Thor: Love and Thunder

Director Taika Waititi goes back to the Thor: Ragnarok well for another sprawling romp starring Chris Hemsworth's pompous thunder god.

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By far the most arresting character in Thor: Love and Thunder, the twenty-bajillionth Marvel movie, is the splendidly named villain Gorr the God Butcher.

Waititi is back as the co-writer, director and the voice for the stony Korg, with Chris Hemsworth as our space Viking, a man who really needs to get more credit ...

There is very little logic and the connections between scenes are tenuous, giving the film a feeling of not building to anything clear. The whipsaw from death and suffering to idiocy is staggering, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson credited alongside Waititi for a script that seems like it was pasted together after gerbils ripped up a bag of words. He is surrounded by lackeys — some called Zeusettes — and frustrates Thor, even stripping him of his clothes, to the delight of many in the audience. “The gods will use you but they will not help you,” he snarls. One problematic character back is Jane Foster, Thor’s ex whom he still pines for eight years after they broke up and she skipped the third film. His ability to pronounce superhero things dramatically and then become a goofball is endlessly endearing.

Taika Waititi's latest film, Thor: Love and Thunder, is out this week. Does it live up to the success of Thor: Ragnarok? The Spinoff writers review.

The MCU has struggled to find a concrete path after Endgame, and this feels like the most aimless entry yet. Goats that scream like humans was funny in 2012 and it is still funny now. It took about half an hour into the new entry in the Thor leg of the Marvel cinematic octopus to lock eyes with my plus one and realise that we were watching a genuinely bad movie. Thanks to being barely on time to the screening, I watched this movie from the front row, where the seat is literally a bed and the angle makes everyone look just a little bit warped. And for everyone who got excited by the “gay Thor” tease in the trailer, there’s no pay off to that either. Maybe there’s some sort of almighty Marvel requirement when it comes to cameos but Waititi’s movies have always been best when honing in on a few characters, and this movie had a lot.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi — who reinvigorated the franchise with a sense of color and grand comedy, thus catapulting its grosses to the highest the ...

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness benefited from the Spider-Man halo and did $245M overseas. As of Friday, Thor: Love and Thunder presales were trailing behind Doctor Strange 2‘s by 40%. Doctor Strange 2 had banked $49M in advance ticket sales a week before opening, a number which rose to $85M by its Thursday preview night before posting a 3-day of $187.4M. Thor 4‘s ticket sales are already ahead of Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman and Jurassic World Dominion at the same point in time before their opening Friday. Should Thor: Love and Thunder blow away its projections, it’s simply because word of mouth is hot and triggering walk-up business. However, an interesting trend that’s been going on lately — in particular with Rise of Gru and Jurassic World Dominion — is that sour RT scores haven’t weighed down on tentpoles’ opening weekends. The edge this time, as first teased at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, is that Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster returns, becoming lady Thor. Oh, and the big bad guy is Gorr the Butcher, played by The Dark Knight‘s Christian Bale in his MCU debut. One of the reasons why Thor: Love and Thunder is pacing behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is because the latter was working off the whole Spider-Man multiverse and Illuminati spoiler heat.

While Marvel movies review much better on average than most films, Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in the bottom five of all scored MCU movies on Rotten ...

Captain Marvel goes from a 79% critic score to a much-lower-than-anything 45%, which was absolutely due to review bombing after star Brie Larson upset some “fans” with various comments, and this was actually the moment that Rotten Tomatoes started requiring “verification” for audience scores. Black Panther, the #1 critic scored movie with a 96% has a 79% audience score. As reviews came rolling in yesterday for Thor: Love and Thunder, it became clear that something was somewhat amiss with the scores.

REVIEW: It doesn't all work, but even moments of lunacy are well thought through, while the drama and action have more depth than is immediately apparent.

Thor: Love and Thunder walks a fine line between a comedic parody of a superhero movie and actually paying the rent as the real thing. And then to find a way to transport the cast – including Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and Taika's own Korg – between the storylines, while keeping both strands taut. Gorr has made it his mission to rid the universe of gods – and Thor is next on his list. Thor: Love and Thunder exists separately to the Spider-Man and Doctor Strange storylines that have featured in the last couple of Marvel outings. The more I re-watch Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame – and you would be surprised at how often I do – the more I am struck by the audacity and ambition of the storytelling and the near-perfection that Kevin Feige and his directors brought to the task. Bringing home a franchise that had been building for over a decade, across 20 or so films – and then landing every arc in a way that was both narratively satisfying and hellaciously entertaining in a couple of three-hour extravaganzas, was one of the greatest feats of scriptwriting I know of.

Taika Waititi's follow-up to the beloved Thor: Ragnarok has epic silliness, terminal illness and Russell Crowe in an almost tutu.

This shallow Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster doesn't give Natalie Portman's mighty return or Christian Bale's creepy baddy nearly enough time to ...

Love and Thunder doesn't live up to the incredible stories that inspired it. Love and Thunder merely alludes to this, and largely reduces Gorr's villainy to kidnapping Asgardian children as part of a grander plot. 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. Though the movie fails to explore her ennui enough, Thompson infuses the character with sufficient mischief that she's a joy to watch. But the God of Thunder totally outclasses his new allies, making him seem like an overpowered video game character as he crushes their enemies and leaves the Guardians looking a bit useless. Thor: Love and Thunder seemed guaranteed to be a slam dunk.

The nth sequel in the sprawling MCU is expected to bring in anywhere from $145 million to $155 million over the weekend, with some estimates reaching as high as ...

That being said, Hemsworth isn’t the only Norse god who can summon a Mjölnir. In this flick, Natalie Portman, returning to the series as astrophysicist Jane Foster, has gained her own superpowers to become the Mighty Thor. Together, this hammer-wielding duo embark on a journey to defeat Gorr the God Butcher (a terrifying Christian Bale), a galactic villain whose name sheds light on his mission to arrange the extinction of all things divine. Disney’s “ Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth standalone story about Chris Hemsworth’s hulking God of Thunder and the second (of three) Marvel movies to play in theaters in 2022, is gearing up to turbocharge the domestic box office. The film debuts on Friday in 4,300 North American theaters.

Taika Waititi says his second Thor film is "the best one" yet. According to the Oscar-winning Kiwi director, Thor: Love and Thunder, in cinemas today, ...

It's probably just jealousy and ego that wouldn't want him to do it with anyone else," Waititi jokes. And that was really important, for little girls to see a kick-ass awesome superhero, there's nothing cooler." In the film, Thor has to contend with his feelings as he and Jane unexpectedly reunite. And what better way to bring Natalie back than to make her a superhero?" "And a lot of times in those fights and stuff, kinda cooler. "It's just nice for me to remind myself of home," he admits.

Where 2017's Thor: Ragnarok was a welcome jolt to the MCU, its follow-up feels short on fresh ideas, falling back on 80s nostalgia and familiar jokes.

The film's gruesome sentimentality, one of Waititi's weak spots (see: JoJo Rabbit), creeps up to the point of deadly earnestness. (I won't be the first to suggest that the movie should have been called Thor: Guns and Roses, nor to wonder what dirty secrets Axl Rose is holding over the Disney corporation in order to deserve this massive payday.) But his routine here, like many of Waititi's bits, has curdled into the over-familiar. His reign of hirsute heroism is about to be shaken by the return of his ex, astrophysicist Dr Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), whose terminal illness has somehow led her to get her hands on the beefcake's hammer — not a euphemism — and channel its power into becoming Mighty Thor. As our hero's rock alien buddy Korg, Waititi himself brings the audience up to speed with the events of the last three films (including 2011's Thor, and 2013's Thor: The Dark World), relaying the man, the myth and the legend with all the cheerful comedy of a Father's Day novelty T-shirt. (If there's one thing that remains endearing in Waititi's films, it's his dedication to goofy, homespun fables.) And while clocking the dominance of recycled culture might be the easiest game in town at this point, movies like Disney-Marvel's fourth and latest Thor — entitled Love and Thunder — play right into their audience's taste for the familiar, making it hard to respond with much more than weary indifference.

The Taika Waititi-directed epic marks the fourth Thor solo film since the character's debut back in 2011. Alongside Waititi, star Chris Hemsworth is back as the ...

This year's streaming festivities are planned for September 8, which is 64 days after Love and Thunder's release date. Most recently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw the shortest time exclusively on the big screen as it started streaming only 47 days after release in theaters. Love and Thunder has been a long time coming, as fans eagerly await Marvel Studios' latest theatrical adventure.

Natalie Portman in "Star Wars Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith." (CNN) Your bad, Taika Waititi. The " ...

"She said, 'I've been in Star Wars movies.' I forgot about those ones." And I said 'I'm trying to work on a Star Wars thing. "Natalie said to me, what do you do next?

To a large degree, modern blockbuster moviemaking has depended on the appeasement of fans to keep franchise juggernauts smoothly humming.

The kid army that helps save the day in “Love and Thunder” is just the latest uprising in Waititi's ongoing war against adulthood. The love of “Love and Thunder," which Waititi co-wrote, most directly applies to relationship between Thor and Jane, but it also relates to other aspects of the “Thor” sequel, including Christian Bale's grieving villain and the kidnapped children who play increasingly central roles in the film. The primacy of kids in “Thor: Love and Thunder” is also very much in line with Waititi's other films. “It’s more just the idea of Burbank as a place,” Waititi clarifies. That includes collaborators like Jemaine Clement (with whom Waititi made “What We Do in the Shadows”), Rhys Darby (currently paired together in the HBO Max series “Our Flag Means Death”) and many others. “The way Taika directs, the way that he does things, it’s about spontaneity,” say Harjo, who next month will debut the series’ second season. “Ragnarok” grossed $850 million worldwide, and expectations are similar for “Love and Thunder.” His ability to connect with mass audiences — despite his best efforts to subvert expectations — is surpassed by few current filmmakers. “My job is to go in and have as many ideas as I can and not think about the consequences too much, and let them keep me in the Marvel lane," Waititi adds. It was a massive leap in scale for Waititi, who after spending years painting in his late 20s turned to making comic independent films ("Boy," “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”) with deadpan absurdity and freewheeling tonal shifts. His “Jojo Rabbit,” a child’s view of Nazi Germany in which Waititi played an imaginary Hitler, received six Oscar nominations in 2020. “I wanted to show him in a light that most Thor fans wouldn’t really want if you were to tell them,” Waititi says. In “Love and Thunder” there are things that usually never enter the MCU, like kids and cancer.

Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo talks about the costumes in 'Thor: Love and Thunder' for Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman. Read more here.

It was an interesting textile — it was handwoven and that gave it that kind of antiquity and ancient feeling to this God Butcher who comes from a very archaic world.” We created a wonderful, lightweight, dynamic and very ’80s [headpiece], and the [costumes’] colors, we wanted to make them similar to old Thor, but because Thor has all these new colors, we wanted to do something a little different for her.” For the character, Rubeo wanted to reflect his ancient background, so she referenced old marble statues and created an intricately draped costume for Bale. “It really is an explosion, and I don’t think you can go any louder than with Thor’s costumes.” She produced other versions of Thor’s uniform by incorporating more vibrant colors, like reds, blues and metallic golds to match the exaggerated aesthetic of the film. “He is a constant fountain of wanting to do a lot of new things with new technology.

Wondering how to watch Thor: Love and Thunder? We have all of the details about the latest Thor movie showtimes and streaming info so far.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be in theaters as early as tomorrow afternoon with the wider release date of July 8. The vast majority of MCU movies, including all three previously released Thor movies and all four Avengers movies, are available to stream on Disney Plus, rather than Netflix or HBO Max. If you currently have a Disney Plus subscription, you can stream those movies for free on the platform. One of 2022's biggest summer blockbusters is upon us, as Thor: Love and Thunder finally hits theaters this weekend.

The kid army that helps save the day in Love and Thunder is just the latest uprising in Waititi's ongoing war against adulthood.

The kid army that helps save the day in Love and Thunder is just the latest uprising in Waititi's ongoing war against adulthood. The love of Love and Thunder, which Waititi co-wrote, most directly applies to relationship between Thor and Jane, but it also relates to other aspects of the Thor sequel, including Christian Bale's grieving villain and the kidnapped children who play increasingly central roles in the film. The primacy of kids in Thor: Love and Thunder is also very much in line with Waititi's other films. “It’s more just the idea of Burbank as a place,” Waititi clarifies. “My job is to go in and have as many ideas as I can and not think about the consequences too much, and let them keep me in the Marvel lane," Waititi adds. Children of Hemsworth, Bale and Portman all appear in the film. “The way Taika directs, the way that he does things, it’s about spontaneity,” say Harjo, who next month will debut the series’ second season. “I wanted to show him in a light that most Thor fans wouldn’t really want if you were to tell them,” Waititi says. “It’s not my job to go and watch every single film or read every single comic book. It was a massive leap in scale for Waititi, who after spending years painting in his late 20s turned to making comic independent films (Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) with deadpan absurdity and freewheeling tonal shifts. In Love and Thunder there are things that usually never enter the MCU, like kids and cancer. To a large degree, modern blockbuster moviemaking has depended on the appeasement of fans to keep franchise juggernauts smoothly humming.

Thor: Love and Thunder clocks in under two hours, largely because a plethora of scenes were removed from the film. According to Thor star Natalie Portman, ...

To date, five films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have yet to receive the honor: Thor: Love and Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark Worlds, and Eternals. Thor: Love and Thunder clocks in under two hours, largely because a plethora of scenes were removed from the film. Usually, it's like, you're just trying to get enough good stuff to put in the film, and this had overflow.

Taika Waititi shared insight into a Thanos-related Easter egg from Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder.

The people could be using this as a way to move forward from that event, but at the least, the ice cream at this shop is something visitors are sure to seek out as they enjoy their vacation. The Asgardians were one of the first groups to meet Thanos' wrath as he embarked on his Infinity Stone quest in Avengers: Infinity War, so it's a bit bizarre that the residents of the town are now poking fun at the Mad Titan and subsequently those that perished during the five year gap. Thanos' impact on Love and Thunder may only be minimal after the Mad Titan turned to dust in Avengers: Endgame, but he'll only be part of the tributes to the past that this movie will bring.

Thanos may have horribly traumatized the universe when, with the snap of his fingers in Avengers: Infinity War, the Mad Titan blipped half of all life out ...

The film is looking at a $300 million worldwide opening — an estimated $140-$160 million of that in the United States and Canada. In a new behind-the-scenes video from Entertainment Tonight, director Taika Waititi and star Chris Hemsworth take viewers on a tour of the Love and Thunder set, showing off a bit of New Asgard, including that interesting ice cream shop. The shop features a large Infinity Gauntlet protruding from the building holding an ice cream cone, the ice cream itself decked out with candies that are an homage to the six Infinity Stones. It's kind of a clever idea, though given the destruction that Thanos caused to the universe writ large but specifically the horrors that the Asgardians endured due to Thanos' quest to gain the Infinity Stones, having an ice cream shop devoted to him seems like a really strange choice.

Not that you really need a primer for Thor 4, but here's a cheatsheet to shore up any loose Marvel Cinematic Universe details.

If you walked into a room and said, 'I want this and this and this.' Who's in it? Allow your expectations to be free from the influence of great Films that came before. He also said that, "If you wrote down all the elements of this film, it shouldn't make sense." Key takeaways: Key takeaways: It sounds like you don't really need to know many Marvel Cinematic Universe specifics before going in.

Drawing band logos on your school bag was a rite of passage for Kiwi kids of the 80s - a forgotten trend that helped inspire the vibe of Taika Waititi's ...

“Like, I was perfecting that Metallica name, and that title treatment. “Even all the title treatment. Just like with Slayer, all of those (band logos). Basically just all of those fonts from the 80s was sort of what I was looking at.” “You know, just the whole thing, like all the art and everything - it feels like an 80s album cover.” Waititi revealed that everything about the fourth instalment in the Thor series, the music, costuming - and even the font and design of the film poster - was intended to reflect the style and feel of the 80s. Speaking in a video interview with Rolling Stone this week, the Māori director of Thor: Love and Thunder explained the look and feel of the latest Marvel film - with a soundtrack anchored by legendary rockers Guns N’ Roses - was inspired by the 80s metal band logos and comic characters he enjoyed drawing as a youngster.