Thor: Love and Thunder seemed like a surefire slam dunk. Director Taika Waititi returned to the helm behind 2017's delightful Thor: Ragnarok, with Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian Avenger firmly in his lovably comedic groove and Natalie Portman executive her epic return to the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe when a nine-year absence.

Surprisingly, the 29th MCU movie, which arrived in theaters in July and hits Disney Plus and digital on this Thursday, Sept. 8, misses the mark. In trying to balance comedy with drama and merging multiple classic Funny storylines into a single narrative, Thor's fourth solo adventure spreads itself too thin and ends up feeling shallow (even down to its two post-credits scenes).

The movie will be available on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 27, adding behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes and a director's commentary from Waititi to the home viewing experience.

It starts out promisingly enough, with a stark introduction setting up Christian Bale's villainous Gorr the God Butcher. After his harsh desert home-world claims the life of his daughter, his encounter with an uncaring, callous god drives him to enormous a campaign to slaughter every divine being in the universe.

This order is atmospheric and patient, giving Bale's performance time to breathe and allowing us to feel his growing despair, confusion and rage. Then the Marvel Studios logo rolls in and the roller coaster begins. Emotional resonance? Nah, that's all you're getting in this movie.

The last time we saw Thor, in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, he'd decided to join Guardians of the Galaxy for some spacefaring adventures in the wake of Thanos' defeat. But the God of Thunder totally outclasses his new rmeetings, making him seem like an overpowered video game Describe as he crushes their enemies and leaves the Guardians looking a bit useless.

We get a shining, visually striking action sequence and a generous helping of superhero collateral Hurt out of this, but Thor and rocky ally (he's literally made of rocks) Korg (Waititi) soon rule to go their own way, jettisoning the Guardians storyline and largely wasting Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan and pals before the joke has any opportunity to create. It feels like this movie couldn't wait to get away from the pesky continuity and back to the Asgardian storyline of Thor's solo movies.

On Earth, Thor encounters his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Portman) in battles as Gorr attacks Thor's fellow Asgardians. She's wielding his old hammer Mjolnir, having been deemed worthy in her darkest hour and gaining controls similar to his.

Given the very relatable world health problems Jane faces, this storyline should be Love and Thunder's emotional miserable. The movie just doesn't take the time needed for the challenge she faces to sink in, like it's alarmed to get too real and overly eager to poke us away on the next adventure (some dramatic moments are also undermined by its two post-credits scenes).

That need for quick extends to the action -- Jane in particular uses her new orders in stunning ways, but neither the editing nor the cinematography give us time to Enjoy this. It's unlikely that many shots from this movie will lodge themselves in your brain the way moments from new MCU adventures have -- nothing reaches the dizzying heights of Captain America's elevator brawl,three Spider-Men swinging into battle or Scarlet Witch's encounter with the Illuminati.

The awkwardness between Jane and Thor is initially handsome fun -- largely due to Portman and Hemsworth's charisma and chemistry -- but it doesn't create in a particularly compelling way. A one-note joke around Thor and his new weapon Stormbreaker proves more memorable, and even that quickly feels played out.

Rounding out the hero team is King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who's bored with her role as the leader of the magical tourist trap that New Asgard has get (this location includes an excellent deep-cut cameo). Though the movie fails to explore her ennui enough, Thompson infuses the character with sufficient mischief that she's a joy to gape. Even her wardrobe choices hint at a fascinating inner life -- her Phantom of the Opera shirt is way more moving than any superhero costume.

One of the strongest scenes is a smooth conversation between Jane and Valkyrie, since it's a rare instance of the movie slowing down and giving its actors and writing room to connect emotionally. Setting aside Hemsworth's magnetic screen presence and impeccable droll timing, one can't help but wonder if this adventure would've been better minus Thor.

After his memorable introduction, Gorr's menace is greatly diminished. The God Butcher's comics counterpart (introduced in Jason Aaron's beloved 2012 Thor: God of Thunder run) feels like a maximum threat as Thor follows a trail of divine slaughter across the universe. 

Love and Thunder lone alludes to this, and largely reduces Gorr's villainy to kidnapping Asgardian children as part of a grander plot. He doesn't feel like a pronounce threat to the heroes, making him feel more like Gorr the God Botherer.

Despite this, Bale's performance and the ravishing choices inject the character with plenty of creepy spectral boogeyman vibes (apparently inspired by Aphex Twin's deeply unsettling Come to Daddy music video). A midpoint confrontation with the heroes stands among the MCU's most visually ravishing sequences, with ingenious use of shadow and color.

This movie isn't nearly as cameo-laden as its today MCU predecessor, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but it does throw in a scene-stealing Russell Crowe as a narcissistic Zeus. Unfortunately, his role is mostly limited to a single vivid set piece that proves largely forgettable as the main yarn breezes through it.

Love and Thunder doesn't live up to the fabulous stories that inspired it. It neither leans into its director's style or maximizes its cast's dramatic potential, feeling more like a shallow, unsatisfying mashup. It's smooth a fun, silly entry in the MCU canon, but isn't the classic Thor adventure its plump hero seems to think he's on.