02 August 2022 14:00
Taika Waititi has been so committed to instilling a tone of good-natured comedy in Thor: love and thunder to make believe that this sequel, belonging to the saga of the Marvel cinematic universe, was made for children. It would be nice if it ushered in a trend, with the kids becoming the main audience of this stuff again, and everyone else acting like adults and paying to see movies from mature people. Pastel colors dominate the image, and the narrative is presented as an extravagant fairy tale, told by a cheerful stone warrior, Korg (Waititi), companion of the protagonist, who celebrates the adventures of Thor and his fellow guardians of the galaxy, the which “fight a just battle for those who cannot”. Of all the films in the Thor saga, this is the one whose release has had the best box office results.
Waititi is following up on his successful effort to insert playful humor into the Marvel universe, which began in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), where gloom and light humor intertwined. The tensions continue in Thor: love and thunderstarting from the parallel story of the villain, which shows us Gorr the slaughterer of the gods (Christian Bale) who gives vent to his – fully justified – grudge against the gods left with his hands in his hands, taking possession of the god-killing sword:
“The sword has chosen you. Now you are cursed ”.
“It’s funny, it doesn’t seem like a curse to me.”
The narratives involving repudiation and divinity killings are naturally compelling and, for a brief moment, I had high hopes for this film. But after the opening sequence, the film doesn’t add much to this cue. Gorr simply becomes yet another villain to stop, and his motives against the cruel abuses of the gods are largely ridiculed. An evil deity is comically killed – although it is true that it is a very important deity in the pantheon – to satisfy that vague feeling, instigated by Gorr, that bowing and bowing to completely ineffective authority is probably a mistake. all levels.
Serious plot number two stars scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Now sick with cancer and determined to live her life to the best in the time she has left, she fights the evil cosmics alongside Thor, wearing Viking clothes and making the latter’s hammer, once destroyed and now reconstituted, her weapon personal. This leads to many comedic scenes, with Thor and Jane long apart after a bad breakup, embarrassingly managing their reunion. Thor pines for both Jane and his old weapon – which makes his new battle ax quite jealous – and is pitied by his friends: “It must be hard for you to see your ex girlfriend and ex hammer going. so agree “.
The comedy side is handled quite well by Chris Hemsworth, naturally funny as Thor, much more so than Portman, hopelessly incapable of comedy. Hemsworth is so tremendously muscled that he can’t bring his swollen arms down to hips. Realizing that he no longer looks human, he plays her cartoonish good looks with humor. His divine self-centeredness and his tendency to speak pompously angers everyone, even when he claims he’s just looking for some peace because “my superhero days are over.”
A talented cast in supporting roles also contributes to strengthening the comic dimension. There are the interpreters of Guardians of the galaxy in some opening scenes, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and the colorful cameos of Matt Damon, Melissa McCarthy, Sam Neill and Luke Hemsworth as honest actors who, in the realm of Asgard, stage cheesy versions of Thor’s adventures for tourists .
Waititi goes around the world speaking solemnly about his approach to comedy as a key to fighting fascism and addressing vital social issues.
Notably, Russell Crowe brings to the film, as Zeus, all the hilarity he is capable of. He is so muscular and in bad shape that he is practically unrecognizable to anyone who still has the intense and beautiful New Zealand star of his days in mind. L.A. Confidential e Gladiator. Crowe, however, seems to take it with a sense of humor. He plays the whimsical god in a sleeveless suit with a gold breastplate that showcases his flabby arms and a soft, flounced underskirt, which he gently lifts when he must descend a giant ladder to face Thor. Crowe also enjoys flaunting his confused Greek accent. Or, at the very least, he’s supposed to be Greek.
If all this doesn’t amuse you, there are always the screaming giant goats pulling the flying Viking ship. And if you feel a certain tension from all the efforts made to be funny, it means that you have understood the meaning of the film. It seems that he is trying with all his might and that he is only partially successful. Maybe Waititi is simply getting tired.
The director became ubiquitous after the Oscar for Best Screenplay for JoJo Rabbit in 2020. In addition to the Thor movies, he plays the pirate Blackbeard in the Hbo Max comedy series, Our flag means deathwhile a recent portrait in the New York Times talks about his crazy work commitments and his omnipresence in the media: “For television, forty-six Waititi participated in the comedy series of Fx on Hulu, Reservation dogs (as co-creator) e What we do in the shadows (based on a film he co-wrote and co-directed), plus one spinoff of the film Vita da vampiro – What we do in the shadowstitled Wellington postnormal. At the cinema he lends his voice to one of the good guys Lightyear – The true story of Buzz and plays one of the villains of Free guy – Hero for fun. Waititi is also mounting Next goal wins, a football comedy drama that he wrote with Iain Morris and directed for Searchlight. He is then writing a new film in the saga of Star Wars for Lucasfilm and a series based on the film Time bandits for Apple TV +. You are also preparing two projects based on Roald Dahl for Netflix and adapting a graphic novel by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius to make a feature film ”.
He’s really risking overexposure. After each new high-profile project, Waititi seems to go around the world speaking more solemnly about his approach to comedy as a key to fighting fascism, addressing vital social issues, and making delicate speeches about the nature of love. and what it means to be a man. He starred in a TED talk, and attended Time’s event, 100 Summit, talking about the importance of comedy in learning history.
All this really makes you nostalgic for the old and restful times of Taika Waititi pre-JoJo RabbitWhen Vita da vampiro – What we do in the shadows (2014) was a sweet and hilarious vampire mockumentary, soon to become a delightful television series, written and directed by Waititi himself and his old friend from Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement. Times when none of the people involved spoke of their plays as an essential tool to save the world from fascism.
(Translation by Federico Ferrone)