'Thor: Love and Thunder' asks theological questions
- and in a way answers them
You cannot explain evil and you cannot always defeat it. But you can take care of yourself.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in "Thor: Love and Thunder"
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in "Thor: Love and Thunder." Jason Boland / Marvel Studios
Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder" is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's giant superhero franchise film about one of theology's biggest issues. The answer to this problem? Watch for more MCU movies, of course. As you'd expect from Marvel, this solution is more than a little silly. But as you'd expect from Waititi, it's also surprisingly moving.
It is a question of so-called theodicy: How does a "good" god allow the existence of evil?
It is a question of so-called theodicy: How does a "good" god allow the existence of evil? "Thor: Love and Thunder" opens with one of the most painful versions of this problem: the suffering of a child. The first scenes of the film show Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) wandering the desert with his dying daughter, praying to his god to save her. Gorr eventually meets his deity, who nonchalantly sets him on his God-fearing path.
The film also highlights another, seemingly different, example of theodicy. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a brilliant physicist who has dedicated her life to expanding knowledge and helping people, is sick with cancer. There is no medical treatment. But she is helped by the divine intervention of the magic hammer of her former lover Thor. Maybe.
These two story arcs offer two different answers. Gorr the Godslayer thinks the world is evil because God (or gods) are not good. Jane Foster thinks that the gods may be good, but their actions are too mysterious for humans to follow or understand. Cancer and Thor's hammer may be part of a larger plan. How can you know as a little person?
But instead of actually putting an end to that idea, "Thor: Love and Thunder" spins. This is a superhero action movie after all. It's not about thinking big ideas. It's about the villains.
And there was a lot of fighting. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) begins fighting aliens in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He then returns to Earth where his people, the Asgard, establish a city/tourist destination. There he fights the minions of the God Butcher, with the help of Val, the King of Asgard (Tessa Thompson) and Jane Foster, who also has the power of Thor along with a mystical hammer. Then they all fight other threats in other dimensions.
If this plot sounds like nonsense – well, it is. Waititi's last superhero film, "Thor: Ragnarok," often featured deliberate self-parody. This one isn't even at the top. Sometimes it's like in one of the movies "Plane". There is a genre trope; there is a genre trope joke. There is a genre trope; there is a genre trope joke. Repeat until everything dissolves into giggles.
Constant deflation isn't exactly meant to undermine or deconstruct the superhero genre like Amazon's "The Boys."
Constant deflation isn't exactly meant to undermine or deconstruct the superhero genre like Amazon's "The Boys." Instead, Waititi wants to pull you out of the story and remind you that you're watching fiction.
The film also insists on constant self-narrative. Korg - Thor's living rock friend, played by Waititi himself - tells different versions of Thor's story to different groups of children. There's also an odd sequence where "Thor: Ragnarok" is reenacted as a sloppily staged community theater production. Thor is played by Luke Hemsworth, Chris' brother. (And yes, it's better than the original.)