thunder. Towards the end of the trailer, Thor looks like Raiden (with his white eyes) from the Mortal Kombat game. Raiden himself is based on Raijin, the Japanese God of Thunder.

Cate Blanchett seems to be having fun as the villain. And she has the reliable Karl Urban in sidekick mode. If this is not enough, Loki is back and this time Loki has not only applied his usual hair gel but also some kind of facial lotion that make his face look weird.

The movie introduces another character: Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson. Tessa shot to prominence after her performance in Creed. No doubt, Valkyrie will play an important part as the events unfold in the movie.




Yet another character of note is Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Though not featured in the trailer, I am sure he will make an appearance since his magical powers will fit in nicely within this universe of Gods and Monsters.

The special effects are done well. In a nutshell, this is the typical Marvel movie that respects the source material and gets the much deserved love from fans and critic alike.

Click here to read all my posts related to Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures 

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