Like a rainbow in the dark.

As character developments go, Thor’s ongoing evolution has been one of the MCU’s wildest.

Since his debut eleven years ago, it’s been a bumpy old ride for the God of Thunder, and at one point it genuinely looked like he’d reached the end of the road, however, after the admirable job Ragnarok did in giving the hero a new lease of life, and considering where we left him in Endgame, the opportunity to continue Thor’s story was just too good to pass on.

There can be little doubt that Taika Waititi changed Thor’s big screen future forever. As if from nowhere, the jolt Ragnarok gave the character completely revived him, getting the hero back on track and with a new lease of life, however, as we move onto a new chapter for both Thor and the MCU, can the director once again capture lightening in a bottle?

Now finding himself traversing the galaxy with the Guardians, Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) journey of self-discovery is rudely interrupted by a deadly new adversary known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), whose sole purpose is to seek the extinction of the gods. To combat this powerful new foe, Thor must team with Korg (Taika Waititi), King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and old flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and embark on a cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of Gorr’s vengeance and to stop him before it’s too late.

Isn’t it weird how things go? It really wasn’t long ago that Taika Waititi’s quirky take on Thor felt like a true breath of fresh Marvel air. Fast forward a few years, however, and the director feels like Film Twitter enemy number one.

Truth be told, his idiosyncratic humour really hasn’t changed much over the years, so if you’ve grown weary of Waititi’s weirdness, Love and Thunder almost certainly won’t be your thing. For everyone else still in sync with Waititi’s brand of easy-going irreverence, this is your lucky day.

Sure, the film’s far from perfect, yet there’s something in its corny wholesomeness and scrappy imperfections that make it truly endearing. Say what you want about Taika Waititi's take on Thor (and many have), but this remains the most interesting MCU version of the character and a world away from the earnest god we first met over a decade ago.

As odd as it sounds, it’s the film’s weird little defects that make Love and Thunder all the more endearing. It’s camp, it’s kooky, it’s very cheesy, however, there’s just something in these oddball flaws that makes it an absolute breeze to watch.

If you’re looking for the kind of stern grandeur of Thor’s earlier efforts, you’ll get none of that here, as Waititi doubles down on the unique leftfield humour that changed the game in Ragnarok, distancing the Avenger even further from his MCU origins. For those that yearn for the solemnity of Thor’s early years, you’re bang out of luck, because – and I cannot stress this enough – that version of the character is gone for good.

Coming thick and fast, the film’s jokes are a little hit and miss at times, as the quick one-liners and witticisms vary wildly in quality. To anyone well acquainted with Waititi’s comedy stylings, what we get in Love and Thunder will come as no surprise, with jokes lurching from chucklesome to toe-curling. However, there’s something so oddly endearing about it all that even the film’s cringiest gags work in a weird way.

Make no mistake, the film is 100% Taika Waititi’s style; one which, in many ways, has changed little from even his Boy days, and while that may sound like a nightmare for some, for others more attune to the director’s sensibilities and not adverse to Marvel’s more light-hearted side, Love and Thunder will be a treat. As with any MCU humour, however, there’s always the risk of emotions being undercut, yet Love and Thunder largely avoids this.

While largely silly and irreverent, when Love and Thunder’s emotions hit, they hit hard, resulting in some of the most heartfelt and affecting moments in the entire MCU. Thor’s continuing journey of self-discovery plays a big part in all this, yet it’s the presence of Jane Foster that really ramps the emotional resonance up a few notches.

As the title suggests, this is a film about choosing love above all, and whether it’s the rekindled affection between Thor and Jane or the God Butcher’s tragic arc, this emphasis on heart and emotion lands despite the jokes. Of course, there are times when a sudden humour U-turn will be enough to give you whiplash, however, as the story develops, the emotional beats really start to hit home, leading to a truly affecting finale.

Despite being pretty ditzy at times, the plot itself is admirably self-contained, especially when considering how expansive the MCU has become, and, while the overall quality isn’t quite up there with Ragnarok, finds itself far more focused than its predecessor. Clocking in at just under two hours, there’s no doubt that the script could’ve certainly benefitted from a little more time to breathe, yet, the truncated runtime makes Love and Thunder an absolute breeze to watch.

Quite frankly, in an era when blockbusters appear determined to push your bladder to its limits, any huge franchise effort that wizzes by in a couple of hours is to be commended, and while the breeziness of the plot helps things, the film’s relentless energy really makes it hum. Driven by a Guns N’ Roses-heavy soundtrack and Michael Giacchino’s belting score, Waititi ensures that the film’s visuals match its hard rocking attitude every step of the way.

Making great use of ‘The Volume’ technology that worked so well in The Mandalorian, Waititi’s Love and Thunder visuals really are quite extraordinary at times, flitting between ultra-vibrant set pieces ripped from the comics to a monochrome fight sequence among the MCU’s finest. Leaned in on a tad too heavily at times, some cracks do appear in the CGI veneer, yet the film remains a visual success, and its cast are clearly having a whale of a time with it all.

It's a real rarity that you can actually sense the fun a cast are having emanate from the screen, but with Waititi in charge and with such a relentlessly fun-loving script at their disposal, you can just feel the blast Love and Thunder’s ensemble are having. To this end, Chris Hemsworth feels as comfortable as he’s ever been as Thor, and while this is by far the most laid back we’ve ever seen the hero, his commitment to the character has never dulled.

Around him, the film has assembled itself a very neat cast indeed, with the MCU debuting Christian Bale and the returning Natalie Portman showing themselves to be the film’s true MVPs. Despite the addition of these two coming at the detriment of Tessa Thompson’s screen time, Bale and Portman certainly show their worth as they inject just the right amount of heart, power, and pathos into proceedings.

That said, however, the biggest star of the show is probably Taika Waititi himself. For better or worse, Love and Thunder is perhaps the most Waititi a Waititi movie gets, and while his signature style may not always gel with the MCU, the very fact that the director managed to make the most Taika film possible, on the biggest stage possible, all while getting Marvel to stump up the cash for it is something to be respected.

Without a doubt, if Taika Waititi’s humour rocks your world in any way, you’ll have an absolute ball with Love and Thunder, and while it would be nice to see him dip back into smaller films for a bit, for the moment at least, just kick back and enjoy the wild Waititi ride we’re on right now.

While the continuing reliance on humour will turn off some, for those that adore Thor’s continued reinvention under Taika Waititi, Love and Thunder is exactly what you’re looking for. Sure, it’s far from perfect, but it’s hard not to fall for the film’s corny, scrappy little heart. Helmed with gusto by a Chris Hemsworth more comfortable in the role than he’s ever been and bolstered by the presence of Natalie Portman and Christian Bale, Love and Thunder is, like its title suggests, a heartfelt blast.