'Thor: Love and Thunder' rocks with humor, heart and star-studded post-credits scenes

A lavish space Viking feast of a movie, "Thor: Love and Thunder" is delightfully laden with Oscar-winning talent, scene-stealing screaming goats, kaleidoscopic color schemes, 1980s iconography, A-list cameos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, thunderous action sequences, witty one-liners, a diverse horde of mythological gods and a bombastic soundtrack featuring Guns N' Roses, along with Dio, ABBA and Enya.

Academy Award-winning writer/director Taika Waititi's second cinematic serving in the apparently endless banquet of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a deliciously over-the-top treat that's sometimes refreshingly bittersweet.

As with much of the New Zealander's distinctively quirky previous work - including his Oscar-winning Nazi satire "Jojo Rabbit," the Oklahoma-made comedy series "Reservation Dogs" and his previous MCU film, the 2017 smash "Thor: Ragnarok" - "Love and Thunder" veers wildly from madcap recurring jokes and silly sight gags to relatable and resonant moments of loss, grief and angst.

Narrated by Thor's loveably loopy rock-warrior sidekick Korg (voiced by Waititi), "Love and Thunder" picks up after the universe-altering events of "Avengers: Endgame." Now back in fighting shape, Thor (the ever-charming Chris Hemsworth) continues (briefly, anyway) to zip around the cosmos with the Guardians of the Galaxy, helping Chris Pratt's Star-Lord and Co. out of assorted interstellar scraps.

'Thor: Love and Thunder' finds God of Thunder in a funk

But the God of Thunder is clearly caught in an existential funk: His parents have died, his estranged siblings have been killed, his home world has been destroyed, and he has never gotten over his breakup with his human girlfriend, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Oscar winner Natalie Portman). He may be an immortal who has lived thousands of years, but he doesn't really know who he is or what his destiny should be now.

An encounter with an old friend alerts Thor to a newly emerging threat: the horrific Gorr the God Butcher (Oscar winner Christian Bale), who, as the name implies, has been wreaking havoc by slaughtering superhuman rulers with the cursed Necrosword.

Thor has reason to believe this vengeful villain will next target New Asgard, so he rushes back to Earth, where his loyal pal King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) has become bored with the administrative duties of running a Scandanavian fishing village-turned-tourist attraction — even one complete with a new Thanos-themed ice cream shop and another dramatic reenactment of Asgardian history starring Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Luke Hemsworth (plus a couple of newly added famous faces).

Natalie Portman makes triumphant MCU return as The Mighty Thor

When he arrives back on Earth, Thor is shocked to discover that he and Valkyrie aren't the only fierce fighters battling to protect their people from Gorr and his creepy army of shadow monsters. Jane has proven worthy to reassemble the broken pieces of his magical hammer Mjölnir and wield its electrifying powers as the fearsome warrior "The Mighty Thor."

It's hard to say which reunion is more amusingly awkward: Thor coming face to face with his former lover, who is now a buff butt-kicker, while recalling the dissolution of their romance in an ABBA-scored montage, or Thor encountering his semi-sentient former weapon, which leads to his new magical weapon, the axe Stormbreaker, becoming noticeably jealous.

But with Gorr taking New Asgard's children hostage as part of his nefarious scheme, Thor and Jane team up and head off with Korg and Valkyrie on a cosmic rescue mission that involves screaming goats, space dolphins and an eventful jaunt to Omnipotence City, the glittering home of the top gods ruled by Oscar winner Russell Crowe's blustering, big-bellied Zeus.

'Thor: Love and Thunder' comes up big on style, performances, laughs

After two overly serious "Thor" films in 2011 and 2013, Waititi brought welcome color, style and - best of all - fun to the supercharged space Viking's MCU presence with the vastly entertaining "Ragnarok." With "Love and Thunder," which he cowrote with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (the MTV series "Sweet/Vicious") based on a couple of Marvel Comics runs penned by Jason Aaron, Waititi brings even more of his singular storytelling and eccentric humor to Thor's adventures.

The filmmaker's second "Thor" film boasts big '80s action movie energy with matching hard-rock soundtrack and Day-Glo palette, although the most visually striking scene involves our heroes pursuing Gorr into a shadowy realm where all but a few splashes of color are leached away to shades of gray.

Similarly, "Love and Thunder" gives Gorr a stark introduction as a religious zealot who becomes the last person left alive on his dying desert world after the death of his young daughter. When he gets the chance to meet the god he has worshipped face to face, the deity's callousness so enrages him that he takes up the vengeful mantle of the God Butcher. With Bale's legendary commitment and talents, Gorr immediately emerges as a top MCU villain on par with Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger and Josh Brolin's Thanos.

Under Waititi's direction, Hemsworth has flourished in the godlike part he has now played for more than a decade over four standalone films and three "Avengers" outings. Along with continuing to show off his impressive comedic chops, the star kindles an appeal chemistry with Portman not previously seen in their meetings as Thor and Jane.

Already established as a formidable talent, Portman skipped out on "Ragnarok" after the first two "Thor" movies gave her little to do except occasionally spout scientific jargon and look pretty in Thor's beefy arms. So, it's thrilling to see her own now-famously beefy arms take up the hammer of Thor and fight against evil like an immortal, even as she privately battles her own mortal problems. Her "ride or die" friendship with Valkyrie - who deserves her own Disney+ spin-off series since Marvel seems to be handing those out as freely as after-dinner mints - also brings a lovely human element to the intergalactic proceedings.

Waititi's abrupt tonal shifts and often manic wit may not be for everyone, and not every joke quite hits the spot. But he still manages to dish up another out-of-this world "Thor" adventure, spiced up with lots of heart, humor and memorable moments.

What about post-credits scenes?

Although the trend is for blockbuster films to run close to three hours, Waititi keeps "Thor: Love and Thunder" to a zippy two hours, including the credits.

And, yes, like previous MCU movies, fans should stick around for two bonus scenes: One in the middle of the credits and one after. No spoilers, but both scenes boast starry cameos, with one foreshadowing a possible future direction of Thor's hero's journey and one bringing back a beloved fan favorite.

‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’

3 of 4 stars

Rating: PG-13

How to see it: In theaters July 8, with early screenings July 7.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Thor: Love and Thunder' rocks with humor, heart and A-listers