Thor: Love and Thunder

Taika Waititi has done it again.

Four years after bringing his distinct Kiwi wit to Thor: Ragnarok, the director/co-writer ups the ante with the even better Thor: Love and Thunder, an entertaining romp of epic comic book proportions.

Told as a goofy bedtime story by rock warrior Korg (voiced by Waititi), the fourth Thor film finds the former (?) Avenger working alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, yet feeling unfulfilled and uncertain about his future. After a thrilling yet humorously flawed mission with these friends that earns him a pair of screaming goats — who miraculously never grow annoying — Thor and Korg respond to a distress signal from their old friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander), who warns of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale, in full Voldemort mode) setting his murderous sights on Thor.

Thanks to a lean prologue, we know what Gorr is capable of, and in no time we’re also brought up to speed on Thor’s former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her attempts to beat cancer, efforts that find her called to New Asgard — where tourism is booming in all sorts of wacky ways — by none other than Thor’s shattered hammer Mjölnir.

All of the above paths intersect at the reestablished homeland, resulting in Thor, Korg, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Jane — charmingly adjusting to her life as a Thor — teaming up to rescue the village’s children from Gorr.

Their captivating journey weaves in an excellent running gag in which Thor attempts to catch up with Mjölnir while his axe Stormbreaker behaves like a moody, jealous girlfriend, and a hilarious stretch in the god-saturated Omnipotence City with more strange sights than a Tatooine cantina, including Russell Crowe’s Zeus acting like he runs a Greek/Italian restaurant on the side.

Even as our heroes reach their ultimate destination — a lovely B&W sequence that recalls Sin City — Waititi and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Unpregnant) hold to their winning combination of action and comedy and inject jokes into such perilous situations as Thor making fun of Gorr’s dental woes during a face-off.

Few filmmakers can pull off this tightrope act so effortlessly, yet in Waititi’s hands, Love and Thunder unspools over a zippy two hours that suggest a master at the top of his game. Based on his success rate within the MCU, odds are good that he’ll perform similarly well on his forthcoming Star Wars film, but it’s his commitment to more personal projects like Jojo Rabbit and next year’s soccer dramedy Next Goal Wins that makes him one of the most exciting filmmakers working today.

Grade: A-minus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Marvel Studios)