Episode 102: Thor, Phase 4, and a Lot More

The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here -Thor: Love and Thunder - and your Planet 8 crew has a lot to say about it. And it ain't necessarily good. Much like the previous Thor film, this newest look at the God of Thunder takes a decidedly goofy slant. It's a little too goofy for our taste.

Beware -there are spoilers ahead!

Not to say there aren't some interesting or exciting things in the film. There are. But the whole film feels so unbalanced that it's hard to appreciate Christian Bale's performance as Gorr the God-Butcher, or Natalie Portman's appearance as Jane Foster, aka the Mighty Thor. Both of these characters have serious stories behind them; Gorr is a deeply grieving man, Jane is battling cancer. But they are undercut by the absurd situations and performances that surround them.

We're not against humor. The Marvel films have always had humor in them. But typically, it's been relegated to wise-cracking, not slapstick and utterly ridiculous situations. While some complain that Marvel films are too formulaic and there's no directorial freedom, in this case, it seems like Taika Waititi was given absolute free reign. Surely there's a happy medium, a balance between the serious and the absurd, formula and artistic license.

We move on from Thor to discuss Marvel Phase 4 and where it's going. What's the overarching plan? In Phase 3 we had Thanos and the Infinity Stones, what's the threat now? The multiverses colliding? It's also difficult to get excited when so many of our favorite characters are gone now.

The conversation takes us to the Disney Plus Marvel shows, and even some of the DC films. You just never know where it's gonna go with us!

For our Sensor Sweep, all you fans of both tiki and kaiju will want to know about the King Ghidorah tiki mug from Mondo ! This is a mug nearly as big as the three-headed monster himself. It stands a whopping 8 3/4" high and holds 26 ounces! You can buy it for $65 at Mondoshop.com.

And don't forget Godzillafest is coming up in August! The Planet 8 crew will be at Creatures-Con August 7th, and Bob will be selling passes for Godzillafest for $10 off at our table. Be sure to come see us and the fabulous guests at Creatures-Con in Orinda, California, including author David J. Skal and Sarah Karloff!

That's all for now. Let us know what you thought of Thor, our review, what's going on with Phase 4, and anything else!

Episode 102: Thor, Phase 4, and a Lot More

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