Thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder?

Thor 4 took a massive hit in its second week, pulling in just $45 million here in the States. As you might expect, the global total is sitting at $415 million right now. Honestly, it’s looking like a stretch to even hit the $800 million mark. I’m personally bracing for something closer to $700 million; everything really hinges on that third week, which was absolutely vital for a movie like Dr. Strange 2.

Gregory Brown94 said: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.

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...

Look, you're just stating things I already know, and honestly, your "explanation" doesn't make the joke any less lame or pathetic. You throw the word "genius" around way too easily—there's nothing genius about it, especially when they repeat the same gag five different times.

Gregory Brown94 said:Thor 4 took a massive hit in its second week, pulling in just $45 million here in the States. As you might expect, the global total is sitting at $415 million right now. Honestly, it’s looking like a stretch to even hit the $800 million mark. I’m personally bracing for something closer to $700 million; everything really hinges on that third week, which was absolutely vital for a movie like Dr. Strange 2.

It already cleared $700 in its second weekend—your predictions are looking pretty grim

Taika Waititi rocks. The guy just cracks jokes and has a blast playing with expensive toys. I haven't seen this much parody in a supposedly serious blockbuster in a long time. People who aren't into his style are probably going to hate this. For me, it was a total blast. The rest of my crew who watched it with me were ready to walk out before the credits even rolled. 🍿

The movie was alright, but I still think Ragnarok was better. They really went overboard with the humor this time—it feels forced and constant. Also, out of all the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, none have had a shift quite like Thor's. He started off as this Shakespearean figure, and by the last two Avengers films, he was a total badass, but here they’ve turned him into a complete clown who just vents his feelings to his axe. Bale looks like he walked in from a completely different movie; he’s so dark and moody while the film itself is just a neon explosion of color. Honestly, the highlights were definitely the scenes featuring Guns N' Roses. It isn't quite up there with Black Panther, but it's one of those movies I'll probably forget pretty quickly once the credits roll.

Mark White11 said:Look, you're just stating things I already know, and honestly, your "explanation" doesn't make the joke any less lame or pathetic. You throw the word "genius" around way too easily—there's nothing genius about it, especially when they repeat the same gag five different times.

It’s just a dead root anyway, not a living thing... Given how many limbs Groot has lost by now, there'd probably be a whole army of tiny little Groots wandering through space...

This movie is absolute garbage. I consider myself a dedicated fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the source comics, but man, this was a total disaster.
If they had dropped even one more notch lower in quality, this would have landed squarely in the realm of a Naked Gun film. The only saving grace here was Bale's performance, as many others have pointed out, but everything else should be forgotten as quickly as possible. The sheer level of exaggeration in every single aspect of this production reached such heights that my eye-rolling actually gave me vertigo.
Thanos was right.

Kevin Brooks said:It already cleared $700 in its second weekend—your predictions are looking pretty grim

The box office numbers are actually showing 500 million.

They’re going to need some kind of miracle if they want to touch the box office numbers from Ragnarok.

If they could just get back to what they used to do... look, I’ve never been a massive Marvel fan myself. I might catch a movie here or there if it looks interesting, but it's just not really my thing. That said, Spider-Man is clearly the proof of what they can achieve in terms of money and success. But there's always going to be an issue: we all watch a movie or read a book because we want a story, and every story needs an actual ending. These endless phases that never seem to wrap up? Eventually, people are going to say enough is enough. There's just too much happening right now—the constant stream of series, movies, the sheer overproduction. It's impossible to maintain both interest and quality when you're churning things out this fast. It feels less like storytelling and more like a massive assembly line; they've basically turned it into a factory.

It’s just like how people used to react to Westerns or those big historical and biblical epics back in the day. People just get bored of them. They watch one, and suddenly they feel like they've seen every movie ever made.

crimsonmoose3 said:It’s just a dead root anyway, not a living thing... Given how many limbs Groot has lost by now, there'd probably be a whole army of tiny little Groots wandering through space...

Hmm. When the rabbit put that twig in a pot at the end of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, what actually happened? I feel like the same thing happened with Stormbreaker's handle, making Stormbreaker a sort of sentient being in its own right.

If Taika Waititi didn't maintain any meaningful continuity with that brilliant concept—you know, a cold, conscious weapon that can actually summon the Bifrost—then honestly, that's on him. But hey, jokes aside, even Groot talks trash constantly.😁

Fun movie. Either way, it’s easily 1000x better than Dr. Strange 2 or Eternals.

bluerider3 said:The box office numbers are actually showing 500 million.

Yeah, when I checked on Sunday it said 700, so my bad😢

To circle back to the movie

It’s incredibly grating how they turned Thor into such an infantile idiot

Kevin Brooks said:Yeah, when I checked on Sunday it said 700, so my bad😢

To circle back to the movie

It’s incredibly grating how they turned Thor into such an infantile idiot

That really gets on my nerves too.

Kevin Brooks said:Yeah, when I checked on Sunday it said 700, so my bad😢

To circle back to the movie

It’s incredibly grating how they turned Thor into such an infantile idiot

Depression is a heavy thing. Avengers: Endgame showed us a version of Thor that went through this massive character shift in just a few scenes. We saw him determined enough to take down Thanos, and he succeeded—but it didn't bring him any peace. It’s similar to Wanda, who killed Vision, yet it left her feeling nothing. Then, he starts acting out, trying to bury those depressive thoughts by basically making a fool of himself. Does that sound familiar to anyone else? I mean, look at Loki. Sure, he's the God of Mischief, so he uses tricks to cope, but it's there. So much happens under the surface, but because of the directing, the focus gets pulled toward things that don't actually matter.

Thor did what a lot of people end up doing when they’re spiraling—he leaned into some kind of self-destructive vice. In this case, it was alcohol. When you combine drinking with that specific mindset of making a fool out of yourself just to drown out depressive thoughts, you pretty much get exactly what we saw in Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder.

It’s a lot like what Wanda Maximoff went through in Dr. Strange 2. Depression basically stripped away her sanity. Once that Darkhold opened up all those insane possibilities, she couldn't just walk away from them. It was either that, or just go back to living this hollow, depressed life where she can't move on from Vision, while picking up kids from an orphanage just to play house. From her perspective, that isn't really a life at all. She’s been through absolute hell since she was a kid during the bombings in Sokovia. Growing up in such terrible conditions... those formative years left scars that you just don't forget.

Thor and Loki both deal with their depression in their own ways. It's different, sure, but in a lot of ways, they're actually pretty similar. They just need a grand purpose to cling to. 😁 And of course, you need that spark to get it moving. 🎉

You’d probably defend some piece of garbage that just wanders aimlessly around the screen for two hours—as long as you see the Marvel logo right at the start, that's all that matters to you.

Kevin Brooks said:You’d probably defend some piece of garbage that just wanders aimlessly around the screen for two hours—as long as you see the Marvel logo right at the start, that's all that matters to you.

True enough...

The film treats depression—a legitimate illness—as nothing more than a tired stereotype.
They’ve turned him into a complete buffoon, which is a far cry from the comics where he's actually wise and composed. He isn't just some alien; he's a God. Whether he's acting like an idiot because of the blue hair or if that's just a coincidence remains to be seen...

Kevin Brooks said:You’d probably defend some piece of garbage that just wanders aimlessly around the screen for two hours—as long as you see the Marvel logo right at the start, that's all that matters to you.

I can see how much respect you have for me based on that, and honestly, what kind of language is that to use toward a lady? I mentioned "bad directors" earlier and a few other things, but I was also recently disappointed here by a movie and by what Taika Waititi is doing to this entire franchise.

But I find meaning where others don't. Even TheCanadianLad criticized this film through both subtle and overt messages. He praised a few good parts, but just like me, he isn't a fan of what Taika Waititi did with the whole Thor setup, or how Gorr is criminally underused. (Same goes for Hela, which sounds familiar, but I blame the casting and maybe Kevin Feige, who keeps casting expensive "big name" actors and ends up killing their characters.)

I’ve also had my rants on the Avengers 3 and 4 threads regarding the plot, so, ma'am, what you wrote doesn't really apply to me.

I still can't believe how "low-class" people can get on this forum sometimes. 😵

I actually enjoyed the movie.

Taika Waititi delivered something visually and sonically imaginative—it’s got style, for sure. That said, the jokes aren't quite as constant as everyone seems to claim, and there are some surprisingly grounded, serious moments woven in there.

My main gripe? Thor feels a bit too goofy, and Christian Bale is definitely underutilized here—though, to be fair, Taika Waititi did the exact same thing with Hela back in Ragnarok.

I've noticed this weird pattern with myself: whenever critics start raving about a flick (like the last Spider-Man, for instance), I usually end up disappointed. But when they absolutely trash a movie (whether it's Eternals or this Thor), that's usually when I actually end up liking it.