The last scenes in "Thor: Love and Thunder" underscore why the preceding 100 minutes have been such fun.
They're the usual pair of scenes slid into the closing credits of every Marvel Cinematic Universe offering. But instead of setting up other MCU movies or introducing us to characters who might recur somewhere down the road (will we ever see "Black Widow's" Julia Louis-Dreyfus again?), they resolve some "Love and Thunder" story lines and suggest possibilities for future "Thor" movies. In fact, other than an entirely extraneous appearance by the "Guardians of the Galaxy" crew early in "Love and Thunder," what's left of the rest of the MCU is barely acknowledged.
That's a good thing because it frees up director/co-writer Taika Waititi to let his freak flag fly. "Love and Thunder" has a goofy streak a mile wide, as if Waititi is letting us know he's fully aware of the ridiculousness of a bunch of muscle-y actors running around in Halloween costumes. I'm thinking of when Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), newly anointed as the Mighty Thor, confesses to Thor (Chris Hemsworth), "It's my first bad guy," and he replies, "You never forget your first."
That exchange is funny but it also acknowledges the undercurrent of emotion between characters who, a "Thor" movie or two ago, were each other's first loves. Much more than in his Oscar-winning "Jojo Rabbit," Waititi demonstrates an ability to shift between tones without leaving a bad taste in our mouths. "Love and Thunder" is mostly a comedy but, without raining on those laughs, it's also sometimes an intense horror movie and sometimes a wrenching drama.
The last two elements both involve Christian Bale, doing what might be the finest, creepiest acting in all the MCU. Jarringly, the movie opens on Bale and a little girl in a desert straight out of a "Mad Max" movie. He's a father, watching his parched daughter die and, wracked by grief, vowing to kill the gods he blames for her death. That's kinda bad news for our heroes, who also include Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie and Russell Crowe, who experiments with a Borat accent as a randy, dissolute Zeus.
Waititi has to follow a few rules of the MCU. There are still plenty of special effects battles and hints at complicated mythology. But Waititi's movie is leaner than most of its brethren, clocking in at less than two hours, and it feels like he was given license to mess with our expectations.
Instead of assuming that we remember what Thor has been up to, for instance, Waititi includes a snarky but helpful recap. And he shows canny instincts for what audiences want from a jokey superhero movie, making room for a bunch of kids who are kidnapped by Bale and who, as near as I can remember, are the most prominent representation in the MCU of the age group that flocks to these movies.
Too often, Marvel movies feel like they're made for a club that we're not invited into if we haven't boned up on the prerequisite comics and can't remember what a stupid tesseract is. But "Love and Thunder" feels like it's starting a new club, one that would be fun to join.
'Thor: Love and Thunder'
*** out of 4 stars
Rated: PG-13 for strong language and violence.
Where: Area theaters.
