Love and Thunder

Will audiences on the fence about the newest 'Thor' sequel read the reviews and decide to wait just 45 days and watch it on DIsney+?

That would be fine in a pre-Disney+ world (or even a pre-Bob Chapek world). That still might be the case since audiences who may not be addicted to the MCU still really liked Thor: Ragnarok and may still show up for more of the same. So far, the answer is “no.” Disney is reporting a $15.7 million opening day in 17 overseas markets, including Germany, Italy, Australia and South Korea. In “like for like” markets, it has earned 39% more than Thor: Ragnarök (which eventually earned $854 million, including $115 million in China) and 24% less than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which didn’t play in China and still topped $950 million global). And to be clear, a Thor: Love and Thunder that grosses $715 million global (75% of Doctor Strange 2 without China and Russia) will be a rock-solid hit. There’s an enormous difference between “this film will be available to buy for $20 in 75-90 days and available to rent for $5 in 90-100 days” versus “this film will be available to buy for $20 or watch for free on your streaming platform in 45 days.” This new normal, combined with the comparatively middling reviews, may not affect the (guestimated over/under $160 million) opening weekend. It earned more than Batman Returns ($184 million domestic and $336 million global from a $53 million debut versus $162 million/$266 million from a $47 million debut) and was considered a franchise savior. All due respect, even a “bad” MCU movie like The Dark World is miles above the 1990 Captain America). Moreover, the current adults in the room were the kids who grew up during the slow normalization of mega-budget tentpoles like Independence Day, Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. It’s also why, to be fair, Keanu Reeves finally gets the respect he deserves and horror movies tend to be better reviewed than when I was a kid. Yes, the critical consensus was different in 2008 and even 2013 (when movies on the scale of Thor: The Dark World were still somewhat unique) than in 2022, both in terms of Marvel’s overwhelming popularity among geek-centric critics and their monoculture-like domination of pop culture.

The director Taika Waititi injects antic silliness, once again, into this Marvel franchise starring Chris Hemsworth, who swings a mighty hammer and flexes ...

Waititi’s playfulness buoys “Love and Thunder,” but the insistence on Thor’s likability, his decency and dude-ness, has become a creative dead end. This is the fourth “Thor” movie in 11 years and the second that Waititi has directed, following “ Thor: Ragnarok” (2017). That movie was all over the place, but it was funny (enough) and had a lightness that proved liberating for the series and Hemsworth. “Love and Thunder” is sillier than any of its predecessors, and thinner. Jane’s new talents don’t do much for the story and read as a dutiful nod to women’s empowerment (thanks). Portman does what she can, yet she’s so tightly wound that she never syncs up with the loosey-goosey rhythms the way Thompson and Hemsworth do. Anthony Hopkins (Thor’s dad) exited, as did Cate Blanchett (sis). Thor fought, loved and lost, and then he packed on the pounds and went to hang with the Avengers. Thor’s love life humanized him for good and bad, though his romance with an astrophysicist — Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster — worked best as ballast for the he-man action. As the movie briefly slips into a parallel realm of play and pleasure, you can feel the director Taika Waititi having a good time — and it’s infectious.

Thor: Love and Thunder has two post-credits scenes that set up the future and introduce a new surprise. The first scene is in the middle of the credits, ...

She went back to chemotherapy and her cancer went into remission long enough for her to ride the wind as the Mighty Thor one last time in the War of the Realms and subsequently become the newest Valkyrie. Jane also went to Valhalla in the comics, after she threw Mjolnir into the center of the sun in order to defeat one of Asgard’s greatest enemies and, without its godly power, succumbed to the ravages of cancer. Now, how exactly Jane made it to Valhalla after not dying in battle but dying after it, even though we’re told that doesn’t count, is anyone’s guess.

Christian Bale and Russell Crowe join the Marvel franchise in this movie directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth.

You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service. Though Chris Hemsworth, as usual, has a lot of fun in the title role, the film around him too often strains to provide excitement and laughs. Where do we go now?

Since when do the weapons have feelings? Was that whom I think it was in the post-credits? And please tell me everything about the goats.

In the comics, the character is a frequent member of the Avengers. Will he show up in future Marvel movies? Bifrost is, classically, the rainbow bridge that connects Asgard to Earth. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s more like a cosmic vacuum that can transport figures to and from anywhere in the galaxy. As Thor explains to the not-quite-dying Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Valhalla is reserved for warriors who die in battle. He lives on a barren planet where all of his kinsmen are either dead or dying, including his daughter, whom he’s hauled out to the middle of the desert in the belief that the god he’s believed in all of his life will save him. When Gorr finally reaches Eternity in Love and Thunder, the depiction is much the same, only this one just sits like it’s doing some particularly intense yoga, waiting for that wish to be cast. The shattered pieces of the hammer have been on display in New Asgard, which has become a bit of a tourist trap, with an ice-cream store called Infinity Conez, but the pieces have been calling out to her, and she answers. In the comics, the Necrosword is actually a symbiote, not unlike Venom, that simply prefers to take the form of a sword. Gorr still thinks that the god would want to help a faithful believer, but instead the god laughs at him, and the Necrosword—a mythical blade with the power to kill gods—manifests itself to him, just in time to do some god-butchering. But as Love and Thunder’s first few minutes indicate, the God of Thunder isn’t much of a team player, so they go their separate ways. Thor hooked up with the Guardians in Infinity War, and has been bopping around space with them for a while. N-Port’s Jane Foster was Thor’s love interest in the very first Thor movie, and they were firmly a couple in Thor: The Dark World. But as the flashbacks in Love and Thunder reveal, the two split up for mundane, non-superheroic reasons—i.e., they got bored of each other, which also seemed to be about how Portman felt playing the role. She returned briefly in Avengers: Endgame, where an alternate-timeline version of The Dark World’s storyline played out, but it apparently took offering Portman the opportunity to get jacked and grow 9 inches taller to lure her back to the MCU.

Let's explain those "Thor: Love & Thunder" end credits scenes, with spoilers and background info aplenty.

The other credits scene is a warm coda to the Jane Foster story. If there are other afterlife destinations in the MCU, might she rather be somewhere she knows more people, animals or whatever? The first reveals Zeus ( Russell Crowe) was not, in fact, killed by Thor ( Chris Hemsworth). His godly pride seems to be the most injured part of him. Hercules also has a long and storied history ... in Marvel Comics. Judging from previous stories in which Zeus was moved to fits of pique ... what could possibly go wrong? He has gone mano a man-god with Hulk a few times.

The mid-credits scene of "Thor: Love and Thunder" features a reveal that will make "Ted Lasso" fans very happy.

Both are extremely powerful mythological figures, as well as the sons of godly kings like Odin and Zeus. Who wouldn't want to watch these two duke it out in a future Marvel movie? The scene mainly focuses on Russell Crowe's Zeus, who we discover did not actually die by Thor's hand in the battle of Omnipotence City. The King of the Gods survived — and now he wants payback. Goldstein takes on the role of Greek hero Hercules, but we only get a glimpse of him in Thor: Love and Thunder's mid-credit scene.

Marvel's Thor: Love And Thunder follows in the footsteps of the much-loved Thor: Ragnarok. Both are directed by Taika Waititi, and both offer a lighthearted ...

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Let's break down the latest Marvel movie! This is how Thor: Love and Thunder ends, what the deal is with those post-credits and mid-credits scenes, ...

- Gorr refers to Jane’s Mighty Thor as “Lady Thor” like a lot of the internet did when the comics character was revealed. - And speaking of old science friends, Jane is still friends-slash-colleagues with Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), also from the Thor films. She also thought the movie was clear and simple to understand so make of that what you will. So maybe the duo will go on all kinds of fun space adventures and the next Thor film could actually be a literal Love and Thunder movie. Knull, the eldritch god and creator of all symbiotes, also created All-Black. The weapon is especially strong versus the divine. And since Kang was one of the original comic-book Avengers villains, if a new version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes re-assemble to face this guy, Thor would almost certainly be involved. Jane definitely died a hero, but the Valhalla scene explains that yes, she is as dead as Heimdall is, but at least her passing is not truly the end of her story. Jane’s gone (we see that she’s immortalized as the Mighty Thor, a.k.a. Dr. Jane Foster, in statue form in New Asgard), but Thor basically has a daughter now, and they’re doing the superhero thing around the galaxy. But despite all of this, he does make it to Eternity and as such gets to make a wish. Gorr the God Butcher kidnaps a bunch of kids from New Asgard to draw Thor and Stormbreaker into a trap, so Thor, Mighty Thor, and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) team up to get the kids back. As they pick up random junk laying around – or clutch their stuff animals – he endows them with his own powers “for a limited time only.” A bunch of kids in god mode then proceed to beat the crap out of Gorr’s horde of nightmarish, Lovecraftian shadow creatures to the tune of the best part of “November Rain.” Thor: Love and Thunder shows there’s life after Ragnarok, and all’s fair in Love and Thor. And this time around, the Odinson and Stormbreaker are joined by a Mjolnir-wielding Dr. Jane Foster, a.k.a. the Mighty Thor. Directed by Taika Waititi, the God of Thunder’s fourth solo film pits both Thors against a Gorr, who literally has “God Butcher” as his job title.