Thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder?

Just finished watching, and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts without dropping any major spoilers:

- It’s actually better than Ragnarok.
- I had a feeling that Korg—voiced by Taika—was going to mess things up. That character feels like the court jester who nobody actually finds funny.
- The exact same formula that dragged down Ragnarok was applied here, too. Just too much humor where it doesn't belong.
- An older female character made an appearance; she could have been used more effectively, but I get why they played it safe.
- Gorr was fantastic. His backstory and dialogue were honestly better handled than Hela's, which is wild to say.
- The whole dynamic involving the kids felt fresh. Up until now, we've only seen the MCU touch on themes like this briefly, like in Iron Man 3 or even during Captain America in Civil War when Tony recruiting Peter happened.
- Maybe I'm exaggerating, but this might be the first MCU entry where you can actually feel the torch being passed from the old guard to the new heroes. Still, Thor is still there, and he’s one of the only ones left from the original Avengers besides Hulk.
- Personally, I thought the jokes about Stronger and Mjolnir went a bit overboard. Then again, we haven't really seen sentient weapons interacting like this before—kind of like if the other Dr. Strange's cape tried to switch over to our Stephen. Imagine a cloak fight XD.
- All in all, it would have been perfect if Taika hadn't forced Korg into every single scene. You don't put raisins in a chocolate cake just for the sake of it...

Total garbage... the last Thor movie actually felt like progress, but this one? It feels like two steps backward for the franchise.
Trying to juggle two heavy hitters like a terminal illness and the loss of a child is just too much weight for a flick like this to carry... in the end, it fails on both fronts—it isn’t fun, and it isn't even truly dramatic.

Honestly, I’d probably cut Christian Bale from the film entirely just so the rest of the cast wouldn't look quite so weak by comparison.

Gregory Brown94 said:Just finished watching, and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts without dropping any major spoilers:

- It’s actually better than Ragnarok.
- I had a feeling that Korg—voiced by Taika—was going to mess things up. That character feels like the court jester who nobody actually finds funny.
- The exact same formula that dragged down Ragnarok was applied here, too. Just too much humor where it doesn't belong.
- An older female character made an appearance; she could have been used more effectively, but I get why they played it safe.
- Gorr was fantastic. His backstory and dialogue were honestly better handled than Hela's, which is wild to say.
- The whole dynamic involving the kids felt fresh. Up until now, we've only seen the MCU touch on themes like this briefly, like in Iron Man 3 or even during Captain America in Civil War when Tony recruiting Peter happened.
- Maybe I'm exaggerating, but this might be the first MCU entry where you can actually feel the torch being passed from the old guard to the new heroes. Still, Thor is still there, and he’s one of the only ones left from the original Avengers besides Hulk.
- Personally, I thought the jokes about Stronger and Mjolnir went a bit overboard. Then again, we haven't really seen sentient weapons interacting like this before—kind of like if the other Dr. Strange's cape tried to switch over to our Stephen. Imagine a cloak fight XD.
- All in all, it would have been perfect if Taika hadn't forced Korg into every single scene. You don't put raisins in a chocolate cake just for the sake of it...

And what's the point of all this? First, you claim the movie is a mess, only to conclude by saying it was nearly flawless. 🤔

I caught a movie yesterday, and honestly, it felt like nothing more than a cheap parody of Thor, okay? Look, I’m not exactly a kid anymore, and if my son hadn't practically dragged me to the theater, I wouldn't have even bothered going, but even then, I was still expecting *something* from this. The only saving grace was the soundtrack; they had Gansi playing throughout the whole thing, which I actually thought was pretty great. We recently watched Dr. Strange, and it really leaves me wondering: what on earth happened to Marvel?

Marvel's latest blockbuster is an overpriced disaster: ‘We were expecting the movie of the year, then this happened...‘

This movie is pretty polarizing. On one hand, you’ve got some really solid dramatic beats, but on the other, there are these incredibly stupid, thin plot points that feel like they were just forced in with cheap, grating humor.
It’s weaker than Ragnarok, and probably even weaker than the original Thor, but it’s definitely better than that total snooze-fest of a sequel.

Jess, Thor is basically an absolute powerhouse now, which is how he should be, though I guess the sorcerers and witches still have him beat.

The moment those first 15 minutes rolled by, I knew exactly what kind of ride I was in for. As for the rest... I honestly couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Jane Foster works well as the female Thor. Meanwhile, the male version of Thor has always been a bit of an idiot in these movies compared to the comics, but here he’s just straight-up pathetic. Christian Bale was solid, though he certainly deserved a better role. That one scene with the sword, though? Total WTF.

The script is pretty weak. The only saving grace is that the two hours flew by. It’s significantly worse than Ragnarok, but still beats The Dark World.

Larry Walker24 said:Marvel's latest blockbuster is an overpriced disaster: ‘We were expecting the movie of the year, then this happened...‘

I guess it all comes down to how you look at it. The movie opened with $302 million worldwide ($143 million here in the States), despite having a rumored budget of $250 million. That massive price tag seems to be the result of constant creative shifts—they apparently scrapped entire scenes where the actors had already been paid their full share.

From what I've gathered, the original plan was for Gorr to kill off Grandmaster and Eitri (which would have led to him getting Stormbreaker before the final kill). Honestly, his bloody rampage would have felt a lot like what Thanos did in Avengers: Infinity War, so maybe that’s why they cut those parts out to avoid the comparison. There were also rumors about Lena Headey appearing as some other surviving Valkyrie from that war against Hel.

I should also mention that the sets were massive. The MCU really nailed the production design again with these huge environments, but obviously, that adds to the cost.

Basically, Thor 4 ended up being a victim of the pandemic, which caused so many moving parts and headaches during production. The MCU really cashed in on the Infinity Saga and Phase 3, and it looks like they can still churn out these giant blockbusters that pull in decent money, regardless of how people feel about the quality.

But the issue is there isn't enough "glue" holding everything together anymore. Because of that, a lot of people are labeling every single movie a flop, even if the box office numbers are actually okay. Even for someone like me, who's a huge MCU fan, it's becoming a real struggle just to keep track of everything.

This movie is easily the biggest flop of the year. Is Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the peak? Yes. But this current phase? A total disaster. The absolute worst.

Personally, I thought it was pretty good. It’s fun without being exhausting or boring... I don't go in with massive expectations, and honestly, I couldn't care less about the MCU, so I'm not going to obsess over every little detail like some of those people above me. It was a perfectly fine night out at the theater. For me, Ragnarok was a slog and pretty terrible, just like the last Dr. Strange.

Gansi was actually quite effective in those scenes. Everything else is forgettable.

The idea, the script, the tone—it’s all over the place. A complete mess. Someone actually wrote this well enough, but they should have just cut Gorr (Christian Bale) entirely—the guy is such a massive outlier that he feels like he accidentally wandered in from a completely different movie.

Watching two hours of forced jokes is exhausting. It's like the writers are following some rigid formula where they feel obligated to cram in a punchline every single minute.

Since Endgame, Marvel has been wandering aimlessly without a clear direction. They're just churning out these episodic superhero stories, probably milking the cash cow until the audience finally gets sick of it.

Look, I’ll be honest—this movie is a complete blast, but at the same time, it’s just kind of bad. It definitely beats The Dark World, but it doesn't touch Ragnarok, and honestly, it might just sit right on the same level as the first one.

Christian Bale absolutely carries this entire thing on his back. It’s like he was auditioning for The Godfather while everyone else was just filming some random slapstick comedy. There is such a massive gap in acting caliber between Bale and the rest of the cast.

vividmarlin11 said:The idea, the script, the tone—it’s all over the place. A complete mess. Someone actually wrote this well enough, but they should have just cut Gorr (Christian Bale) entirely—the guy is such a massive outlier that he feels like he accidentally wandered in from a completely different movie.

Watching two hours of forced jokes is exhausting. It's like the writers are following some rigid formula where they feel obligated to cram in a punchline every single minute.

Since Endgame, Marvel has been wandering aimlessly without a clear direction. They're just churning out these episodic superhero stories, probably milking the cash cow until the audience finally gets sick of it.

Actually, I think the MCU really spread its wings after Endgame by leaning into those specific types of stories. For instance, the Eternals might have been a total flop during the Infinity Saga. Now, the focus is on the Multiverse, Kang, and F4. Everything else is either starting something brand new or continuing old threads.

It was a fun little brain cleanser to pass those two hours. I watched it in 3D and had a good time; you can never really go wrong with watching Thor, right? Though, honestly, this one felt pretty juvenile—not that I mind, since I'm a bit of a kid at heart myself. Christian Bale definitely stood out, almost as if he were in the wrong movie altogether.

Gregory Brown94 said:Actually, I think the MCU really spread its wings after Endgame by leaning into those specific types of stories. For instance, the Eternals might have been a total flop during the Infinity Saga. Now, the focus is on the Multiverse, Kang, and F4. Everything else is either starting something brand new or continuing old threads.

And what do you mean they weren't flops? That movie was absolute garbage

Eternals isn't really a flop in that sense; I feel like if a Marvel movie doesn't pull in billions, you guys just label it a failure immediately. And speaking of Thor The Four, Taika went way too far, and honestly, Feige should probably move on from him in the MCU right away. Klovan is the director.

Gregory Brown94 said:Eternals isn't really a flop in that sense; I feel like if a Marvel movie doesn't pull in billions, you guys just label it a failure immediately. And speaking of Thor The Four, Taika went way too far, and honestly, Feige should probably move on from him in the MCU right away. Klovan is the director.

That has nothing to do with the budget or how much money it made.
The plot was terrible, the pacing felt like a lullaby, the jokes were pure cringe, and the acting was just wooden.
Honestly, I feel like a war veteran whenever those flashbacks from that movie pop up in my head. 🐔

Gregory Brown94 said:Eternals isn't really a flop in that sense; I feel like if a Marvel movie doesn't pull in billions, you guys just label it a failure immediately. And speaking of Thor The Four, Taika went way too far, and honestly, Feige should probably move on from him in the MCU right away. Klovan is the director.

I’m not even talking about the money here—I’m talking about the actual quality of the movie. Which, let's be real, just isn't there.

Mark White11 said:Ugh, man, this was just rough. It felt like Christian Bale was starring in a completely different movie—his acting is way too intense for such a total mess.
That whole love triangle involving the hammer, the axe, and Thor is hands down the worst thing I've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. 👎

The scenes where Stormbreaker acts jealous are actually brilliant. I think people are missing the point, which really just shows how much attention to detail the MCU puts in. Stormbreaker's handle is actually part of Groot's body—there are scenes where Thor picks up the axe he supposedly "buried," and you can see the roots growing. That one scene alone is genius; the axe is basically sentient and "alive," kind of like Dr. Strange's cloak.

Mjolnir, on the other hand, senses Jane because Thor gave the Hammer a spell similar to Odin's from the first movie during those flashback scenes.

Grace Edwards said:That has nothing to do with the budget or how much money it made.
The plot was terrible, the pacing felt like a lullaby, the jokes were pure cringe, and the acting was just wooden.
Honestly, I feel like a war veteran whenever those flashbacks from that movie pop up in my head. 🐔

Only if you catch the joke with the Eternals can they be "digestible." They’re basically just a group of fancy robots, as Kingo put it. A movie featuring twelve Terminators who can't evolve ends up with flat emotions on some level, so there's no empathy or real human connection. That's why the plot and pacing suffer, but personally, I thought the Eternals were interesting and actually enjoyed the film. Zhao knew what she was doing, so she leaned into visuals that blew me away; the IMAX scenes are pure eye candy.

What bothers me overall is how little Arishem is mentioned in other MCU films; that sense of danger he created is gone. That scene in New York City is terrifying—you feel like this being could destroy Earth at any second, yet he just leaves. And after that, there are no references to Tiamut's fossilized body in the Pacific Ocean or any mention of Arishem's visit in other movies or series. I'm curious if Black Panther 2 will mention Tiamut's body or the Exit, since that affects all the Atlanteans who will be fighting Wakanda in the sequel.

To tie this back to Thor so I'm not going off-topic: let's say Thor 4 showed Eternity, which is connected to whatever gave Galactus his power—someone who could potentially start eating worlds, which might disrupt the plans of the Celestials or even Arishem...

Dr. Strange showed a universe where Reed might have taken over the World Forge...