The world is in an eighties renaissance thanks to the vanguard of creatives born and raised in that long-ago time of hairspray and synth. The influence from that era of popular culture seeped into the 2010s and has become a permanent stain on the carpeting of our collective cultural unconscious.
We’ve welcomed shows like the Netflix flagship Stranger Things and garish fashion dominates the shelves. The mullet even seems to have made its resurgence – although that one might just have to go. So, in Hollywood it is easy to see why previously failing franchises like Marvel’s Thor series took a new direction; one with a bit of pomp, some Led Zeppelin, and (yes) some hairspray.
Director Taiki Waititi’s newest romp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, again, an ‘80s inspired trip through the wilder side of the now-well-travelled comic book films. It follows in Thor Ragnorak’s at times fever dream footsteps, traversing space alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy in a post-Endgame Marvel world.
Thor is rediscovering himself in a journey for inner peace, and the film is a brilliant match made in heaven between Hemsworth’s Thor – who has been manifestly ridiculous since even his first outing but was somehow supposed to be thought of as serious – and Chris Pratt’s wily band of space-trotting misfits.
The zany story of the Guardians meets Thor becomes a sidepiece for the film, however, even though it’s one of its stronger facets.
Thor comes face to face with Gorr the God Butcher – an uber serious and plaintive villain who seeks the extinction of the gods (Thor included) and played by Christian Bale. It’s a clear dichotomy where Waititi balances the film on a tonal border between comedy and drama deftly and to great success.
For lovers of Marvel, this is a must-see, and even for those just missing the ‘80s.
Don’t miss Thor: Love and Thunder’s opening day at the Bowen Summergarden Cinema Thursday, July 7.
