Thor: Love and Thunder feels tailored by this formulaic code in every single way, only this time we won’t be able to point to studio interference for the blame. Such is the tricky scenario for an ever-growing franchise that is perhaps now best known for giving dedicated followers exactly what they want. And as most recently seen with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Eternals before it, when Marvel evidently does try for something new, there are just as many people upset for that change of pace as there are those happy for it. Critical reception to these films now mostly relies on whether or not people were convinced that Marvel actually tried to step out of their comfort zone. Well, in this case, that points to our biggest problem here… even when given the greatest opportunities of them all, Thor: Love and Thunder seemingly chooses to settle for the very least.īy now, it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that Phase 4 of the MCU has been the most divisive so far. Throw in other returning faces like Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie and even the Guardians of the Galaxy and you have a guaranteed good time at the movies at the very least. Additionally, moviegoers get a special treat with Christian Bale’s return to the comic book sphere as Gorr the God Butcher, a fan-favorite Thor foe of recent years.

Being a comic reader himself, Waititi chooses to bring Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor to the big screen, allowing star Natalie Portman to claim the superhero glory previous films never gave her. After Thor: Ragnarok successfully skyrocketed the titular character’s worth back to the top of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, filmmaker Taika Waititi returns ( now with an Oscar to his name) with even more creative control and a new Thor by his side. It’s almost hard to believe that Thor: Love and Thunder would amount to anything less than a home run.

Guardians of the galaxy beat sheet