ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Taika Waititi

Thor: Love and Thunder – [Faith, Hope] and Love and Thunder

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(L-R): Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder sees the once-mighty titular hero (Chris Hemsworth) set out with the Guardians of the Galaxy on ‘wacky adventures’, saving planets from threats to their safety. Having not dealt with the deaths of various family members and loved ones, Thor is avoiding his feelings of grief and loss. However, when he is called back home to defend Asgard against Gorr the God Butcher (portrayed wonderfully by Christian Bale), he must face his past. Teaming up with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Dr. Jane Foster (a returning Natalie Portman), who has now become the Mighty Thor through a heart-tugging series of events, Thor begins a new set of adventures as he attempts to re-discover his value.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

As we’ve come to expect from Taika Waititi (the director/co-writer, who is also back as Korg), the film is heavy on the silly. But, when all the ‘wackiness’ is peeled back, Thor: Love and Thunder deals with some important themes of loss, fear, and doubt, especially as Gorr questions the usefulness of gods to the people who believe in and, in many instances, suffer for them.

What is the importance of faith, especially in the midst of hardship? Is there some reward that we receive after the hardship that makes enduring it worthwhile? As someone who believes in God and has struggled with prayer myself, it was honestly kind of uncomfortable to be faced with those questions within the film. But I find that kind of discomfort useful because it made me examine myself and ask, “why do I believe what I believe?” and “why bother having any hope at all?”

Christian Bale as Gorr in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

Those are questions you can only answer for yourself, but Love and Thunder doesn’t leave us without offering some hope. Its central theme is that “it’s better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all,” reminding us that love is worth the pain of possibly getting your heart broken. This sentiment is maybe cliché to some people and I, for one, would love it if we could skip the ‘loss’ part of life, even if it meant functioning as emotionless creatures who are just effective in running the world. Yet, neither of those is the case. Love and Thunder reveals the real complexities of being human and what it takes to thrive as one.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

It’s really impressive that writers, Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, are able to present these heavy subject matters with such humour. And, yes, the humour is wild. (Personally, it cut back the jokes just a little bit and let the emotion play out more.)

Still, Marvel is showing no signs of slowing down and seems bent on giving us at least one multiverse full of reasons to keep our hopes up.

Thor: Love and Thunder is available in theatres on Friday, July 8th, 2022.

Lightyear: Learning Humility Beyond Infinity

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Mission Log 126.01: Buzz Lightyear has crash landed on a hostile planet. And Lightyear may show more signs of intelligent life than you expect.

From Pixar, Lightyear tells the (toy) story of the iconic Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans), the hero who inspired Andy’s favourite action figure. Trapped on an uncharted planet 4.2 million light-years away from home, Buzz is determined to complete his mission and get his people safely back to Earth. Tirelessly travelling through space and time, Buzz is slowed by the arrival of the evil Zurg (James Brolin), the massive leader of a robot army determined to prevent him accomplishing his goal.

Admittedly, this writer was skeptical by the film’s release. The legacy of the Toy Story films has only continued to grow over the years as Buzz and Woody have arguably become some of Disney’s most famous characters. As a result, any attempts to refresh a franchise that has had very few misfires simply seemed like a pointless exercise in marketing. (And, frankly, there’s still an argument to be made for this.) When the early trailers highlighted alien life, massive robots in time travel adventures, the film felt oddly out of place with the innocence of Andy’s toy room. (And don’t even get me started on the news that they were recasting Tim Allen…) Thankfully though, Lightyear is a wonderful surprise that actually brings something fresh to the character while still managing to honour what came before [or, technically, after]. 

If you’re wondering how an intergalactic space adventure fits into the Toy Story world, the answer is made plain from the opening credits. Instead of an actual astronaut, Lightyear is considered to be the film that made Andy fall in love with his beloved toy in the first place. (In essence, this film within a franchise is their equivalent of Star Wars, and Andy is now the kid who saw it on the big screen and fell in love with the characters.) As such, when Buzz stumbles out of the box on his bed in the initial Toy Story film, Andy already has a history with the character, which explains his excitement about the gift. This unique and meta-approach frees the film up to tell whatever stories they want without the burden of Toy Story canon. All of a sudden, the audience understands how the film fits in to the Toy Story world and can sit back and enjoy the ride. 

And quite a ride it is. 

Fast-paced and engaging, Lightyear includes everything that you would expect from a massive space adventure. As Buzz frantically fights to save the day, his epic encounters with aliens, robots and more create a fun and (arguably) unpredictable quest for all ages. New characters delight. Action sequences work well. (And just try to resist Sox, his robo-feline companion.) Although there will be many who bemoan the swapping of Evans for Allen, the change works, especially considering that they’re technically not the same character. (And Allen would undoubtedly step back into the role if Toy Story 5 ever comes to fruition.)

And this particular iteration of the Space Ranger has some lessons to learn.

Although this Buzz may not be quite as self-deluded as his toy counterpart, he is definitely self-serving in his sacrifice. While he respects his team, he believes that it is his responsibility to complete the mission and save his friends. Regardless of protocols or recommendations, he is going to get the job done… and he doesn’t need anybody else to do it. 

However, as his adventure unravels, it becomes clearer that his desire to complete the mission makes himself feel like he matters only if he can finish the job. For Buzz, the journey is as much about self-validation as it is about sacrifice. He believes that he must prove his worth through his actions. 

In this way, Lightyear highlights the damage of toxic masculinity. For example, as the foolhardy white male, Buzz is determined to be the one to lead the mission, even though his team is full of people who are capable of coming through. From his African-American female copilot to an elderly ex-con, Lightyear acknowledges that moving forward requires everybody and buzz, as the powerful white male, would be missing out if he did not humble himself in the process. (It’s also worth noting that the film contains Pixar’s first openly LGBTQ couple as well.)

Even so, Lightyear reminds the viewer that, even after our greatest mistakes, there is still room to live forward. After his mission goes wrong, Buzz bears the weight of his errors and it intensifies his desire to finish what he started. However, despite his failures, those around him have not suffered in the way that he believed. Yes, there was hurt and pain but everyone has been able to adapt. His errors were unexpected yet they still took the opportunity to thrive. This realization offers a whisper of grace to Buzz’s soul and helps him recognize

While Lightyear doesn’t quite take us to beyond infinity, its fresh take on the already established world is anything but a misfire. Charting an unexpected new course for the franchise, the film is fun, often hilarious and has a taste for adventure.

In short, it’s definitely a mission worth taking.

Lightyear is available in theatres on Friday, June 17th, 2022

Free Guy: Breaking Free from the Background

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Free Guy is an action-comedy film starring Ryan Reynolds as “Guy,” an NPC (non-playable character) meant for the background (and amusement of other real players) in the video game world of Free City, an open world mix-up of popular sandbox games such as Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, and The Sims. The thing that makes Guy special though is that he gains sentience and develops self-awareness and artificial intelligence. Breaking from the monotony of his Bank Teller job duties, Guy becomes free and goes on one of the most action packed and surprisingly existential journeys you’ll see this year.

Although Free Guy markets itself as just another comedy action film, it’s actually one of the takes an interesting look into the potential future of artificial intelligence, simulation theory, as well as criticizes the monotony of modern life. For those unfamiliar, simulation theory is the belief that we could be living in a digital simulation. In other words, we’re all just AIs who are code living in a virtual world where technology has improved so much that the NPC themselves are intelligent and the digital realm is indistinguishable from reality. Free Guy lives within that premise, as Guy does not know that everything within his world (and everyone he’s ever cared about) is really just part of a video game. 

When Guy discovers that he’s just some background character in a video game, everything feel pointless to him. Guy’s original character cycle is to wake-up, go to his job at the bank, suffer some kind of abuse for a player’s mission in the game, and repeat. Looking at his own life, he begins to criticize all the things people in the city do every day. But it’s also a reflection of our “real” society as well. When Guy says ‘This is all meaningless! This is all fake’, he’s also talking about many of our lives in the real world. Living our lives in the day-to-day, the loop that so many of us are in is essentially the same as some random background NPC character. In many ways, it can feel like we’re all NPCs who just can’t get free and escape. Tasked to serve Free City’s creators, all the NPC’s purpose (including Guy) is to just gain as much money as possible for the business itself. Antoine, the CEO of Free City (played by Taika Waititi), actively declines innovation that isn’t profitable and does whatever he can to squeeze enjoyment out of the misery of the NPCs in Free City, even though he knows that they are self-aware and intelligent beings. The ruler of Guy’s world is the business that he’s a product, not unlike the big businesses that we work for and allow to manage/monetize our lives. 

As he grows in his self-awareness, Guy gathers the other NPCs in order to assist in breaking them free from their work cycles. The speech is honestly pretty inspirational, as it dives into the monotony of their lives and inspires them to pursue what they really want to do with their lives and be free. Obviously, this moment is a message to the audience to wake up and not do things you do simply because you think you have to. You’re not just some background character living for someone else’s amusement. You’re so much more. You have freewill and should use it to pursue what you really want. Like the NPCs within the game, we too have power in real life.

When most people bring up simulation theory, it’s often pretty bleak. After all, you’re just code. Therefore, nothing you do is “real” and that you’re “fake”. Nothing truly matters since everything around you is just more code, more facade. But Free Guy has a positive look into life in a simulation and why it matters. Whether or not you are really in a simulation, you still can live a full and free life. (And honestly who’s to decide what’s real or fake, even if made of code?) If you have intelligence, you have free will. What makes your life any less real than the “real world”? What makes you any less alive? Your life and your friends and family are real to you, whether you’re code or flesh.

Despite the story having one of the most interesting underlying messages I’ve seen this year, it is also an amazing action comedy. While Reynolds excels in these roles, he really comes alive onscreen as Guy. With wonderment and lust for life, Reynolds does a great job portraying a character who is learning what it’s like to be truly alive for the first time. His performance is  hilarious and gives you a sense of joy watching him evolve. 

Filled with video game and pop culture references, Free Guy is definitely targeting the younger generation. As a Disney product, the film takes full advantage of MCU and Star Wars weaponry in the most amusing fight scenes. (This is similar to the partnerships the video game Fortnite has integrated so well into their games.) What’s more, the gaming moments are also done very well. This really feels like a video game, and you can tell that the CGI and special effects team did their homework into other open world games in order to get it right.

Overall, Free Guy is a very pleasant surprise and one of the most interesting and meaningful movies you’ll see this year. With all the video game references and action/comedy that you’d expect from Ryan Reynolds, Guy is great film that gives you both a look into the future of AI and our place in this world.

Free Guy is available in theatres on August 13, 2021.

6.06 Laughing at History in JOJO RABBIT

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This week, Paul and Julie Levac gather to take on JOJO RABBIT, a film which allows director Taika Waititi to bring his brilliant art to the big screen in a stunning satire that will have you howling and shedding a tear in the same sitting.

Jojo Betzler is determined to fight for his country, confident in the support of his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. When he discovers a Jewish girl hiding is his house, he is faced with a dillema. As he slowly builds a tolerance for the girl, and together with the lessons of an exceptional matriarch, Jojo begins to realize that perhaps his fanatical views of the Fuehrer and Nazis are not what they used to be.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Soundcloud! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts or Google Play!