Taika Waititi takes a hammer to Thor in ‘Love & Thunder’

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — To a large degree, modern blockbuster moviemaking has depended on the appeasement of fans to keep franchise juggernauts smoothly humming. But in making “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Taika Waititi had no interest in that. He approached the film from the opposite direction. What would actually make fans angry? Love was Waititi’s answer, and it’s not the only thing way he disrupts the Marvel cinematic universe in the “Thor” sequel. In “Love and Thunder” there are things that usually never enter the MCU, like kids and cancer. It’s scruffy, unruly and surprisingly human-scaled. Manly valor is mostly a joke. And it’s undeniably the work of Waititi.