The latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Thor: Love and Thunder, also signifies the fourth stand-alone film for the character (the most for any character). While it proves wildly entertaining and engaging for most of its running time, the film finds itself caught a bit too much in the whimsical nature of its subject and ends up a little too light on the story side of the ledger.

In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) embarks on an epic journey for inner peace. However, his retirement is halted when Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) arrives seeking to extinguish all of the gods from the universe. In an effort to defeat this new foe, Thor joins forces with King Valkryie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and his former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now possesses the magical hammer Mjolnir.

Working from a script by himself and...