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Thor: Love and Thunder
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Rotten Tomatoes - 72% (116 Reviews)
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Metacritic - 63% (37 Reviews)
Reviews (will update as more come in)
Ben Travis, Empire (4/5)
In so many ways, for mostly better and occasionally worse (a jaunt to Omnipotent City drags a touch), Thor: Love And Thunder is a deeply weird, deeply wonderful triumph. It’s a movie that dares to be seriously uncool, and somehow ends up all the cooler for it — sidesplittingly funny, surprisingly sentimental, and so tonally daring that it’s a miracle it doesn’t collapse. The Gorr-centric cold-open is as dark as the MCU gets, but this is also a Thor romcom with a loved-up ABBA montage, and a Viking longboat pulled through space by a pair of gigantic screaming goats (who nearly run away with the film). It’s a movie about midlife crisis that feels like you’re watching one in action, with its gourmet gods, glorious intergalactic biker-chicken battle, and Guns N’ Roses galore (the ‘November Rain’ solo is deployed perfectly). And come the closing reel, when the true meaning of its title is unveiled, it leaves our hero in a place so sweet and surprising, you’ll be truly moved. It’s a Taika Waititi movie, then — we could watch his cinematic guitar solos all day. ---
David Ehrlich, IndieWire (B-)
This is the kind of movie in which the kingly verve of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie is almost enough to offset how little her character gets to do. It’s the kind of movie that ends on such an emotionally satisfying note that I was willing to forgive — and all too able to forget — the awkward path it traveled to get there, or how clumsily it gathered its cast together for the grand finale. If “Love and Thunder” is more of the same, it’s also never less than that. The MCU may still be looking for new purpose by the time this movie ends, but the mega-franchise can take solace in the sense that Thor has found some for himself.
Therese Lacson, Collider (A)
So, while there might be complaints about the film's pacing or weaker first half, Thor: Love and Thunder recaptured exactly what charmed me about these MCU movies. I never once rolled my eyes at a joke that was clearly dropped in, so it could be a zinger and make it to the trailer. It successfully silenced a rather jaded MCU fan by offering a story that had it all without having to sacrifice its soul to the MCU machine that is eager to churn out stories for future phases.
Tom Jorgensen, IGN (7/10)
Thor: Love and Thunder is held back by a cookie-cutter plot and a mishandling of supporting characters, but succeeds as the MCU's first romantic comedy thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman's chemistry.
Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly (B)
Even in Valhalla or Paradise City, though, there is still love and loss; Thor dutifully delivers both, and catharsis in a climax that inevitably doubles as a setup for the next installment. More and more, this cinematic universe feels simultaneously too big to fail and too wide to support the weight of its own endless machinations. None of it necessarily makes any more sense in Waititi's hands, but at least somebody's having fun.
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Sure, fans will be delighted to see Chris Pratt and the Guardians of the Galaxy crew turn up in an early battle, plus there are some mildly moving interludes between Hemsworth and Portman as Jane’s health becomes more compromised with each swing of the hammer. And one of the obligatory end-credits sequences will tantalize followers of Ted Lasso. But right down to a sentimental ending that seems designed around “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the movie feels weightless, flippant, instantly forgettable, sparking neither love nor thunder.
Josh Spiegel, Slash Film (5/10)
The best thing that can be said about "Thor: Love and Thunder" is that as rough as the experience is, it's nowhere near as bad as "Thor: The Dark World." And Christian Bale is going for it as Gorr. (The same can also be said for his "3:10 to Yuma" co-star Russell Crowe, who makes an extended cameo appearance as the legendary god Zeus here, turning the Olympian god into a fey and selfish ninny. If any part of the movie is truly hilarious, it's the scene with Zeus, and it's because of Crowe.) But maybe "Thor: Ragnarok" was, at least for the world of Marvel, too good to be topped. Or maybe you can only get so lucky so many times. As hard as the cast and Taika Waititi try, though, it just doesn't work. "Thor: Ragnarok" felt effortless. "Thor: Love and Thunder" is working very hard, and not getting a lot to show for it.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
In the end, however, it’s the mix of tones — the cheeky and the deadly, the flip and the romantic — that elevates “Thor: Love and Thunder” by keeping it not just brashly unpredictable but emotionally alive. In Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor,” Natalie Portman held her own as Thor’s earthly love interest, but here, pulling up on equal footing with him, Portman gives a performance of cut-glass wit and layered yearning. Jane might want Thor back, but she’s furious at how he let his attention drift away from her (though having a smirking megalomaniac half-brother with borderline personality disorder will do that to you). She’s also reveling in her power, even as she wages battle against a hidden malady it can’t save her from. (The hammer won’t help; using it drains her.)
Kaitlyn Booth, Bleeding Cool (7/10)
Thor: Love and Thunder tries to make the Ragnarok lightning strike twice, but the movie ends up feeling restrained due to the lack of genuinely emotional moments and some baffling creative decisions.
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Synopsis:
Thor embarks on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced -- a quest for inner peace. However, his retirement gets interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who -- to his surprise -- inexplicably wields his magical hammer. Together, they set out on a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher's vengeance.
Director - Taika Waititi
Main Cast:
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Chris Hemsworth as Thor
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Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor
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Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher
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Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
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Jaimie Alexander as Sif
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Taika Waititi as Korg
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Russell Crowe as Zeus
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Chris Pratt as Starlord
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Pom Klementieff as Mantis
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Dave Bautista as Drax
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Karen Gillan as Nebula
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Vin Diesel as Groot
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Bradley Cooper as Rocket
i think its pretty clear that Iron Man thru Endgame was the MCUs peak potential and now we just get varying levels of shit
I disagree, It sounds like either Marvel is constraining their directors or their directors are getting lazy.
There's a running theme of the set pieces being incredible but the narrative is ham-fisted despite a longer-than-average movie run time.
This movie was a joke. It felt like they just carelessly threw together a series of events and called it a day. Everything was played for laughs and nothing that happened seemed to carry any weight. At no point in the show did it feel like there were any stakes. When injured none of them acted like they were in any real pain (sif bleeding out from a lost arm, Valkyrie recovering from being skewered by a thunderbolt). Thor trying to alleviate the fears of the abducted children while having his nose tickled by the supposed king of Asgard made the group of “heroes” feel incredibly disingenuous and frankly dislikable, like a bunch of bored drunk guys who didn’t actually give a shit that these kids were in danger. Rules of the world were arbitrary (sif can’t go to Valhalla because she didn’t die in battle (which was played for laughs - again, tonally inappropriate), yet Jane goes to Valhalla after dying outside of battle). Emotional scenes were brisk, perfunctory and entirely unconvincing (save for the scenes between Gorr and daughter - Christian Bale seemed like the only actor in the entire film to take his role remotely seriously). Scenes that should’ve been somewhat serious/emotional, were not (exposition of Jane having cancer, reunion between sif and thor). Jane acting like a mini-me of Valkyrie, super comfortable with violence and combat right off the bat, with no trace of her scientist personality shining through. And these are just the things I can remember off the top of my head. This was an irreverent parody of a marvel movie with astonishingly lazy writing and lukewarm acting (except for Christian bale).
“Not as bad as The Dark World” is not the quote I was hoping for. Damn.
The Dark World has 66% on RT. Hard to believe, but Thor: Love & Thunder isn't that far off (it was at 68% briefly earlier today).
I will laugh my ass off mightily if Love & Thunder drops below 66%.
Execute Order 66%
It's... downvotes, then.
As much shit as Dark World gets, it‘s far from the worst Marvel movie.
Marvel are, sadly, turning into the McDonalds of movies.
They are everywhere, all the time, and all the same.
You see one and you go 'Oooh, nice, wouldn't mind some of that'
You go, you watch it, you feel adequately sated.
30 minutes later you're questioning your decision and trying to remember what exactly you liked about it.
What’s sad for me is that before the MCU every once and a while you’d get an X2, Spider-Man 2, or a Dark Knight. To continue with your metaphor those kinds of films were fine dining. With how much money comic book films make nowadays I think films of that quality should be coming out every year, and yet it’s still a rarity.
My favorite description of Marvel movies lately comes from Tim Rogers: "Marvel Movies are homework for adults."
Headline next month: Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie put on hold
As a Christian Bale
Stanenthusiast, can't deny the mentions of him having limited screentime despite him turning in an, as usual, incredible performance have me in mild shambles. I've been chronically Bale deficient since Ford v Ferrari only for this to happen?!Apparently Marvel cut out all the scenes that made his character threatening.
Damn. He's Christian Bale playing a character called The God Butcher! Threatening is what I was looking for!
I blame Disney
A lot of scenes were cut out. I read that Goldblum and Dinklage were supposed to reprise their roles but got cut out. Even Lena Heady was supposed to have a part but was removed.
The worst part about that is how much time they wasted many unnecessary scenes that actually made it to the final cut.
I'm not talking about the ham-fisted running-gags that never landed. I'm talking about the long, drawn-out scenes that were entirely unnecessary and had nothing to do with the plot.
Do I need to see Matt Damon and Melissa McCarthy put on a half-assed meta-play recapping the previous films? No. Yet for some reason, this scene was given what felt like 5+ minutes of run time.
The Asgard actors being bad and goofy was significantly undercut as a gag by the fact that there was no difference between their bad acting and the actual acting in the movie.
From what I have been seeing the movie seems quite divisive. It's weird that this is 2nd time in a row that a trusted superhero director has made an MCU movie that seems so divisive with the critics.
Strikes me as a movie people (including some critics) really want to like. A lot of the "positive" reviews seem to be lukewarm or contain a lot of disclaimers ("It can be a bit [...] but SO WHAT!"] and contain the same negatives (thinly spread plots, some jokes that don't land) as the bad reviews.
I’ve gotten that feeling with critics reviews for most Disney/Pixar/MCU/Star Wars films for the past decade or so.
I really feel like critics are noticeably more lenient with them.
they don't want to be savaged by the fans
Absolutely agree. There's. a lot of reviews that would be 5-6/10 if this movie didn't say Marvel on the cover.
Waititi didn't write Ragnarok. Yes, some scenes were ad-libbed, but in terms of fundamental structure and design, Ragnarok is much more a traditional MCU film that Waititi's other work.
This is the first time he's had full control of film at this scale.
I think OP was talking about Sam Raimi and Doctor Strange.
Sam Raimi didn’t write DS2 and majority of the complaints against that move were for its writing, while the direction was praised.
Didn’t entirely surprise me as it was the same guy that did Loki, which had a strong finish but a very weak mid section and ironically so far has been completely inconsequential to the MCU despite its game changing ending.
Loki has the benefit of being outside of the current timeline (it happened at the end of time), so the plot points from the show can be brought into the current mcu whenever.
I wouldn’t call throwing Loki out of his own show and consummating the worst romance in the MCU directly after an episode length monologue where everyone had to just shut up and listen as “finishing strong”.
I think that probably worked better for him.
Having to work on the rails of a marvel movie formula allowed him to really push it as far as possible. But we don’t know if this carries to the same success with complete control.
This was exactly my issue with Ragnarok, absolutely nothing mattered despite Thor losing practically everything.
It took the Russos about 90 seconds to make Thor show some of the impact and weight of what'd happened near the start of Infinity War, something Taika completely neglected, and it sounds like it's happened again in LaT.
I'm not sure why he needs to make everything aggressively irreverent, every other MCU film has impactful moments in there somewhere except for his for some reason.
That's my issue with Marvel movies after a while, seems like nothing matters, the villians aren't a menace.
And they can be to self-deprecating with the source material, we know low-brow sci fiction from the 60's can be ridiculous, but I went with a high suspension of disbelief. No need to make fun of a villain's name being a pun on octopuses, if you don't like it just change the damn name
That was my problem with Ragnarok. First Surtur shows up, and I'm like "Wow, this is awesome!" Then five seconds into his appearance, he's treated like a joke to my disappointment.
Then he reappears at the end, and I'm like "Why are you pretending like this a big deal? You've already gone out of your way to make it clear to me that he's not to be taken seriously at all"
I never understood the love for ragnarok honestly. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as great as people make it.
Not to accuse Taika of anything, while I don't particularly like Ragnarok beyond the surface level, doesn't he think comic book movies are all a big joke? I feel like I remember some quotes like that. Like he never struck me as caring very much.
Ragnarok felt very surface level imho. like it was funny but completely lacking in emotional depth. Which is too bad, based on the feeling of his other films, which can still be very silly but also feel emotionally grounded
Compared to the more dignified and majestic sort of way Branagh directed Asgard and the Thors universe Taika defiantly takes a much more wink-wink nudge-nudge approach. Taika views it much more as a Nordic death metal album cover than a place of great deeds and fulfillment.
alexa play slow sad piano cover of Immigrant Song
Oof, 75% on RT is really bad by MCU standers
For context black widow is 79%
Starting at 72% is even worse. Pretty sure it’s on pace to end up rotten
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Please tell me they didn’t make Thor extra stupid
From some reviews, it seems that they've made Thor a dumbass.
So we got the "What If" Thor?
smh. I guess characters no longer get wiser thought out the movies
Thor and Drax both got done dirty as characters.
I've been playing the Guardians of the Galaxy video game recently and Drax is such a great character in that. I like the GotG movies, but the game does everything better imo. Really make me realise the missed potential.
Thor getting the Joey treatment. Becoming so dumb he shouldn’t be able to tie his own shoes
It was inevitable...
Tbh Joey was actually entertaining and his character had a lot of heart and would ultimately do whatever he needed for his friends. Like climbing up from Monica and chandler’s window because he thought they were in trouble.
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Whoof…from the Seattle Times:
“Thor 4” feels like a Disney experiment in just how bad Marvel movies can get before someone points out the emperor has no clothes. It feels like a Marvel movie that secretly thinks you’re stupid for liking Marvel movies.
Edit: I love the character Thor and am still looking forward to seeing Love and Thunder, but these reviews are wild.
Damn that's scathing.
He flicked too hard
Dammit.
So every marvel property from the last 2 years.
Were you enjoying the story? Do you like this character? Too bad, here's some new characters to take up the screentime! Pay attention, they'll be in next thing, replacing the old characters!
It's the cinematic equivalent of a radio host talking over the end of the song.
Marvel movies also love to wink at the audience, constantly reminding us how absurd everything is. I wish they'd embrace the comic book absurdity without the meta references to how dumb superheroes actually are.
DC actually has realized you need to do this. Doom Patrol is awesome because it's not spending a third of the runtime riffing on its premises.
There's a sentient street, and there's no improv banter about how that works. They just believe in it, like strange characters should. If your characters believe in the story, your audience will, too.
This is why I respected Aquaman, even though I didn’t think it was necessarily good
Just like James Gunn did in peacemaker and more or less what the boys do. Not every superhero has to either be a hero or a villain. Some can just be assholes who only care about themselves. In marvel either they’re trying to save the day or ruin the day.
Monica from WandaVision enters the chat
I’m sure she will pop up in Captain Marvel 3, right after Wandavision 2 which ties into the events of AfterEndGame
I guess we might have another shelved Star Wars production...
Over saturation point has been reached.
This isn’t shocking at all. These movies are boring now. Marvel is for sure past it’s peak.
How long will it continue like this? I honestly don’t think that long. Go back to like 2 movies a year for a bit
So top gun is the movie of the summer? Crazy lol
It's crazy good tho, best blockbuster in a while.
No it's
MorbiusMinions 2This entire movie hangs upon you laughing at the bombardment of jokes, if you do - great. If only occasionally, it's - eh, decent. If you don't - it's understandably lackluster. There's some successful drama and emotional finality, but that's it. It's more miss than hit. The script is painfully thin and generic. I don't know what critics saw in Christian Bale, because he's playing default super villain #29, with the thinnest backstory possible - and he hams it way up.
Phase 4 is turning out to be quite mediocre.
Its not making sense. They have to start getting cohesive fast. Its all been random character appearances and celebrity cameos.
I've given up, I should have stopped watching marvel after endgame. I have barely liked anything since then, except for spiderman, I have lost interest in the overall story and the characters