Thor: Love and Thunder

 Why don't we talk about something other than my health for a little... 

 Thor: Love and Thunder, the latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's take on the comic book version of the God of Thunder. 

 I'll be up front - I don't like Taika Waitiki's take on Thor. I didn't like it in Thor: Ragnarok and I don't like it in Love and Thunder. I much preferred Kenneth Branagh's vision of Thor. Now, please don't understand that I think Thor movies should be all serious and "Shakespearean."

 Well, maybe... yeah... Shakespearean is actually good. Because, contrary to popular belief, Shakespeare isn't actually all that serious and stuffy. Shakespeare knew that the best drama needs comedy and the best comedies need drama. Any good Shakespeare play is basically a balance between love, murder and dick-jokes... the precise proportions of each determining if we call it a comedy or a tragedy.

 Anyway, I think Kenneth Branagh understood that - the balance between drama and comedy - and applied it well to the first Thor movie. 

 I don't think Taika Waitiki strikes that balance. It's not just that he leans more heavily into the comedy. He does, but that's not in itself a bad thing. It's that his comedy and drama don't really harmonize. 

 There is no one thing in Thor: Love and Thunder that I can point to and say "I didn't this movie because..." I'm not even sure I didn't like it... but it doesn't sit well with me, and not in a good way.