Saturday afternoon I went along to see the latest Marvel offering, which was the next instalment in the Thor series. Marvel Studios rarely put a foot wrong and while I’m a fan who is pretty much committed to seeing each new film produced, Thor: Love and Thunder seems to miss the target. While it is certainly not the worst of the films in the MCU, it’s far from the best.

In these situations, I go back to the thought of was there a story worth telling here and unfortunately, I don’t think there was. It felt like another film used as a steppingstone to introduce additional characters into the universe which is quite a shame.

My biggest issue with Thor: Love and Thunder is that there was just too much going on and I was left a little confused and uninspired. As not all the stories combined into one narrative, it just felt as if we didn’t get to fully explore any storyline to its full potential.

While I appreciate the change in direction that Taika Waititi brought to Thor: Ragnarok, for me the quirky charismatic fun films that we’ve come to love Waitiki for, is a mismatch for Thor. I think there are other characters in the MCU that could have benefited more from his style.

This is probably going to sound a little silly, but I thought the balance of humour to drama was way off. It really felt like there were too many jokes being crammed in and I’m sorry to say not all were laugh out loud moments. It was a quantity over quality feeling. I have two issues with this.

Firstly, because the balance was off, the more serious moments didn’t land the gut punch of emotion that could have been achieved. There were a few scenes that didn’t hit me as much as I thought they would have and should have.

Secondly, Marvel Studios appears to be going more in this direction across the different films. The issue isn’t so much bringing humour in. I’m a big fan of comedy and I know they are comic book films and should be light-hearted. It’s just that in doing so there runs a risk of each film losing a bit of an edge as to what makes them all different. It almost feels like they are going for the approach of bringing more appeal rather than servicing the niche that the different characters bring. I hope I’m wrong.

On the positive side of things Christian Bale and Natalie Portman both stand out in this film despite their competing storylines. Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie is a great character who unfortunately fell into the background but is still enjoyable. Also keep an eye out for several Australian actors and comedians in the background scenes of New Asgard – the bonuses of filming in Australia! The soundtrack is a banger heavily featuring Gun N’ Roses which fits to the tone of the film that was delivered.

Maybe I’m just a fan suffering from a little Marvel fatigue. Coupled with coming off great successes of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ and ‘Moon Knight’ that I really enjoyed, I’m a little flat.

If you enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok I think you’ll like this one too.

Rating:  Alright