Thor: Love and Thunder

 Ephraim Belnap

Thor: Love and Thunder is a rip-roaring good time of a Thor film. 

Whereas previous Thor films have had to tie into a grand overplot, Thunder is free of a wider issue and is free to simply bask in the joy of a good superhero story. In the spirit of the great comic books of the last ten years, they've simply created a modern, action-packed, visually sumptuous marvel of a story and made it as accessible and likable as anything. 

The premises are two-fold. 

The first, plastered all over the marketing - Jane Foster, Thor's ex, is now a God of Thunder too, wielding a re-assembeld Mjolnir with all attendant powers. 

The second? A grief-stricken alien has claimed the powers of god-slaying and seeks to end all deities in the universe, with only Thor and his cohorts to stop them. 

The execution is marvelous. While the comedic trappings of Thor: Ragnarok were hailed as a reinvention of the character, there was always the chance that it couldn't be recreated. A character who's too funny can lose the dramatic heft they previously had. But Thunder shows it wasn't a one-off. The power of Thor is replicable in more ways than one. 

With a strong script, enjoyable performances, and mind-blowing visuals, Thor: Love & Thunder is a perfect summer treat, with kids especially likely to enjoy.