I had really high hopes for this movie. Was quite excited and curious to see where Taika would take this character, especially after the stunning and very well made Ragnarok which was easily the best in the Thor franchise. However, I have to say, Love and Thunder falls flat on its face on most occasions, which is not a good sign.
The dialogues are cringe-worthy most of the time and the action sequences just don't have the impact that Ragnarok had. Why that is, I'm not entirely sure but its definitely a combination of lousy writing and bad utilisation of the 80's music albums which just doesn't land. There are a few genuine jokes that can earn some good laughs, but after a point they just become so repetitive and boring, that you start to wonder how could they write such a script. I mean this is Marvel we're talking about! Character development is equally bad - they have reduced Thor to a jester in this film, undoing his amazing character arc from Ragnarok to Endgame. Valkyrie is extremely under-utilised and so is Natalie Portman's Jane Foster.
But perhaps the most disappointing part of the film is the under-utilization of Christian Bale's Gorr. When you bring in a capable actor like Christian Bale, expectations ride high and if given the right character arc and good writing, they can knock it out of the park. However, the script just doesn't do him justice. Bale still manages to shine in the time and sequences he's given, but he could have easily done more had the script allowed for it.
All in all, this film is a serious letdown from Marvel and is one of the weakest in Phase 4. Christian Bale's Gorr and Natalie portman's Jane are easily the saving graces for this film and is the only reason I'm giving it 3 stars.