July 12, 2022 – New Zealand's second most famous filmmaker, Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok” and “Jojo Rabbit”) has unleashed his second Thor movie, and I liked it a bit better than “Ragnarok.” It features equal measures of action, comedy and poignancy. It takes some time to gain traction, but it finally gets going, and it has a powerful ending.

In “Ragnarok,” Waititi (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson) was forced to work with scraps left over from previous Marvel films. In this one, he reworks a different mythology involving ancient gods like Zeus (played by Russell Crowe) who have a less than benevolent view of mortals.

In most religions, including New Age nonsense like “Cosmic Consciousness,” humans hold an exalted position in the overall scheme of things, but not in this movie, which opens with a god who obviously regards humans as insignificant. This leads to his downfall, when a human, Gorr (Christian Bale of the “Batman” trilogy) presented with a god-slaying Necrosword, kills the god who neglected him and his daughter. Gorr vows to kill all gods to repay them in kind for his suffering and his daughter's death because. This leads to chaos.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth, reprising his role) who has become a clownish shell of his former self, responds to a planet where the residents are under attack after their god is slain by Gorr. After repelling the attackers, Thor learns of other gods killed by Gorr.

Realizing the danger, Thor, along with Asgardian King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson, reprising her role) the rock creature Korg (voiced by Taika Waititi) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, reprising her role) who has magically become another Thor, thanks to the magical war hammer Mjolnir, all travel to the magical realm of Omnipotence City to enlist the aid of other gods, led by Zeus.

Zeus, secure in his kingdom, is not interested in saving the kingdoms of mortals, and he forbids Thor from leaving, fearing that Thor will reveal the location of Omnipotence City to Gorr. Thor defeats Zeus and escapes with his team, along with Zeus' weapon, lighting. The team heads off to the Shadow Realm in a desperate attempt to defeat Gorr. Along the way, Thor and Jane renew their romance, but Jane reveals that she is dying of cancer. Each time she uses the power of Thor's hammer, it hastens her march to death.

There is a symmetry between Jane and Gorr, since each time they use their weapons, they both hasten their own demise. In the end, it all comes down to sacrifice and love. There are battles, to be sure, but in the end, the battles don't determine the ultimate outcome. Thor, Jane and Gorr are all free to make their own choices, for their own reasons, based on their own feelings for those they love. It is a tale as old as time.

In the end, this story isn't really about gods. The gods are ultimately irrelevant. It is a love story about selfishness versus selflessness. The struggle between these two impulses is the very same struggle that is at the heart of what is going on in America, and the rest of the world. It could hardly be more relevant. This film rates a B.

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