focus on the family movie review thor love and thunder

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Movie Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor’s fourth solo outing packs plenty of romance and action into another heroic story. But families may find the violence, profanity, sensuality and spiritual themes here a lot less heroic. Read the Plugged In review: https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/thor-love-and-thunder/ If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/

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• DVD & Streaming

Thor: Love and Thunder

• Action/Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• July 8, 2022
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor; Natalie Portman as Jane Foster; Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher; Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie; Taika Waititi as Korg; Jaimie Alexander as Sif; Russell Crowe as Zeus

Home Release Date

• September 8, 2022
• Taika Waititi

Distributor

• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Movie Review

For the God of Thunder, it’s been a dark and stormy time.

Over the last several years, Thor has grieved over the death of his father, his mother and his brother (three times). His sister broke his favorite hammer. Thanos proved to be a serious downer. He lost an eye. He lost his planet. He lost his abs.

And then there’s Jane Foster—sweet Jane Foster, the astrophysicist around whom Thor’s heart orbits. Thor lost her, too.

But finally, after a few years and presumably several trillion sit-ups, Thor’s feeling more like himself. He’s fit (as a thunder god should be). His hair has never looked better. And with his new pals, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor occasionally fights bad guys, too—rescuing helpless planets from the villainous armies that might plague them.

And if he sometimes destroys half the planet he’s trying to save? Well, let’s not cry over spilt infrastructure.

So when Thor learns that his old friend, Sif, is chasing down a mysterious evildoer who’s apparently killing gods, Thor’s in position—physically and mentally—to do a bit of chasing himself.

But this god-killer is a formidable foe. When Thor finds Sif, she’s nearly dead, having lost her arm a fight with him. Sif tells Thor that the villain wants to kill all gods—and he’s on his way to New Asgard, the Earth-bound town where the remnants of Asgard’s former population now live (and entertain tourists).

Thor’s already lost one Asgard: He’s not interested in losing another. He quickly zaps to Earth to defend the place, but he discovers that Asgard already has a Thor on watch: a hammer-wielding do-gooder who looks an awful lot like—

Yes, it’s a small universe. Through a complicated chain of events that we won’t get into now, Jane Foster is now Thor. Sort of.

But a reunion between Thor (the original) and the slightly shorter, prettier and more human facsimile will have to wait. The villain—Gorr the God Butcher—is in town, too. And as Thor and Thor battle tentacled and toothy shadow monsters, Gorr snatches Asgard’s children. He takes them far, far away, and he wants Thor (the original) to try and get them back.

It’s a trap, of course. But still, Thor must rescue the children. And in his quest to bring Asgard’s youngest back home, he’ll need help. Help from Valkyrie, the fearsome warrior now serving as New Asgard’s queen. Help from Korg, a stone gladiator who befriended Thor a few movies back; help from Jane Foster, who wields his old, magically repaired hammer, Mjolnir.

Oh, and a couple of giant, screaming goats. Can’t forget the goats.

Positive Elements

Thor: Love and Thunder is aptly named. Let’s concentrate on some of the love here. Despite his protestations, Thor still loves Jane Foster—and his love goes well beyond mere romantic affectations. He wants what’s best for her. His desire to love and protect her, in fact, was instrumental in their reunion and Mjolnir’s reappearance. (We learn that he magicked the hammer to protect Jane, no matter where or when; when Jane comes to New Asgard, Mjolnir does as it was bidden—transforming Jane in the process.) And when Thor learns that Jane’s dealing with an adversary even deadlier than Gorr—cancer—he tries to help her in any way he can. She likewise helps Thor when she can—even when she knows that it might spell her end. And, of course, they and others are trying to save the kids, too. Believe it or not, Gorr is not beyond a measure of redemption himself. He sets himself on his dark path because of love, after all—the love of his precious daughter. Nothing can be quite as horrific and vindictive as love gone wrong, but a kernel of real love remains in Gorr’s soul.

Spiritual Elements

So. In a superficial sense, Love and Thunder just might be the most spiritual superhero film ever. Its hero is a “god,” the villain is called the god butcher, and we see, literally, hundreds of lowercase deities. Most of them hang out in Omnipotence City—a nice little metropolis where the gods do very little but meet and party. Zeus (the Greek god of lightning, amongst other things) heads this divine-heavy metropolis (Thor admits the guy is something of a hero to him), and he shows off on his magically suspended dais in a god-infested assembly room. Earth-based gods are disproportionately represented: We see some representatives from Aztec and Mayan mythology, for instance. (Thor and his friends sneak in after swiping some robes from some emotion -based gods; the robes ae supposed to change color depending on the mood of the wearer.) While the film suggests that the gods are supposed to protect and safeguard their various worlds, most seem way more preoccupied with their own happiness and well-being to spend time thinking about their worshipers. (Which, when you read the myths of many of the gods represented, seems surprisingly accurate.) And while one of them grumbles about how little devotion and fear they’re striking in mortals these days, these gods certainly have no interest in dealing with Gorr. You can see why. In Gorr’s onscreen origin story, we see him on a barren, dusty world, praying desperately to his chosen deity as his daughter slowly dies of thirst. His prayers go unanswered. After he buries his daughter, Gorr suddenly discovers a lush oasis, where a golden-armored god chats with a trio of sentient flower-creatures. They’re celebrating the death of the holder of something called the Necrosword —a weapon that we’re told can kill any god. Gorr tells the golden god that all his devotees are dead now. The god says he’s not worried: More will come, and he mocks Gorr’s devotion. “Nothing awaits you after death, but death!” he says. The Necrosword makes its way into Gorr’s hands after this brutal disillusionment, and Gorr uses it to kill his god. We see the gigantic corpse of another god that Gorr felled (“one of the nicest gods you’d ever meet,” someone says), and we hear that he’s dispatched others. Gorr mocks believers for offering up prayers that he believes will go unanswered. “The gods will use you,” he says, “but they will not help you.” The children of Asgard, though, insist that Thor will save them—believing in the face of Gorr’s mockery. And it does seem as though Thor’ the only god here who can be bothered by the supplications of his followers. A couple of notes: Thor does say that Omnipotence City is a gathering place for “the most powerful created gods in the universe”—suggesting that these gods have their own creator. And Gorr, in an effort to speed up his god butchery, petitions an even greater power than the gods themselves—one who can grant, apparently, any wish. We hear several references to Valhalla (the Norse version of heaven), and [ Spoiler Warning ] even see the place in one post-credits scene. Various weapons seem to have at least a bit of sentience, and one curses its bearer.

Sexual Content

While in Omnipotence City, Thor’s stripped down to his birthday suit as he petitions Zeus. The movie audience sees Thor’s exposed backside, but the gods themselves get an eyeful of the front (which is, of course, strategically covered for us). The female contingent gathered ‘round Zeus (called the Zeusettes in the credits) collectively swoon at the sight, and other women and female gods ogle. Zeus also speaks repeatedly of a planned orgy in Omnipotence City. We see flashbacks to Jane and Thor’s relationship (where, it seems, they lived together). They kiss and snuggle and have a lot of relatively innocent fun together, but we don’t see anything remotely erotic or raunchy. They profess their love for each other, as well. (We also see how their relationship turned sour, as well, and they at least partially blame each other for its implosion.) We see quick flashbacks to some other women that Thor has wooed (featuring him kissing most of them). It was long rumored that Valkyrie (who’s bisexual in the comics) would be coming out for the first time onscreen in Love and Thunder , and indeed she does. She kisses a woman’s hand and briefly recalls the many women with whom she’s had relationships with. But that’s not the end of Love and Thunder’ s LGBT forays. Korg wistfully remembers how his two dads made him (clasping their hands over a pool of molten lava), and at the end of the movie, he apparently does the same with a “bloke named Duane.” (One thing to note, though: Korg’s race of rock aliens may not actually have any women to mate with.) As is common in superhero movies, we see both men and women in formfitting clothing. A Guardian of the Galaxy crew member announces that he’s gotten married while they’ve been visiting a planet. “You can’t get married on every single planet we land on!” Guardian leader Peter Quill tells him. Thor directs Jane’s attention to a pod of space dolphins. “They mate for life in packs of six,” he tells her.

Violent Content

This review is already surprisingly long, so I won’t belabor the action and violence we see here. You already know this is a superhero film, which means you can expect to see scads of battles (both individual skirmishes and war-like melees) featuring fists, weapons, lighting bolts and the like. But a few special things to make note of. Thor and others fight with several golden guards in Omnipotent City, slaughtering most with extreme prejudice. The blood they spill looks like liquid gold. But had it been red, this scene alone would’ve garnered Love and Thunder a hard-R rating. The shadow monsters under Gorr’s control might be quite scary for younger viewers. They, too, are gutted and torn asunder grotesquely. Gorr stabs someone in the jaw with a sword and rips the head of a creature. Someone is skewered through the chest with a lightning bolt, leading many to believe he’s dead. (He’s not.) We see a dead child. Thor talks about feasting once the children are rescued. “But not on the children,” he adds. “We don’t do that anymore. Those were dark times.” There’s apparently some sort of recognition in Omnipotence City for the deity that scores the highest number of human sacrifices. We see lots of property damage.

Crude or Profane Language

Nearly a dozen s-words join several other profanities, including “a–,” “d–n,” “h—,” “crap,” “p-ss” and two misuses of God’s name.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Valkryie and Korg hang out in a bar, sipping drinks. Zeus invites Thor to stay in Omnipotence City and just drink his cares away. “Anything goes in Omnipotence City,” he says.

Other Negative Elements

None, unless you count Thor’s boundless, clueless confidence.

The last superhero film that director Taika Waititi helmed was, of course, Thor: Ragnarok, a genre-busting fever dream that turned Jeff Goldblum into a supervillain, Chris Hemsworth into a first-class comedic actor and Matt Damon into Loki. Thor: Love and Thunder makes Ragnarok look like a PBS period drama. When Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) asked director Taika Waititi how the script was shaping up several months before filming, he told her that it “feels like we asked a bunch of 10-year-olds what should be in a movie and just said yes to everything.” So, yes. Translated, Love and Thunder is silly, often funny and, in truth, quite entertaining. But let’s also stress that if you said yes to everything a 10-year-old wanted to do in, say, your house , you’d be lucky to have a house left. And 10-year-olds are not known for their entertainment discernment, either. Movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—at least in a post Avengers: Endgame world—seem to be getting progressively more problematic, both spiritually and sexually. Love and Thunder may be a better movie than Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness … but content-wise, it’s a step or two worse. The film’s collection of bargain-bin gods offers opportunity for discussion—but I think for many Christian families, their presence makes this a tough sell from the get-go. Add in bare backsides, LGBT content, some really creepy monsters and a surprising level of profanity, and you’ve got yet more to wade through. Some parents will ignore these notes of caution. They’ve seen all the MCU movies, they reason. What’s one more? And, of course, that’s fine. You know better than Plugged In does about what’s right for your family. But it’s possible that, upon seeing it, it might not be just the film’s goats that feel like screaming.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Thor: love and thunder, common sense media reviewers.

Rescue adventure focuses on love; violence, language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Promotes teamwork, empathy, perseverance, choosing

Characters show courage and persevere, as well as

The Asgardians include some people of color (most

Children are in danger: kidnapped, kept hostage. I

Two references to orgies in the realm of the gods.

The words "s--t" and "s--ty" are said multiple tim

Visible brands include Converse, Fritos, Kettle Ch

Tourists in New Asgard are treated to mead at the

Parents need to know that Thor: Love and Thunder is the sequel to 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and the fourth Thor movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This time around, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) bids goodbye to the Guardians of the Galaxy when a new threat appears in the universe: Gorr the God…

Positive Messages

Promotes teamwork, empathy, perseverance, choosing love over guarding your heart, and asking for help.

Positive Role Models

Characters show courage and persevere, as well as brainstorm how to defeat rivals. Thor is always brave, but in this installment he's also open to love and to collaboration with Mighty Thor and Valkyrie. He learns to listen instead of acting impulsively. Jane is brave, selfless, willing to sacrifice her safety and comfort to help Thor with their mission. Valkyrie is a brave king, a necessary partner to both Thors.

Diverse Representations

The Asgardians include some people of color (most notably Valkyrie and Axl, played by Tessa Thompson and Kieron L. Dyer). Additional ethnic/racial (and species) diversity within the background supporting cast. Strong women role models in Jane and Valkyrie, who are both intelligent leaders. Writer/director Taika Waititi, who also voices Korg, is Māori and Jewish. Valkyrie is bisexual and Korg casually mentions his two dads. Disabled characters include Jane, who has terminal cancer; refreshingly, her superpowers aren't a magical cure-all (which would make the character effectively non-disabled). And in a minor role, Sif loses an arm early in the film but is later shown recovered from the amputation and back to sword-fighting.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Children are in danger: kidnapped, kept hostage. In opening scene, a young girl dies from exposure and starvation. Many battles in which people are injured or severely hurt. Hand-to-hand combat, fighting with weapons. Characters are incapacitated or die. Spoiler alert: A major character dies from a long illness, another seems to break apart but survives.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Two references to orgies in the realm of the gods. Scantily clad women surround Zeus. Two people kiss passionately, embrace, hold each other. Thor's clothes are magically removed; his bare back is visible, including his butt. Women who can see him from the front swoon, and two women joke that they "didn't hate" seeing that. Flashbacks to Jane and Thor's romantic relationship. Peter and Valkyrie allude to their lost loves. Flirting. Korg tells a story of how rock babies are made (when two rock dudes hold hands and a rock baby eventually comes out).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

The words "s--t" and "s--ty" are said multiple times or in different combinations: "really s--tty," "holy s--t," etc. Other words include "hell," "stupid," "piss off," "oh my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Visible brands include Converse, Fritos, Kettle Chips, Lays, Cheetos. Also a ton of off-screen Marvel merchandise tie-ins with toys, apparel, games, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Tourists in New Asgard are treated to mead at the end of their tour. Valkyrie says a keg of alcohol is necessary for a trip.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Thor: Love and Thunder is the sequel to 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and the fourth Thor movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . This time around, Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) bids goodbye to the Guardians of the Galaxy when a new threat appears in the universe: Gorr the God Butcher ( Christian Bale ), whose mission is to kill every god. Expect plenty of comic book-style action violence, including weapon use and hand-to-hand combat, as well as two injuries/deaths that are likely to upset younger audiences. The story focuses more on love and romance than most other MCU films, with kissing and affection between a couple and discussions of true love and the "ones who got away." There's also a suggestive scene in the realm of the gods where a planned orgy is mentioned more than once and women literally swoon at seeing Thor stripped of his clothes (audiences see him naked from the rear). Language includes several uses of the word "s--t," plus "piss off," "hell," and "oh my God." Families can check in on the movie's messages about the importance of choosing love, asking for help, and persevering despite the odds. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (59)
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Based on 59 parent reviews

What is going on with Marvel?

Don't waste your time. disappointing, what's the story.

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER introduces a new villain for everyone's favorite Asgardian god ( Chris Hemsworth ): Gorr the God Butcher ( Christian Bale ), who wields the god-killing necro sword and is compelled to strike down every god in the universe. With the help of Valkyrie ( Tessa Thompson ), Korg ( Taika Waititi ), and former girlfriend Dr. Jane Foster ( Natalie Portman ) -- who's now able to wield the reconstructed hammer Mjolnir herself -- Thor sets out to defeat Gorr after the villain manages to kidnap all of the Asgardian children and hold them hostage in another realm. The heroes set off to ask the remaining gods, starting with Zeus ( Russell Crowe ), to help take down Gorr, but they're too busy feasting and frolicking to care. As Jane, who's keeping an important secret from Thor, and Thor grow closer once again, he begins to wonder whether his old pal Peter Quill is right -- that you need to feel loved, even if that love is painful, to have purpose.

Is It Any Good?

Director Taika Waititi can't quite re-create the alchemic chemistry of Ragnarok in this serviceable but less exciting sequel, partly because Jane and Thor's romance doesn't spark. Putting the romance between Thor and Jane at the center of the story is unfortunate, because as talented as Hemsworth and Portman are, they have a bland on-screen presence together (especially when compared to Tom Holland and Zendaya, or Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany). Both Thor and Jane have far more interesting relationships with their closest friends -- in his case, Thompson's Valkyrie, and in her case, Kat Dennings' Dr. Darcy Miller. The banter and teasing they have in these platonic friendships far outshines the platitude-filled commentary about the power of love. So it's partly the actors (since this issue also existed in the earlier Thor films) and partly the screenplay, which tells more than it shows about love. Portman has always seemed an odd casting choice in this role, and though she finally has more to do in this movie, the fit still seems off. At least Korg and Valkyrie are there to add humor to the occasionally cringey early encounters between Thor and Jane.

On the bright side, this Thor, who's vulnerable and open to love, shows more depth than the young, arrogant, and reckless one who didn't think about consequences. He's no longer a selfish god. Speaking of gods, Crowe adopts a strange, pseudo-Italian accent to play a Greek god, and it just doesn't work, which makes Zeus more caricature than actual character. Still, it's fun to watch the former gladiator play an aging and all-powerful god. The land of the gods also leans heavily into Waititi's quirky humor, like when it features Bao, the god of dumplings, or references the not-so-kid-friendly orgy the deities have planned. Just as rock 'n' roll (Led Zeppelin in particular) played a big role in Ragnarok , the music in Love and Thunder is dominated by use of Guns N' Roses' greatest hits, including "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "November Rain," and "Paradise City ," which are played during key sequences. And kids will appreciate the role that the Asgardian children eventually play in aiding their trio of leaders. They'll also get a kick out of the screaming, flying alien goats who become a running gag. Will this sequel make audiences laugh? Yes. But does it exceed or even meet the expectations set by Ragnarok ? No.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Thor: Love and Thunder . How does it compare to that of other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

What do you think about Thor and Jane's relationship? How do they rank among the MCU couples? Which of the Marvel love stories is your favorite, and why?

Do you want to see more Thor-centric movies, or do you prefer the Marvel movies with cross-over characters?

Talk about the soundtrack and how Guns N' Roses songs are used in the movie. What are some other memorable uses of classic rock songs in the MCU?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 8, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : September 8, 2022
• Cast : Chris Hemsworth , Tessa Thompson , Natalie Portman , Taika Waititi , Christian Bale
• Director : Taika Waititi
• Inclusion Information : Indigenous directors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander directors, Female actors, Black actors, Latino actors, Indigenous actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors, Indigenous writers, Polynesian/Pacific Islander writers
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Superheroes , Adventures , Friendship , Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Empathy , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 119 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity
• Last updated : February 17, 2023

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Thor: Love and Thunder Parent Guide

For all its surreal humor and well-designed action, this movie lacks the lighthearted fun of its predecessor..

Theaters: Gorr the God Butcher is trying to exterminate the Asgardians. To stop him, Thor works with the Valkyrie and his ex-girlfriend.

Release date July 8, 2022

Run Time: 133 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by keith hawkes.

Since killing Thanos and saving the universe as we know it, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been flying around space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, solving smaller scale problems and meditating on his life. But when he and the Guardians come across evidence of a man called Gorr, the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who is possessed of the Necrosword (which is capable dispatching deities), Thor sends the Guardians to look out for the other gods and heads home to Asgard to protect what remains of his people. There, while fighting Gorr and his shadow-creatures, Thor is saved by an unlikely ally: The Mighty Thor!

This surprising new hero turns out to be Thor’s ex-girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), for whom the shards of Mjolnir have reforged themselves and endowed her with godlike powers. She needs those powers more than most – Jane has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and she’s hoping that the power of the hammer can cure her. Even the combined powers of Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) aren’t enough to stop Gorr, and he absconds into deep space, stealing the children of Asgard on his way out. The three heroes will need even more help if they want to save both the children and the gods of the universe…and they’ll have to move fast.

The movie’s darker tone is something that parents will want to keep in mind. Although violent content is broadly comparable to other Marvel films, it’s quite a scary film for younger viewers. Gorr’s favorite party trick involves spreading shadows and conjuring horrifying monsters out of them, which would have given me nightmares for approximately a decade when I was a little kid. For teens, however, this is going to be a fun, if occasionally somber, romp around the galaxy with the blond, heavily muscled God of Thunder – and the (sometimes) blonde, well-toned other God of Thunder.

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Keith hawkes, watch the trailer for thor: love and thunder.

Thor: Love and Thunder Rating & Content Info

Why is Thor: Love and Thunder rated PG-13? Thor: Love and Thunder is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity

Violence: There are frequent scenes of combat, some involving kicking and punching’ others melee weapons, futuristic laser guns, and magical weapons. An individual is seen with a missing arm. A child dies of an unspecified illness. A man stabs a god’s neck. A scene includes a jet of golden blood. Creatures are dismembered. A scene shows the aftereffects of gods being lynched. A monster’s head is ripped off and thrown at children. A superhero is shown with an eye missing. Children are kidnapped at night by monsters and are held by a villain who threatens to decapitate them. A character has terminal cancer and this causes scenes of emotional upset. There are jump scares. The frightening scenes are leavened with comedy. Sexual Content: Couples are occasionally seen kissing. A man is briefly seen nude from behind. Rock creatures are seen engaged in mating, which seems to consist of holding hands over some lava for a month. Comments are made about a man’s genitals, which are visible to the other characters but not on screen. There is a comic reference to orgies. Slang terms are used for sexual intercourse. Profanity: There are ten uses of scatological profanity, and infrequent uses of mild curses and terms of deity. Alcohol / Drug Use: Adult characters are seen drinking.

Page last updated January 12, 2024

Thor: Love and Thunder Parents' Guide

Thor’s films typically have themes surrounding worthiness and honor. How are those themes addressed in this film? How does Thor handle the realization that he is not the only person qualified to be the God of Thunder? How does that effect his other relationships?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

Adult fans of this less mystical approach to mythical deities will enjoy Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and its offshoot, Anansi Boys. Gaiman specifically focused on Norse legends in Norse Mythology¸ which is a retelling of classical Norse stories.

Related home video titles:

Fans of the God of Thunder will obviously want to watch Thor , Thor: The Dark World , and Thor: Ragnarok , as well as Avengers films like The Avengers , Avengers: Age of Ultron , Captain America: Civil Wa r, Avengers: Infinity War , and Avengers: Endgame . Marvel’s other recent offerings include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , Eternals , Spider-Man: No Way Home , and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.

Dove Review

What if there was no eternal reward? How would that change our decisions? Gorr is a man who tragically loses his daughter and is told by a “god” that there is no eternal reward for his faith. That turns him into the villain, the God Butcher, who Thor and the cast must fight to stop.

At the beginning of the movie, we catch up with Thor while still with the Guardians of the Galaxy. When some celestial problems arise, Thor returns to New Asgard on Earth and finds out that his old girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster, now has Mjolnir, his hammer. Gorr the God Butcher arrives in New Asgard, as well, and kidnaps all the children. The rest of the story is a fight to save those kids.

Dr. Jane Foster has a secret, however – she has stage four cancer. Jane and Thor team up and rekindle their relationship while her mortality looms over their decisions. Thor and Jane are faced with decisions of sacrificing their own lives for the greater good.

Fans of Thor: Ragnarok will also enjoy this movie as director Taika Waititi returns with the same comedic superhero fare with a great deal of heart. The visuals are standard amazing for the MCU, and the pacing keeps the film pushing forward to a redemptive and emotional ending, despite the silliness that ensues along the way. Love and Thunder connects back to former Thor films and the larger MCU but is more focused on the character of Thor than some of the recent MCU projects.

The action and violence is basic for the MCU. However, there are other things parents might find offensive. They use the term “feeling sh*tty” more than a few times in the context of love. Thor is shown fully naked from the backside in one scene. Zeus and the “gods” invite Thor to an orgy.

Valkyrie declares herself as gay and expresses her desire for a partner, and one of the kidnapped kids has changed his own name from what he was given.

The Dove Take

Thor: Love and Thunder takes a complex and interesting look at what happens to people without the belief in eternal reward and redeems the characters in the face of that eternity, but the crude sexual jokes and content may be offensive to some parents and viewers.

Dove Rating Details

Surprisingly complex theme of how the villain is told there’s “no eternal reward” for worshipping the gods and that turns him into a villain after the death of his daughter. That is corrected and redeemed through love at the end.

Good themes of how death doesn’t mean the end of life and grief and pain don’t give an excuse to do evil to others. Dr. Jane Foster is deemed “worthy” of Thor’s hammer because she fights for the innocent. Thor shares his “god” power with the kids to help them fight evil.

Implied humor about Thor’s genitals and gods mention an orgy.

Sh*t. “Feeling sh*tty” is a major theme of the movie, so it’s used often.

Basic superhero MCU violence and fighting.

Moment of drinking among friends and Thor gives Stormbreaker, the axe/hammer, its “first beer.”

Thor naked from the back.

In a minor subplot, Valkyrie declares herself as gay and hopes to find her true love. One of the Asgardian kids has changed his name from what he was given at birth and makes Thor use it.

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“Thor: Love and Thunder” is more or less a victory lap for all that director Taika Waititi achieved with his previous Marvel film, the often hilarious, rousing, and plainly refreshing “ Thor: Ragnarok .” And while it has too many familiar flourishes and jokes, this entertaining sequel is still a force for good, with enough visual ambition and heart in front of and behind the camera to stand on its own. 

We meet our space Viking hero and thunderous Norse god Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) on a path of healing. Going “from dad bod to god bod” (to quote Waititi’s voiceover recap, delivered by his still-charming rock-bodied softy character Korg), Thor has lost the gut he had in “ Avengers: Endgame ,” and the people of Asgard have settled into a port town called New Asgard after their home realm was trashed in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Their leader, the charismatic King Valkyrie ( Tessa Thompson ), has helped them acclimate to life on Earth, which includes being a tourist attraction. With the assistance from the Guardians of the Galaxy in a brief appearance, Thor gets back into worlds-saving shape, and in a Guns N' Roses-accompanied moment, in the beginning, he unleashes stylized, high-flying slaughter a la many scenes in “Thor: Ragnarok,” wielding his axe Stormbreaker. But he has no one to share the victory with, and for all of the hundreds of years Thor has lived, he has resigned to not finding true love.  

The film then re-introduces a more interesting hero in Jane Foster ( Natalie Portman ), Thor's past human love interest from the previous films during his more serious days. Now, she wields the restored pieces of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, turning into the Mighty Thor with helmet and cape, but all with a price. Every time she uses the power, it takes away from her human capacity, which is all the more devastating given that we learn she has Stage Four cancer. “Thor: Love and Thunder” thoughtfully reinstates Jane into the action, while giving some more depth to her relationship with Thor. In both her human and her heroic state, Portman’s performance conveys why it's great to see Jane again. 

The adversary this time around is Gorr the God Butcher, a tortured character filled with vengeance who provides the shadows to the movie's immense moments of light. After the death of his daughter turns him into a non-believer, Gorr is chosen by a weapon called the Necrosword, and creates an army of shapeshifting black beasts to kill all gods, starting with the one who ignored his cries for help. Christian Bale is striking in the role, fluctuating between high and low voices, relishing the chance to brandish his sharp teeth. It’s the closest we’ll get to seeing him play Pennywise the Clown, with a dash of Voldemort, but tethered to the same humility Bale brings to his most human, humbled characters. He can be mighty fun to watch, even when “Thor: Love and Thunder” undersells his god butchering for the sake of a more sentimental message, and to make him share scenes with frightened children.  

Co-written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson , “Thor: Love and Thunder” just doesn’t truly flourish as it could. Part of its messiness kicks in with its big conflict when Gorr the God Butcher attacks New Asgard at night in a frantic impromptu fight scene that has Waititi's usually stable vision for Thor action losing control. The supposedly scary scene just happens, and it’s difficult to follow in the dark what’s going on, as shadow creatures wage battle on the Asgardians and kidnap their children. The sequence is so disjointed that a visual gag involving a collapsing burning building in the background—timed for when Thor meets cute again with Jane as a hammer-wielding, ass-kicking, Mighty Thor—just doesn’t work.  

In order to stop Gorr and save the stolen children, Jane, Thor, King Valkyrie, and Korg visit the god of lightning Zeus and the other Gods, who laze about in a golden forum and talk about the next orgy, unafraid of what Gorr is looking to do to them. Like a golden and white version of the Galactic Senate in “ Star Wars ,” with a grab-bag of goofy creatures (one has furry feet and a face, that's it; another is a Korg relative) it makes for one of the more eye-popping set pieces. But it’s also a moment in which the movie is building toward future “ Thor ” stories at the detriment of this one, including a shrugging cameo seen in the post-credits. It’s also a passage among many in which it's clear that Tessa Thompson’s character of King Valkyrie, though important with the goings-on of New Asgard, has oddly been pushed to the side despite her established importance and swagger in “Thor: Ragnarok.”  

“Thor: Love and Thunder” flirts with when a call-back story beat or joke is just playing the hits, the same way that there are a million Guns N' Roses nods and needle drops in this movie just because, and you’re expected to head-bang each time. All of its pop culture ad-libs, or punched-up superhero stuff about coming up with catchphrases—when those jokes feel safe instead of left-field, they fall particularly flat. “Thor: Love and Thunder” is a blockbuster comedy sequel at its core, and its weaker material reminds you of that even when it’s still good for a sporadic laugh or two.  

Lacking the overall freshness that defined the previous movie, “Thor: Love and Thunder” is better with its bolder, dramatic sequences that are like mini-movies about how love comes with the price of loss. Gorr is introduced in a harrowing piece of bubble gum Ingmar Bergman , cradling his dead child and renouncing his god before killing him, all before the Marvel Studios credit card kicks in with electric guitars. Later on, Waititi presents us the Jane and Thor romance—its coziness and later its isolation—like a spin-off of his own quirky indie “Eagle vs. Shark.” It's very funny in some moments, but with a brutal honesty always in frame, especially as the two then see if love is salvageable in the current dwindling timeline. Along with Jane’s striking cancer storyline, it's these heartfelt moments too that reveal the true motivators behind “Thor: Love and Thunder,” even if everything is later treated in too quaint, or too eagerly crowd-pleasing a fashion to hit as hard as they clearly meant to.  

The biggest takeaway from “Thor: Love and Thunder,” aside from how Waititi really should get that “Star Wars” trilogy he’s been teasing, involves his bold usage of color, visually and thematically. It’s not just the eye-popping hues, which here include soldiers for Zeus who spew golden blood or a bravura black-and-white fight sequence between Gorr and Thor on a tiny color-draining planet that uses select flashes of blue light with great effect. It’s that assured sense of tone that preaches how a movie can mix god-killing and kid-friendly crowd-pleasing moments with a gooey message about love. This sequel is not without its reservations, but Waititi continues to show just how unique these blockbusters can still be, provided their storytellers keep embracing some of their heaviest and funniest ideas.   

Available in theaters on July 8th.

Nick Allen is the former Senior Editor at RogerEbert.com and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity.

119 minutes

Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / The Mighty Thor

Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie

Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher

Taika Waititi as Korg

Jaimie Alexander as Sif

Russell Crowe as Zeus

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Bradley Cooper as Rocket (voice)

Vin Diesel as Groot (voice)

Sean Gunn as Kraglin / On-Set Rocket

• Taika Waititi
• Larry Lieber
• Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Cinematographer

• Barry Idoine
• Peter S. Elliot
• Matthew Schmidt
• Jennifer Vecchiarello
• Michael Giacchino

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THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Parents Guide + Movie Review

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Thor: Love and Thunder is an epic galactic adventure that is filled with humor and heart. Wondering if Thor: Love and Thunder is kid-friendly? I’m breaking down all of the thematic elements, including its PG-13 rating, in my Thor: Love and Thunder Parents Guide and Movie Review. Here’s what parents need to know to help YOU decide if it’s appropriate for kids. As always, no spoilers!

We last saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in Avengers: Endgame, heading off with The Guardians of the Galaxy. If you remember correctly, Thor let himself go a bit and was rocking a “dad bod.” During his time with The Guardians, we see him reclaiming that “God Bod,” he is well-known (and loved) for.

In fact, if you’re completely new to Thor’s story, you’ll get a brief rundown in the beginning of the film — complete with an adorable baby Thor and all!

It’s nice to see the friendships Thor has formed with The Guardians of the Galaxy, especially with Star-Lord. Thor has always been a bit of a loner and is afraid to get close to people. However, this is not a story about him teaming up with The Guardians — it’s only a small intro to lead into the main event, so to say.

Don’t worry though, we still get one heck of a killer soundtrack!

Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher

A new MCU film brings a new villain, and boy is he creepy. Christian Bale plays Gorr the God Butcher, and he’s every bit as terrifying as he sounds.

Of course with every villain comes a backstory and Gorr’s is gut wrenching. You can absolutely feel his pain and almost, ALMOST understand why he is the way he is. However, any sort of emotion you could feel towards him will wash away with his sinister actions. He’s evil to the core, and Bale portrays this brilliantly.

Gorr is on a mission to obliterate all of the Gods. He kidnaps the children from New Asgard and brings them to the Shadow Realm. He uses them as a lure to bait Thor.

Jane Foster Returns

It’s been eight years, seven months, and six days, give or take, since Thor has seen his ex-girlfriend, Jane (Natalie Portman). Not that he’s keeping track or anything. Not only does seeing her surprise him, but she has his old Mjolnir and she’s dressed just like him! Clearly a lot of time has passed and these two have much to catch up on, but one thing is for certain, they have undeniable chemistry.

Portman really upped the ante with Jane’s character this time around. She’s really hilarious, and I loved the relationship between her and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). I actually wish the two of them had more screen time because it was a major dose of girl power. Each time they were together was better than the last!

Brilliant Cinematography

Marvel films are not shy for pulling out some impressive visuals, and Thor: Love and Thunder certainly doesn’t disappoint. You will want to see this movie on a massive screen to truly appreciate the special effects. Everything is done with precision and it comes across onscreen perfectly.

IS THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER KID-FRIENDLY? HERE’S YOUR PARENTS GUIDE:

If your kids are anything like mine, they’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the latest film featuring the God of Thunder. Thor is such a fun character and it’s only natural he’s a favorite of younger viewers. However, Phase 4 of the MCU has been much darker. I’m talking to you, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Is Thor: Love and Thunder too scary for kids?

Thor: Love and Thunder has an MPAA rating of PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity. It has a runtime of 1 hour 59 minutes. Here’s what parents need to know before watching Thor: Love and Thunder with their children.

Right off the bat, you know there is going to be violence. I mean, Thor has a hammer that he uses as a weapon. There are a lot of supernatural fighting scenes. Throwing spears, axes, hammers, and other weapons are used. I would compare the violence to your typical Marvel movies.

I was actually expecting much worse. However you will hear words like: Hell, shut-up, damn, and stupid. Shit and shitty are used in abundance. There is also mention of an orgy. Fingers crossed it goes over your kids heads.

Mature Content

Gorr kidnaps a group of children, which could be frightening for little ones. Drinking alcohol is shown. One of the characters has a terminal illness. This has the potential to be triggering for anyone relating to that situation.

As for the partial nudity…you will see Thor’s behind. Yes, the entire backside. Let’s just say his God bod is back.

Age Recommendation

I feel like this is such a tricky question, because it really depends on your child. Both my 8 and 12 year old kids saw Thor: Love and Thunder with me, and they loved it. They have also seen every single Marvel movie…even Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (however, not in the theater). My 8 year old is my big time Marvel lover and proclaimed this his new favorite movie. If your kids have seen the other Marvel movies, then this will be fine. However, if they are new to the MCU, I’d recommend Thor: Love and Thunder for ages 12 and up.

Overall Thoughts

Thor: Love and Thunder is a BLAST! Packed with action, humor, and a KILLER soundtrack. While the story is often lighthearted, there are many emotional moments weaved throughout. There is a metaphor that the new, younger generation is going to take the world by storm. Take that as you will, but it personally gives me hope for our own future. Our children we’re raising today are growing up to be extraordinary individuals. They’re fearless. They’re strong, and they’re going to change the world.

Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder is worthy, bringing both the thunder and the love. A very welcome addition to the MCU phase 4.

One more thing…there are TWO post credit scenes that you won’t want to miss. Both of them are full of surprises!

Thor: Love and Thunder Synopsis

The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.

I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER PARENTS GUIDE AND MOVIE REVIEW HELPFUL FOR YOUR FAMILY. WILL YOU BE SEEING it IN THEATERS?!

Looking for more parents guides and movie reviews? Don’t miss these posts  HERE !

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Thor: Love and Thunder review – A rare Marvel film that remembers its main audience are kids

A delightful sequel motor-powered by goofy self-awareness and childlike imagination, article bookmarked.

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Dir: Taika Waititi. Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman. 12A, 119 minutes.

I can’t remember the last time the A-list stars of a Marvel film have all seemed genuinely happy to be there. But in Thor: Love and Thunder , Natalie Portman , Christian Bale , and Russell Crowe beam like they’re kids dropped headfirst into a vat of Tango Ice Blast. Portman, whose Jane Foster here wields the power of Mighty Thor, flexes her biceps and lands dorky joke after dorky joke – two things so rarely granted to the actresses Hollywood demands are perpetually dainty and polite. Bale, as villain Gorr the God Butcher, gets to crawl around on all fours wailing and hissing, with amber-hued snake pupils and a profile that’s distinctly Skeletor-esque. Crowe, as Zeus, has a miniskirt and the wildest Greek accent you’ve ever heard in your life.

These three are in actor heaven, gambolling around a soundstage as if it were their own personal playground. That probably has a lot to do with who’s behind the camera here – one Taika Waititi , who, since 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok , has become the shining exemplar of how to navigate the mainstream without losing your soul in the process. He’s one of the only people who could ever convince Bale to return to the superhero genre post-Batman, and Portman to forgive the franchise that burned her so badly with her lacklustre roles in Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013).

Waititi may be a leading candidate for the title of “Hollywood’s busiest man”, but it’s impressive how little his output’s been watered down by its near-terrifying volume. A Waititi production is still distinctly a Waititi production – a patchwork quilt of primary colours, as outsider figures and disappointing fathers joke their way through trauma. Love and Thunder , a sequel born entirely out of the effusive reception for Ragnarok , is arguably the closest he’s ever come to autopilot – and yet it’s still such a delight, motor-powered by goofy self-awareness and childlike imagination. It’s also the rare bit of Marvel output that actually remembers the main audience for these films should be kids and not adults with YouTube channels.

It’s certainly not as thematically tight as Ragnarok , which snuck in a fairly sharp critique of colonialist narratives. And both of Waititi’s Marvel films struggle with the same issue – that he’s been lumped with so much franchise baggage that it takes about 20 minutes to clean up the mess before the fun can actually begin. The Guardians of the Galaxy appear here, but in a contractually obligated kind of way. And the film has absolutely no idea what to do with Thor’s clumsily handled weight gain subplot in Avengers: Endgame .

But once Waititi, and his co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, push all of that out of the way, you can almost feel the stick-shift change in Love and Thunder . Its plot sees Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) venture out of his self-imposed, emotional cocoon in order to rescue the children of New Asgard. They’ve been kidnapped by Gorr, a grieving father who’s dead set on vengeance against the gods who rewarded his faith with contempt. A standard mission, maybe, that’s complicated by the sudden appearance of Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, now wielding his ex-hammer, Mjolnir.

How did she get her hands on a weapon like that? I won’t spoil the answer (though comic fans might already have an inkling), but Portman’s finally been handed an MCU storyline that’s worthy of her talent – a simple but potent take on waking yourself up out of a state of self-denial. Love and Thunder has less of the usual Waititi stuff we’ve grown to expect, namely themes of insecure masculinity and marginalisation broached with a lightness of touch. But it radiates with that titular love. It’s a true family affair, with the real-life children of Waititi, Hemsworth, and Portman all making cameo appearances. Meanwhile, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie gets an extended role as the King of New Asgard, her deadpan nonchalance covering for the lingering grief of losing the woman she loved in battle (her bisexuality was only hinted at in Ragnarok , but it’s confirmed here). The way the actor so coolly delivers the words “ding dong”, in a cut-glass British accent, made me immediately wonder when – oh, when – we’ll finally get a Valkyrie solo film.

Waititi continues to paint in bold and colourful strokes. Zeus’s home, a planet inhabited by a truly global population of mythical figures, is so busy with detail that it might take a hundred watches just to absorb everything that’s been placed on screen. And there’s a real touch of adventure to some of the technology deployed here – the use of massive LED backdrops (first popularised on the set of Disney+’s The Mandalorian ) in place of traditional green screen gives everything a little more object permanence, while a black-and-white sequence shot with shattered light effects is one of the most inventive and straightforwardly good-looking Marvel action scenes we’ve seen in an aeon.

Of course, Ragnarok ’s distinctive humour is carried over, and there’s a blissfully dumb running joke about a pair of giant, heavy metal-screaming goats. But, really, it’s the heart that matters here. Love and Thunder ’s characters are all running towards the same conclusion: that, no matter how long or short our time on Earth (or any planet) may be, we’re all inevitably living for the benefit of others. We love. Then we love again. It’s nice for Marvel, always caught up in its own chaos, to remind us of something so simple.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is in UK cinemas from Thursday 7 July

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Thor: Love and Thunder First Reactions: Wacky, Surprisingly Moving, and Possibly One of the Best Marvel Movies Yet

Film journalists on social media say the latest mcu entry is a taika waititi film through and through, with plenty of hilarious shenanigans, a phenomenal villain, and powerful chemistry between its stars..

TAGGED AS: blockbusters , Film , films , Marvel , marvel cinematic universe , marvel comics , Marvel Studios , MCU , movie , movies , Superheroes

Here’s what critics are saying about Thor: Love and Thunder :

Where does Thor: Love and Thunder rank in the MCU ?

Thor: Love and Thunder is absolutely AMAZING. It blows every other Marvel movie out of the water and doubles down on the Ragnarok charm. –  Therese Lacson, Collider

Thor: Love and Thunder might be my favorite Marvel movie, and it also might be their very best. –  Drew Taylor, The Playlist

Thor: Love and Thunder just cemented itself as one of my favorite MCU films… It’s got everything you could ever want from a Marvel movie! –  Griffin Schiller, The Playlist

The best Thor film yet! –  Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

My favorite Thor movie of the four… Feels like the best of MCU Phase 1 and Phase 4 in one entry. Loved it. –  Brandon Davis, ComicBook.com

The best entry in Phase 4 behind Shang-Chi and No Way Home . –  Kirsten Acuna, Insider

Feels right in line with most of the MCU Phase 4 movies. To have the best time temper expectations and laugh. –  Emmanuel Noisette, The Movie Blog

(Photo by Marvel Entertainment)

Is it hilarious ?

There’s a lot of unhinged, unrestrained, completely out-of-the-box lunacy in Thor: Love and Thunder that I’m still shocked they snuck in and got away with. And BLESS UP that they did. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Thor: Love and Thunder is… a wacky, high-energy delight with a cast full of aces crushing one scene after the next. LOADS of laughs (my face legit hurts). – Perri Nemiroff, Collider

This is definitely one of the funnier Marvel films. – Dorian Parks, Geeks of Color

WAY more comedy than drama. It’s basically silly. – Emmanuel Noisette, The Movie Blog

Most of the humor doesn’t land as well as it did [in Ragnarok ], but Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale do the best with it. – Andrew J. Salazar, Geeks of Color

There were some moments where the comedy and story fell flat. – Laura Sirikul, The Nerds of Color

Will it give you all the feels?

I laughed. I cried. Then I laughed and cried some more, in that order. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

I left this movie emotionally satisfied while also sobbing. – Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

So many laughs and tears, with a moving narrative. – Therese Lacson, Collider

Bursting with so much heart, emotion, and sincerity, I teared up, I smiled from ear to ear. This film is a warm hug and plea to cherish the present, live in the moment do something that matters. I adore this film! – Griffin Schiller, The Playlist

How does it look?

Thor: Love and Thunder is a vivid and vibrant blast. – Simon Thompson, The Playlist

Thor: Love and Thunder [has] some of the most visually inventive set pieces in the MCU. – Drew Taylor, The Playlist

Visually it is also one of the best-looking MCU films we’ve gotten recently. – Dorian Parks, Geeks of Color

The use of color in this movie is just so well done. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

How is Taika Waititi as director?

One of Thor: Love and Thunder’ s best qualities is that it’s pure Taika. He continues to be a one-of-a-kind voice that I can’t get enough of. – Perri Nemiroff, Collider

You could tell they gave Taika Waititi full creative control, which pays off in many ways. – Dorian Parks, Geeks of Color

Thor: Love and Thunder is the perfect blend of Taika at his best with comedy and a punch to the gut all in one. – Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue

What I love most about Thor: Love and Thunder is that it’s a Taika Waititi film THROUGH and THROUGH. His writing is the real star. Got the free-spiritedness, life-affirming heart of his non-blockbusters, and some terrific spectacle that is a BIG improvement from Ragnarok . – Griffin Schiller, The Playlist

I had a blast with Thor: Love and Thunder and I hope Taika Waititi makes more MCU movies. – Steven Weintraub, Collider

If not quite as much of a surprise as Ragnarok , this is more evidence that Taika Waititi knows how to make Thor a blast. – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

It’s very Taika Waititi and is tonally all over the place. – Scott Menzel, We Live Entertainment

(Photo by ©Marvel Studios 2022)

So it has a good script?

Thor: Love and Thunder has a… great story, stakes, and character-building. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Thor: Love and Thunder has… a profound story on absent gods and our desire for love. – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

Thor: Love and Thunder is much more episodic than I would have suspected. – Clayton Davis, Variety

Thor: Love and Thunder falls into the third act curse. – Laura Sirikul, The Nerds of Color

How is Chris Hemsworth?

Truly the best he’s been yet. – Rachel, Leishman, The Mary Sue

Hemsworth’s Thor remains a jewel in Marvel’s crown. – Simon Thompson, The Playlist

Chris Hemsworth is perfect. – Wendy Lee Szany, The Movie Couple

How is it seeing Natalie Portman back as Jane Foster?

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, a.k.a. Mighty Thor, is just such a home run. Her whole story here is powerful and fulfilling. – Brandon Davis, ComicBook.com

Natalie Portman is fantastic as the Mighty Thor. – Wendy Lee Szany, The Movie Couple

Natalie Portman is FINALLY given her due. Dr. Jane Foster is more than worthy of being the Mighty Thor. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

Natalie Portman does an incredible job as the Mighty Thor. Her chemistry with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson was one of the film’s highlights. – Dorian Parks, Geeks of Color

Portman’s Foster and Thompson’s Valkyrie are a top-notch pairing. – Simon Thompson, The Playlist

The beating heart of this film is Thor and Jane Foster. I mean my god, the romance was so real, so relatable, I felt every moment of it, the passion. Might be my second favorite MCU romance because of how genuine it was, and the actors deliver their best performances as these heroes. – Griffin Schiller, The Playlist

How about Christian Bale as the villain?

Christian Bale is perfectly terrifying as Gorr. – Wendy Lee Szany, The Movie Couple

Christian Bale is phenomenal as Gorr. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

Christian Bale is phenomenally menacing as Thor: Love and Thunder’ s villain, Gorr the God Butcher. One of the creepiest Marvel villains we’ve ever seen on screen. Gave me some Dark Knight Ledger Joker vibes at one point. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

Christian Bale’s Gorr arrives as a top-tier MCU villain (possibly the best?) whose arc packs an emotional wallop in the climax. He’s fiendish and terrifying yet incredibly sympathetic. GREAT antagonist! – Griffin Schiller, The Playlist

Christian Bale is creepy good as Gorr. He could’ve benefitted from a little more screen time but lands really well. Great villain. – Brandon Davis, ComicBook.com

Bale’s Gorr is a killer boogeyman blending the campy and the creepy. – Simon Thompson, The Playlist

Very standard cookie-cutter villain with Christian Bale. – Clayton Davis, Variety

Are there any other standouts?

Get ready to love those goats! – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

The goats were great. – Laura Sirikul, The Nerds of Color

The goats are GOATS. – Wendy Lee Szany, The Movie Couple

We should stay through the credits, right?

Stay all the way through the credits. You knew that. – Brandon Davis, ComicBook.com

Those post-credits? OH MY GOD. – Therese Lacson, Collider

Post credits are EPIC! – Clayton Davis, Variety

Thor: Love and Thunder opens in theaters on July 8, 2022.

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In 'Thor: Love and Thunder,' Waititi's familiar strains feel familiar and strained

Glen Weldon

Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth. Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios hide caption

Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth.

In considering Thor: Love and Thunder , the fourth film in the franchise centered on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pompous, pumped-up thunder god, it's useful to cast your mind back to 2017's Thor: Ragnarok , its immediate predecessor.

That film broke a mold that ached to be broken — the two previous Thor movies, namely, both of which came so weighted down with unearned faux-gravitas they had people reconsidering their takes on Iron Man 2 . (To be clear: Thor was better than Iron Man 2 , but its sequel, Thor: The Dark World , stalwartly remains the MCU's lowest point.)

But with Ragnarok , the dark (and fusty) world of the Thor franchise burst with new light and color and humor. Credit director Taika Waititi, who enlivened the proceedings with a looseness that allowed rock-operatic set-pieces in which the banging of heads was accompanied by head-banging anthems to coexist with muttered, underplayed, often improvised comic dialogue.

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It was an odd, idiosyncratic fuel mixture — cinema as airbrushed van art — but it worked.

The good news, in re: Love and Thunder : Waititi is back, and he's determined not to reinvent the wheel.

The bad news: The wheel's tire-treads are looking worn.

Thor: Love and Thunder plays like a Ragnarok remix, for good and ill. For a villain, swap out Cate Blanchett's goth drag queen Hela for Christian Bale's creepy Gorr the God Butcher, whose title pretty much lays out his entire schtick: A god ignored Gorr's pleas to save the life of his daughter, so, armed with a god-smiting sword, Gorr sets out to slay the gods of every pantheon.

He's evidently going alphabetically, because Asgardians are next on his list. RIP, Abyssinians.

(Quick side note: If you find this bit confusing, because all this time you thought that the MCU had established that Asgardians weren't actual gods, just an advanced alien race that people of Earth mistook for deities, sit down here by me.)

Bale is one of the best parts about Love and Thunder , bringing soulful malice where Blanchette brought sneering camp.

For a muscle-bound pal to bicker and bash heads with, trade Mark Ruffalo's Hulk for Natalie Portman's Mighty Thor, who's taken up O.G. Thor's hammer Mjolnir ... and his arm routine. It's been a minute since we've had a chance to see Portman get to goof around a bit, and "goof around a bit" is this film's entire mission statement.

For comic relief, swap out Jeff Goldblum's squirrelly Grandmaster for Russell Crowe's Zeus, who delivers his (pretty funny) dialogue in a Greek accent thicker than day-old tzatziki.

Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie. Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios hide caption

Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie.

And for a trusty sidekick, trade out Korg, the chill rock-creature voiced by Waititi, for ... more Korg.

A lot more Korg. More Korg than seems strictly necessary.

Which is the whole problem. Thor: Love and Thunder feels like the product of a Thor: Ragnarok focus group. We get more of what audiences liked about Ragnarok — jokes, tunes, the Korg of it all — but what once seemed bracing and revelatory now feels familiar, safe, even rote on occasion.

The charming breeziness of the previous film is replaced here with an dutiful assiduousness. Boxes to be checked. The jokes land — but, particularly in the early going, they do so in a way that feels effortful, sweaty.

FX's 'The Bear': A funny, raw, real drama in a restaurant kitchen

But ... so what? "This movie is too much like that other movie I liked!" is not an oft-heard complaint among filmgoers, after all. And certainly there is a lulling sense of comfort in having one's set of expectations so precisely met, and in the times we find ourselves in, comfort is at a premium.

Oh, and also: For Marvel Comics nerds, a cameo appearance by a certain Marvel Universe fixture who is [writer pauses to consult his copy of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe ] "an ethereal being, as much abstract concept as actual entity, who exists as the sum total of all living things in the universe" is a pretty neat trick.

Correction July 9, 2022

A previous version of this story referred to Jeff Goldblum's character in Thor: Ragnarok as Taskmaster instead of Grandmaster.

Thor: Love and Thunder Review

Axe-girlfriends rule in thor’s latest adventure..

Thor: Love and Thunder debuts in theaters on July 8, 2022. Below is a spoiler-free review.

It took some time and tweaking, but at this point in his journey, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to call Thor Odinson one of, if not the most dramatically compelling character left standing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This feels borne out of necessity: a nearly invincible Asgardian isn’t the easiest hero to fret for when the battle heats up, and so since his very first appearance, Marvel Studios has taken care to face Thor with grounded emotional stakes even as half the world disintegrates around him. Even through Thor’s less-loved appearances, questions of living up to our family’s expectations, maturity, duty, purpose, and, yes, love have always been at the fore for Thor, and remain at the fore for Thor 4. He’s been part of saving the universe for a long time now, and Thor: Love and Thunder has no illusions about needing to push the character in a new direction. And that’s fine; Love and Thunder succeeds in honoring his journey, even if it doesn’t offer much new for the MCU at large.

Through a Korg-narrated recap of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) history, we’re reminded of how much tragedy and loss he’s had to face, and how his current gig as a freelancing Guardian of the Galaxy is helping him along in his healing process. Since director Taika Waititi’s humanizing first turn with the character in Ragnarok , Hemsworth has felt fearless in portraying both the god’s internal turmoil and his bombastic personality, continuing to nail punchlines and physical comedy alike. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine feels like the consensus pick for most iconic actor-hero pairing at this point, but by continuing to honor and respect Thor in the way that he clearly does, Hemsworth absolutely deserves to be in that conversation as well. With Thor at a crossroads, Love and Thunder wastes no time in reuniting him with Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), his former flame, and revealing something you may not expect going in: it’s a romantic comedy, and a good one at that.

The Most Powerful Villains in the MCU

By fully embracing that genre’s tropes, Waititi sets the stage for Hemsworth and Portman to seriously dial up their chemistry, especially in an extended flashback that details the early bliss of their relationship. Though Portman’s Jane Foster has long-since moved on from Thor after their breakup, current circumstances are such that she has no choice but to seek help from the Asgardians and the two are forced to put their past behind them once Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) joins the fray.

We saw Jane do the fish out of water bit in The Dark World, but here, Mjolnir has deemed her worthy and transformed her into the Mighty Thor. Portman’s Foster never got her due in her initial appearances, and Waititi spends an appreciable amount of time making up for that by celebrating her intellect and bravery. Portman thrives on Jane’s arc here, as she reckons with what the power of Thor means for her future… though Jane’s overeagerness to come up with a catchphrase veers too hard into the MCU’s brand of self-referentiality and even the payoff to this running joke can’t stick the (superhero) landing.

Who (aside from Thor) are you most excited to see in Thor: Love and Thunder?

The efficient cold open -- a standout scene in Love and Thunder -- establishes Christian Bale’s Gorr and what’s driving the one-time believer’s promise that “all gods will die.” The God Butcher, both haunted and haunting, vacillates between theatrical mustache-twirling and unnerving resolve, and Bale treats every shade of the villain with verve. It’s clear Bale’s relishing the opportunity to portray a comics character that’s a little more playful, even on a quest for vengeance. That quest, the conflict that drives Love and Thunder, is where the movie plays it safe. The race to stop Gorr before he’s able to gain an insurmountable advantage over the MCU’s other deities plays out with all the familiar beats as heroes and villains chase each other around the cosmos.

While the film is snappily paced, no problem Thor & Co. is saddled with sticks for long. Love and Thunder routinely doubles back, with an apparent eye on not rocking the MCU boat too hard. This becomes especially noticeable in the fallout of the subplot involving Zeus (Russell Crowe) as he and his truly crazy Greek(?) accent make their debut. Whether Love and Thunder’s reticence to commit to its own choices stems from Marvel-imposed limitation in order to keep their options open for later movies is unclear, but the film does feel less engaging during moments of peril as a result.

Love and Thunder unfortunately underutilizes Tessa Thompson’s King Valkyrie, who continues to rule in all senses of the word. At once regal, lethal, and down to earth, Thompson’s ease channeling King Val’s swagger and baggage makes her a consistent highlight, specifically in her banter with both Thor and his Mighty counterpart. Early scenes depict her media appearances and efforts to bolster New Asgard’s tourism sector, a thankless gig that she’s happy to do if it’ll keep her people comfortable. The back half of the movie, however, completely fumbles this character. How King Valkyrie factors in feels designed to keep the story charging ahead at pace, perhaps to keep the things focused on Thor and Jane.

Just like Gorr, once Love and Thunder gets rolling, it drops the ball on the more nuanced aspects of Valkyrie in favor of whatever will move us along to the next battle the quickest. Those action scenes start to blur together towards the middle half -- Gorr’s shadowy minions sometimes hurt the readability of the blocking -- but that doesn’t mean director (and Korg actor) Taika Waititi isn’t coloring this movie with every color of the rainbow at every chance he gets. Gods bleed gold, and often. Even when Love and Thunder goes monochrome for one of its Gorr v Thor bouts, areas in the shot that are close to sources of magical energy light up with pops of color. The spinning arena casts swirling shadows, giving the whole scene a slick palette which feels like a nod to Ragnarok’s excellently staged Valkyrie flashback.

Waititi has a top-shelf knack for finding comedic beats in odd and unexpected corners of his films, perhaps best displayed here in how both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker are anthropomorphized. No, it’s not like Waititi had Matt Berry play a talking hammer or anything like that (quit distracting yourself with good ideas, Tom), but the ways in which he uses these weapons to not only fuel some of Love and Thunder’s strongest running jokes, but as a marker for Thor’s emotional throughline provide some of the movie’s more satisfying moments. The soundtrack’s needle drops, on the other hand, do become a little repetitive, both in how expected they become as the heroes march into battle and in artist curation: Love and Thunder features four songs from one band and there’s little serious connection between those songs and the story, so it’s a bit of a perplexing choice. Waititi’s not a subtle filmmaker, and with his Pandora's box of a noggin come swings and misses that are quickly moved past with an eye on trying something else.

Every MCU Actor Who's Won an Academy Award

Thor: Love and Thunder is largely successful in honoring Thor’s long journey towards self-actualization and rarely falters while keying into the crackling chemistry between leads Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson. It’s essentially the MCU’s first romantic comedy, and plays with those tropes in delightful ways. But while Thor and Jane’s relationship is handled well, Love and Thunder is less deft -- and a lot safer than you’d expect -- in pushing the greater MCU story forward. Christian Bale’s Gorr feels underutilized and Tessa Thompson’s King Valkyrie takes a frustrating back seat, especially as the movie goes on. Taika Waititi’s signature humor and visual style persist from Ragnarok, and are essential to buoying the movie through its cookie-cutter plot. With Hemsworth as enthusiastic an Asgardian as ever, Thor’s future with both love and thunder are bright.

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God among the gods in thor: love and thunder, themes covered, what's inside this article, a story about gods, good and bad, heroes and humans more noble than gods, god stands in the divine assembly, the problem of evil and other big questions, high as the heavens above the earth.

“God stands in the divine assembly; he pronounces judgment among the gods” (Psalm 82:1).

With this brief poetic sketch, the psalmist Asaph illustrates a truth that resounds across the pages of the Old Testament. In an ancient world filled with the gods of many nations, the living God of Israel stands utterly distinct from – and superior to – all of them. While these other gods are the products of human imagination, the power and character of the true God defies human understanding.

The movie Thor: Love and Thunder evokes this ancient truth in its own modern cinematic language. One of the film’s key scenes imagines what an actual assembly of the gods might look like. But beyond that scene, the movie’s themes of love, forgiveness and sacrifice provide a subtext that points to the unseen God who stands in the divine assembly and whose ways are far beyond these lesser gods.

[ Spoiler alert: this article discusses themes, plot and characters from  Thor: Love and Thunder . If you’re planning to see the film and haven’t yet, you may wish to do so before reading further. ]

Thor: Love and Thunder opens on a parched, famine-stricken world with its last two inhabitants, a father and his young daughter, clinging to the final moments of life. The man prays to his god for deliverance, but his little girl dies in his arms. As he lies on top of her grave near death himself, he spots a lush, green oasis, filled with colourful fruit and fresh water. In the oasis, the man meets his god and once more pleads for the life of his daughter. The god mocks his prayer, tells him the purpose of life is to suffer for the amusement of the gods, and assures him there’s no eternal reward after death.

The man, whose name is Gorr, renounces his god and slays him with an enchanted blade called the Necrosword, which appeared to him at just the opportune moment. Standing over the corpse of his tribal deity, Gorr vows, “All gods will die.”

Meanwhile Thor, the film’s titular hero and the Norse god of thunder, has been adventuring with a group of comrades, seeking a new purpose for his life. Over the course of four solo movies and a handful of Avengers films, Thor has followed a winding journey from arrogant royal son to noble hero. Along the way, he’s suffered the loss of his family and many of his close friends and has found that ruling Asgard isn’t for him. While he still has his periods of oblivious self-absorption, his heart is in the right place, fighting for justice, protecting the oppressed and using his power for the good of others.

It should be noted at this point that Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a far more appealing figure than the Thor of Norse myth. The original god of thunder was essentially a macho bully, driven by a fragile ego with little concern beyond his self-interest. He rarely thought before he acted, making himself an easy target for his brother Loki’s malicious pranks. The modern MCU Thor, witty and sympathetic if occasionally obtuse, owes as much to basic Judeo-Christian ethics as he does to pagan mythology.

In any event, Thor learns about the man now known as Gorr the God Butcher as he wends his way across the cosmos and slaughters the gods of various planets with his dark sword. The thunder god embarks on a quest to stop Gorr, accompanied by his friends Korg, Valkyrie and Mighty Thor (a.k.a. Dr. Jane Foster, Thor’s ex-girlfriend, who has been given Thor’s powers via the mystic hammer, Mjolnir.)

The first stop for the little band is Omnipotence City, an assembly of gods representing a variety of mythologies and presided over by Zeus, chief of the Greek pantheon. Thor hopes to secure help for their mission but as it turns out, Zeus is more interested in wild parties and human sacrifice than in stopping Gorr’s murderous rampage. He orders Thor and his friends to abandon their quest, forcing them to fight their way out of Omnipotence City and face Gorr on their own.

Contrary to the MCU’s noble version of Thor, the portrayal of Zeus as a comical, depraved tyrant is over the top but not wholly at odds with the original Greek myths. While Zeus was praised by the ancient poets for his wisdom and justice, he was also depicted as cheating on his wife Hera with countless goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. Like most of the Olympian gods, Zeus was fickle and proud, doling out nasty punishments to anyone who frustrated his arbitrary will. From a modern perspective, the Ancient Greeks must’ve swallowed large gulps of cognitive dissonance to worship gods such as these.

Having left Zeus’ divine assembly behind, Thor and his friends track the God Butcher to the realm of Eternity, an all-powerful being who will grant the first wish presented to it. Gorr plans to ask Eternity to remove all gods from existence, but Thor and Jane Foster confront him, destroying the Necrosword and leaving Gorr near death.

The victory costs Jane her life as well, with her powers as Mighty Thor accelerating her stage four cancer. She freely embraces this ultimate sacrifice, making her more godlike than the other gods, in Thor’s estimation.

As Jane lies dying in Thor’s arms, the two of them persuade Gorr to exchange vengeance for love. Rather than wiping all gods from existence, why not ask Eternity to resurrect his daughter – whose actual name is Love? Gorr agrees and with his dying breath asks Thor to take care of his little girl.

The movie ends with Thor finding his purpose and embracing his role as a girl dad, making pancakes for his adopted daughter while she reads Dr. Jane Foster’s book on astrophysics. Being brought back to life by Eternity has given Love her own godlike powers, and Thor makes sure she puts on her outdoor boots before the two of them head out to fight evil together as Love and Thunder.

Thor: Love and Thunder is an offbeat, creative and irreverent movie, by turns tragic and hilarious, but it also touches, if only lightly, on popular perceptions of deity and religious devotion. On the surface, the film appears to suggest that if any gods exist at all, they’re at best indifferent to suffering and evil, and at worst avid participants in it. Praying to them is pointless. Instead, humanity is better served pursuing goodness and love on our own terms, apart from any concepts of divinity.

As far as the film’s portrayal of mythological gods goes, it’s not wrong. In fact, it’s in line with the Bible’s depiction of pagan gods as dead and useless, unable to see or speak or do anything. These gods are human inventions, projections of our own hopes and fears. They represent the universal human desire for justice and mercy, but they also embody our worst failings and vices. Such gods are cruel and undependable, and their followers are forced to appease them with cringing flattery, self-harm or human sacrifice. Idol worship is not only desperately wicked but profoundly tragic.

The living God of Scripture, however, is nothing like these manmade deities. He’s the creator of all that exists, a different order of being beyond our understanding. His ways and thoughts are as far above ours as the vast starry cosmos is above our small blue planet. Indeed, that vast cosmos cannot contain God and is a mere speck in his hand. God is self-existent, without beginning or end, all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere at once. David describes such knowledge in Psalm 139 as too high for him to grasp.

At the same time, this infinite, eternal God is personally involved in every detail of his creation, and in every moment of our lives. He loves and cares for us because that’s his nature. God calls each of the untold billions of stars by name and numbers the hairs on each of our heads. Far from being indifferent to death and suffering, much less revelling in it, he delights in showing kindness and mercy. The ultimate expression of God’s love and justice was at the Cross of Christ. In Jesus, God became a human being, entered our suffering and died for our sins so that we might live with him and enjoy him forever.

No human imagination would ever conceive a God like this. As our historical record shows, when we create gods in our image, they reflect our limitations and our moral shortcomings. They’re just more powerful than we are. We want them to be superheroes like Thor, but they turn out to be supervillains like Zeus and his cronies in Omnipotence City.

Amidst the fun and spectacle, Thor: Love and Thunder asks the age-old questions: Why does God allow evil to exist and people to suffer? Is he either unable or unwilling to do anything about it? Doesn’t he care? Is he even there at all?

Behind those questions lie a few others: What drives Thor on his journey from entitled heir of Asgard to defender of the weak and adoptive father to an orphaned girl? From whence comes Jane Foster’s resolve to give up her fight against cancer and sacrifice her life to save others? Why does Gorr, grieving the death of his daughter, choose forgiveness and love over vengeance in the end?

We value these qualities – and pursue them in our stories and in our lives – because we’re made in the image of God. Love and justice, truth and beauty, mercy and kindness, all are grounded in God’s character and he’s woven them into his created order.

The living God may not appear in the divine assembly of Omnipotence City. Yet his presence is felt throughout the film via the contrast between the sacrificial compassion of our heroes and the selfish indifference of the other gods. Through this juxtaposition, God implicitly stands in this assembly and judges the gods that are present.

Despite its light tone, the movie takes the suffering of its characters seriously and calls us to respond with heartbreak and compassion. The fact that we do so demonstrates that we bear the image of a God who is far different than those in the story.

The gods of our making care nothing about our suffering and can do nothing about it, but the God who made us can and does. He sympathizes with our pain and walks with us through it. Because of his wisdom and goodness, we can be assured he has reasons for allowing it that we can’t understand but that serve our ultimate good. We can trust God in our tears – not just in our muted sobs but also in our ugly crying.

“Who is a God like you,” asks the prophet rhetorically, “forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19).

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious,” echoes King David, “slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust” (Psalm 103:8-14).

The heroes of Thor: Love and Thunder travel across vast stretches of space and visit fantastical realms of the gods. Yet even in this CGI world, we can see that God’s ways and thoughts and faithful love are as far above our understanding as the heavens are above the earth. If this can be appreciated in a fictional universe, how much more in the real one?

[ Note: this article does not constitute an endorsement of the movie  Thor: Love and Thunder  by Focus on the Family Canada. Consult the  full review at Plugged In  to help you determine whether Thor: Love and Thunder is appropriate for you or your family. ]

Subby Szterszky is the managing editor of Focus on Faith and Culture, an e-newsletter produced by Focus on the Family Canada.

© 2022 Focus on the Family (Canada) Association. All rights reserved.

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Thor: Love and Thunder Reviews

Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder is a gigantic fable. Also, a tour of all the high points of Ragnarok and a recasting of the hero. All, in a package of dazzling brilliance that, at times, can be irritating. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Dec 31, 2023

Director Taika Waititi successfully juggles the comic and the tragic in Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder."

Full Review | Oct 26, 2023

The story does a fantastic job of giving us new aspects to explore with Thor; not as a god, but as a hero.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Sep 26, 2023

There’s enough meat on the bones for the film to provide middling entertainment, but it’s a shame Waititi seemed to have so little to really flesh the movie out.

Full Review | Sep 17, 2023

In a deft twist on class war – the gods bleed gold – Thor must confront his privilege and make amends for other gods’ failures to keep promises.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 16, 2023

Despite its great acting, score and worldbuilding and epic character moments, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like one continuous joke that doesn’t land.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 31, 2023

No spark or brio in its romantic affairs or CGI-filled action sequences... frustratingly one-note comedic panderings undercut any attempt at developing an emotional story arc.

Full Review | Original Score: F | Jul 29, 2023

A bittersweet story about finding peace and love in suffering and pain, without forgetting the necessary thunderous action that reaches its best level in a long sequence surrounded by a breathtaking black-and-white color palette.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 25, 2023

Romantic action comedy you need this summer! An action packed hilarious but also poignant film on change! Taika Wrote a wonderful story that I just fell head over heels for!

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

The film’s final scene explains the rationale for the film’s title and shows a glimpse of a different path Love and Thunder could’ve taken. A path that would have been more fit for Waititi’s vision of an 80s romance adventure hijinks-filled movie.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2023

Thor: Love and Thunder is gorgeously shot, chaotically executed, tonally inconsistent at times, and yet a joy ride even when it pushes deeper into the cruelties of life.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2023

Thor Love and Thunder is one of the worst movies of the year. From the first frame to the last, it’s unengaging, insipid, and tedious.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 20, 2023

With one of the shortest runtimes we’ve seen from Marvel in a while at only 119 mins, the much-awaited Thor: Love and Thunder is the definition of here for a good time, not a long time!

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 20, 2023

There may be thunder, but lightning does not strike twice.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 23, 2023

Therein lies Thor: Love and Thunder‘s biggest issue, its inability to balance tone and spectacle.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 6, 2023

Thor: Love and Thunder's editing routinely works against Taika Waititi's film, often undoing the emotional work the film is attempting to deliver.

Full Review | Jan 9, 2023

Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth leaned heavily into the more goofy aspects of Thor: Ragnarok. Thor: Love and Thunder piles on the jokes, bathos and stupidity until the film feels more like a parody of the MCU rather an addition to it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 5, 2023

I’m laying down the hammer a bit more harshly because somewhere hidden in this messy pastiche to 80s fantasy movies is an adventure worthy of the gods. Unfortunately, hilarity and humanity fail to harmonize in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Dec 10, 2022

Overall a fun time but not the big blockbuster some might be expecting and certainly not recommended if you didn’t find Ragnarok very funny…

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 23, 2022

Hemsworth has always been likeable as the smug superhero-god with the Adonis-like physique to match, but the risky attempt to transfer that charisma or to spread it around to other characters is not a gamble that pays off.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 21, 2022

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Thor: Love and Thunder’s a scattershot fairy tale about being friends with your ex

Marvel’s fourth thor movie is about as messy as any complicated breakup.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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Once upon a time, Marvel Studios’ Thor movies were overwrought slogs that only catered to the most diehard comic book fans — until one day, when director Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok revitalized the franchise with colorful whimsy and a hulking but lighter sense of humor . While reframing Thor as the MCU’s himbo god of jocularity was a solid way of renewing interest in the character, an overabundance of jokes and reliance on the Odinson’s comedic chops are some of the big reasons why Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder feels like an awkward step back.

Like most of Marvel’s recent Phase 4 films, Thor: Love and Thunder is a sequel that tries its best to work as a standalone movie, but its story works best if you come to it having seen some of the studio’s other recent tentpole movies. Set some time after Avengers: Endgame , Thor: Love and Thunder gets right back to the ongoing story — or myth, depending on how you look at it — of how Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) became one of Earth’s most legendary heroes after leaving the original Asgard. 

Both because the Avengers don’t exactly exist anymore as an organization and because Thor chose King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) to lead New Asgard at the end of Endgame , Love and Thunder finds the Asgardian thunder god and Korg (Taika Waititi) somewhere out in space with their newest chosen family — the Guardians of the Galaxy. Though Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and the other current Guardians feature largely in one of Love and Thunder ’s first set pieces, they’re only part of the film for a brief amount of time, meant to illustrate the aimlessness and codependence Thor feels in the wake of everything he’s recently lost (like his beer gut).

Similar to Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before it, Thor: Love and Thunder ’s an excellent example of Marvel still not being quite sure how to pick up ongoing narratives that get interrupted by massive crossover events. Love and Thunder clearly wants to keep its focus fixed on Thor, who hasn’t headlined his own film since 2017. But so much has happened within the MCU since then that Love and Thunder ’s ability to create a cohesive and compelling sense of shared continuity with its predecessors is initially limited.

While Love and Thunder feels almost as if it’s clearing its throat as it’s catching you up on Thor’s life, the movie’s far more sure of itself as it introduces you to Gorr (Christian Bale), an ordinary single father who becomes a butcher of the gods after his prayers to save the life of his daughter go unanswered. After years of leading with the idea that all of its characters inspired by deities were actually different kinds of aliens, Thor: Love and Thunder marks the return of Marvel framing them as supernatural beings whose powers aren’t just highly advanced forms of technology.

Gorr’s desire to rid the universe of gods gives him a unique motivation in the MCU, but what’s really intriguing about his presence in Love and Thunder is how he helps the movie work as a study of what kind of person Thor is. Before Love and Thunder even pits Thor and Gorr against one another, it hammers home how, despite all Thor’s Avengers-related heroism, as a deity, he’s never been the most responsible or attentive to the needs of the humans who love and worship him — all of which makes it easy to understand Gorr’s hatred.

Like Gorr, Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) feelings about (at least one of the) gods are complicated and deeply personal, but Love and Thunder brings her back into the MCU in part to show you how her world didn’t really end after her being ghosted by the divine. Dr. Jane Foster, astrophysicist, had an entire life before Thor crashed into her life, Love and Thunder matter of factly points out, and it’s what she got back to after he left.

In addition to establishing Jane as a bestselling author, Love and Thunder complicates her story by introducing elements from writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman’s Mighty Thor comics that transformed Jane into a new kind of Thor as she also battled breast cancer. While there are some echoes of comics Jane’s path to becoming the Mighty Thor present in Love and Thunder , the movie approaches the character in a markedly different way that plays like a deliberate pivot away from Marvel’s approach to rolling out big-name female heroes in recent years.

When Marvel began teasing out Jane’s Thor turn with an announcement on The View (yes, that The View ) back in 2014, it felt very much like Disney making an effort to spotlight Marvel’s larger project of revamping legacy characters to appeal to a new generation of readers. Canon-challenging comics centering characters like Carol Danvers are what laid the groundwork for them to join the MCU, and the financial success of films like Captain Marvel spoke to how many of these all-new, all-different heroes resonated with audiences. But rather than tapping into the Mighty Thor comics’ ideas about what it means to be worthy of bearing the responsibility that comes with being a hero, Love and Thunder largely leaves Jane in the realm of jokey love interests where she’s robbed of some agency in a surprising way.

Love and Thunder ’s frequent detours into romcom territory in between action-heavy set pieces feel like Marvel’s attempt at testing out just how much the Thor movies can be used to give viewers a taste of other genres. Both Portman and Hemsworth bring a lighthearted joviality to Love and Thunder that works well in moments when the movie’s highlighting the emotional connection that first brought Thor and Jane together. But the film struggles when it has to shift gears to focus on Gorr, a grieving zealot who Bale portrays with an intensity that falls short of being terrifying.

Thor’s history of prioritizing glory over duty and Jane becoming a newly minted member of the Asgardian pantheon could, one imagines, make their confrontation against a god killer the sort of showdown meant to crown a movie working with some relatively lofty ideas. Instead, Love and Thunder generally positions itself as a fairy tale for children about star-crossed lovers who are afraid to tell one another how they feel even as they stare down the one thing that might actually be able to kill them.

Thor: Love and Thunder doesn’t come anywhere near being as much of a letdown as Multiverse of Madness was, but the two movies are alike in how they both seem to be the products of the MCU settling into an era where its future is still being figured out. At least some of that future’s teased out in Love and Thunder ’s mid- and post-credits scenes — both of which are almost certain to be crowd-pleasers that satisfy those who show up already certain they’re in this for the long haul. But as the latest piece of lore defining the Odinson and his allies in the present, Thor: Love and Thunder is a clunky chapter in what feels like a franchise that’s still figuring itself out.

Thor: Love and Thunder also stars Russell Crowe, Jaimie Alexander, Matt Damon, and Luke Hemsworth. The movie hits theaters on July 8th.

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Will Bedingfield

Thor: Love and Thunder ’s Biggest Drawback? It’s Just for Fans

On Wednesday I took the bus into central London to see Thor: Love and Thunder , one of several concurrent previews showing at cinemas across Leicester Square. This wasn’t the star-studded red carpet deal—that was across the street, at a posher theater—but a cardboard Chris Hemsworth was made available for selfies, and grinning fans lined up to clutch a big plastic hammer. Later, while I sat in the buzzing auditorium waiting for the film to begin, someone behind me tried repeatedly to record an audible message for his followers, so I heard about 50 times that he had summarized every plot of the Marvel films online (no mean feat) and that Marvel had invited him to the preview as a reward. He also claimed, to his evident elation, Hemsworth was in the building. A prerecorded greeting confirmed later that, alas, Hemsworth was not even in the country, but writer/director/ Korg Taika Waititi , Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) wandered over from the other theater to thank the audience. “How gay is the movie?” shouted one fan to Portman. “So gay,” she responded after a pause, and, touchingly, the crowd cheered. (In my mind’s eye, they all waved big plastic hammers; this may be a false memory.)

Say what you like about the Marvel franchise, the fans are 29 movies deep and still having a ball. As someone who has watched less than a quarter of these and read not a single comic, I’m not in the position to concoct either a smart critique or even one at the level of Martin Scorcese’s . What I will say, however, is that over the years it’s become increasingly hard to just dip into the franchise. Thor: Love and Thunder hammered this home. That’s not a criticism exactly. Instead, it’s a reckoning: At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown so dense and self-referential that it’s hard to watch one of these films without feeling like you’re missing out on all the in-jokes and plot reveals. You lose a lot if you don’t know the characters, basically. Love and Thunder has been sold as an action movie, but in many ways it fits better in the hangout genre.

This latest Thor is the first since Thor: Ragnarok, also helmed by Waititi. In Love and Thunder , the new villain is Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, a silver man with a grin like the moon from Majora’s Mask and a voice, disconcertingly, like Bale’s real English accent. Gorr wants revenge on the gods because one of them let his daughter die; conveniently, he’s got his hands on the Necrosword, a god-slaying weapon. Thor, stunningly orange and sculpted, each arm a sun-drenched mountain range, has to abandon palling around with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew to go stop him. At the same time, his ex, Jane Foster, is diagnosed with cancer. Wielding Thor’s old hammer seems to make her well again, however, and it also kits her out in a couple-goals matching costume. They get together with Valkyrie after Gorr attacks New Asgard and makes off with the city’s children. The team’s journey will take them to the Omnipotent City, where Russell Crowe plays Zeus, spouting an amusingly hammy Greek (?) accent.

Writing in ArtReview , Gerry Canavan reflects on what he calls Marvel’s “late style,” characterized by “hyper-self-awareness” and a “self-referential preoccupation with a heroic past.” “Without a single focus on one plot towards which everything is relentlessly building,” Canavan writes, “the franchise is instead fixated on minor variations on itself and its own affective rhythms, on interrogating, mourning, and remixing its own past.” 

This summary just about captures the trouble with Love and Thunder . Take Thor and Foster’s relationship, which blossomed in the first two Thor films, not the acclaimed Ragnarok . To Waititi’s credit, he delivers numerous recaps to get you up to speed, usually through the mouth of lovable rock man Korg, or via plays-within-plays featuring Matt Damon. But these can’t provide the emotional character development necessary to make you care about the couple’s struggle with love and cancer.

A fair response would be to point out that Marvel films, like Marvel comics, are meant to be enjoyed in conversation with one another; that they are never stand-alone stories. But there’s a noticeable aimlessness to Love and Thunder that’s difficult to ignore if you’re not watching the film to just see your favorite characters. In a post- Endgame world, the dramatic stakes are just lower, a problem compounded by Waititi and his actors’ cool, ironic tone. These films are formed in his image, shot through with the same mischievous satire that informed his What We Do in the Shadows . But that tone heightens the impression that nothing really matters: We're just here to have a good time.

And that’s fine! (Or it would be fine if the Marvel franchise's supermassive black hole didn’t swallow up the prospect of other blockbusters not featuring Tom Cruise or Minions, but that’s a well-trodden topic.) These movies don’t have to accommodate everyone, and it’s amusing, almost avant-garde, that they have grown so prohibitive to outsiders. But how will they age? Will audiences in 30 years, who you’d imagine have quite a different frame of reference, find them watchable? Is it conceivable they will log onto Disney+ Max and watch 50-plus hours of movies to get the references in one film? Maybe, but we’re also nowhere near the end. After Love and Thunder ’s credits, Zeus shows up to summon Hercules, the subject of another film. There’s a comic , and a whole lot of lore, about him too.

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Thor: Love and Thunder

Reviewed by: Alexander Malsan CONTRIBUTOR

Norse mythology

Male objectification

MYSTICISM —Can mysticism lead to God? Answer

What is Monism and Pantheistic Monism? Who believes in Monism? Is it biblical? Answer

An open letter to disciples of Hinduism

Where did CANCER come from? Answer

ORIGIN OF BAD THINGS —A loving Creator made our world, so why are their so many bad things int it? Answer

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer

What about the issue of suffering? Doesn’t this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer

Does God feel our pain? Answer

What kind of world would you create? Answer

E ver since defeating Thanos and reversing the Snap that occurred five years ago, Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) has had some battles with enemies with his new band of companions, The Guardians of the Galaxy. However, in general, he has had the luxury of taking it pretty easy. As such, Thor has had some difficulty, though, figuring out what exactly his role in the universe is now.

We’re going to sidestep away from Thor for a moment though and visit Dr. Jane Foster Natalie Portman ), you know, Thor’s former love interest from the first movie. We come upon Jane at a cancer treatment receiving chemotherapy for her stage four cancer. Jane is not ready to give up fighting though. An idea begins to form while reading through her Norse mythology books… Mjölnir! (Thor’s former weapon—the hammer). Mjölnir will be able to give her the powers of Thor and keep her young and healthy, and she knows just where to find it.

Fast forward a few days. New Asgard is under attack from a group of strange shadow creatures when suddenly Thor appears to save the citizens, but he’s not alone. Out of nowhere, Jane appears in a Thor-like outfit, Mjölnir in hand, calling herself, “Mighty Thor.” It’s an awkward reunion at first, but Thor learns to adapt. Amidst the chaos though a mysterious figure named Gorr the God-Butcher ( Christian Bale ), kidnaps the children of New Asgard.

It’s up to Thor, Mighty Thor, and King Valkyrie (the ruler of New Asgard) to track down the children and return them safely to New Asgard.

It’s funny, it’s been eleven years since the first Thor movie came out; only eleven. It received an Average morality rating on our site. If you look at the MPAA rating it stated “PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence.” The second Thor film, “Dark World” had the same rating, same description and added “sensual content.” The third film, Ragnarok, again, had the same rating and same description but went from sensual content to SUGGESTIVE content.

In this fourth installment, “… Love and Thunder” we now have “intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity.” It’s as if, throughout the course of each film Marvel kept pushing the limits as to what they could and couldn’t have in a PG-13 rated film. It’s a shame, truthfully, because when a movie pushes the rating to its limit it makes some viewers, such as myself, very uncomfortable. As I stated to the theater manager yesterday, content that would have been rated R ten or fifteen years ago, some of which I saw in “Love and Thunder” (which I’ll discuss later), was in a PG-13 rated film like “Love and Thunder.”

Perhaps I could overlook some of the violence, the language and suggestive material (and that’s a HUGE perhaps). What I can’t overlook though is how far and how much blasphemous, and yes I say blasphemous, content made its way into “Love and Thunder.” It is almost on the same level as “ Eternals .” Of course, you expect a certain level of fantasy and mythology to go along with a Thor film. But “Love and Thunder” goes beyond what is acceptable, especially since this film is being marketed toward children and teens (I will get into this more in the Offensive Content section).

From a performance standpoint, Chris Hemsworth is still as charming and as funny as he’s ever been as Thor. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t chuckle from time to time. It was also nice to see Natalie Portman back in a supporting role. Tessa Thompson did an okay job, though her appearance was very minimal (though I must admit I let out a big “sigh” in the theater when I heard her name was KING Valkyrie and not Queen Valkyrie). Enough Hollywood, just enough). The most laughable performance, sadly, is Russell Crowe as Zeus, as though he was the comedic relief at times, his Greek accent was so terrible it detracted from the brief scene he was in.

Offensive Content

VIOLENCE: Please note not every violent moment is listed here, only the main issues you should be aware of. In one of the most appalling scenes (my mouth dropped), Gorr rips a creature’s head off in front of some young children and throws it at them. He also talks about ripping apart creatures. A corpse is seen hanging from a bridge. Someone is seen missing an arm. Shadow-like creatures attack people and then are butchered. More shadow-like creatures kidnap some children in a terrifying manner. A god is killed and beheaded (the beheading takes place off-screen). Characters are seen dying in brief flashbacks. There is a brief fight sequence on a planet. We witness some buildings crumble. Someone gets hit with a plasma bullet. A character is supposedly killed. A fight occurs between some gods and Thor’s crew (Thor, Jane and Valkyrie). Thor’s crew are strangled by some vines. Children are empowered by Thor to fight the shadow creatures. A character dies.

VULGARITY: S-words (11), A**-hole (1), Cr*p (1), Fr*ckin (1), P*ssed Off (1)

PROFANITY: G*d (1), Oh my G*d (1), D*mn (5), H*ll (4) — including “Go to H*ll”, H*ly Sh*t (1)

SEX: Zeus asks a crowd, “Where are we going to hold this year’s orgy?” King Valkyrie is openly bi-sexual in the film and kisses a woman’s hand. A character graphically mentions how his two dads made a baby (don’t ask). This same character is also openly Gay and we see him holding hands with another character. Thor and Jane share two kisses and are romantic at times (no intercourse occurs). Thor kisses several women. Men are shown shirtless.

NUDITY: There is a scene involving male rear nudity (this male is nude in the front, we only see partial nudity in the front though). When this occurs we see females looking at his rear and also swooning over his nudity and sighing when his clothes come back on.

ALCOHOL: Characters share a couple glasses of wine. Alcohol is brought on board a ship. Thor has beer.

PAGAN MESSAGING: The film discusses the concepts of multiple deities ruling earth and how the deities grow frustrated at the idea of how humans don’t look to them anymore. *MILD SPOILER* In the beginning sequence we learn that a character became a villain because he was worshiping a false god he believed would spare him and his child, but the god laughed at him and told him “There is no eternal reward. Just death.” *END MILD SPOILER* In fact this message is mentioned not just once, but a few times. A sequence takes place in Omnipotence City where the multiple deities rule. A sequence takes place at the Gate of Eternity (without giving too much away, it is NOTHING like the real Heaven. It’s almost like a purgatory-like state). There is a scene, post credits, where someone is welcomed into Valhalla (a place of eternal, blissful life in Norse mythology), and we see Valhalla. Also Valhalla is referenced a couple other times in the film.

As I mentioned before, one character becomes a villain at one point because a false deity that he worshiped tells him that there is nothing eternal for him when he dies, only more death.

This is an extremely false narrative, poisonous to anyone who listens to it! There is only death for those who die without believing in Jesus , accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and trusting Him with their whole heart. The first half of Romans 6:23 says,

“For the wages of sin is death,”

The last half says this…

“but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus’ mercy , love and forgiveness is unending! There are absolutely no strings attached. With accepting Jesus into your heart comes eternal life . There is no fear of death , no fear of Hell .

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son , that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life . For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” — John 3:16-17

“For with the heart one believes and is justified , and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” — Romans 10:10

“For by grace you have been saved through faith . And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God ” — Ephesians 2:8

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” — John 1:12

Final Thoughts

“Oh how the mighty have fallen,” says Thor at one point in the movie. You took the words right out my mouth, Thor. Marvel (and Disney by association) has fallen hard.

In my opinion, and perhaps this is harsh, the words “wholesome entertainment” and Marvel no longer go hand in hand. When you compare films like “Captain America” and “Iron Man” from over a decade ago to the Marvel films that we have now, I can’t help but pray and hope that Disney and Marvel make a complete 180 degree turn around before it’s too late.

Christian audiences are strongly discouraged from attending “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The violence is heavy (sometimes appalling), the language is heavy as is the sexual content and nudity, and it is FAR more ungodly this time around than in previous films. It is definitely NOT for children.

• Violence: Heavy
• Profane language: Moderately Heavy
• Sex: Moderately Heavy
• Occult/Paganism: Heavy
• Woke: Most definitely
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Nudity: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Mild

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Takes on Too Much and Mostly Squanders Its Potential | Spoiler Review

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Editor's note: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder Of the original Avengers team, Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) remains the most adaptable and malleable character, depending on what the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs of him. While we pretty much understand who Iron Man, Captain America, and Hulk are from the get-go, and Black Widow and Hawkeye remained ill-defined until fairly recently, Thor has become Marvel's flexible hero. He can be the cocky prince to the Asgardian throne, a Lebowski-esque slacker, the decapitator of Thanos, a love-lorn romantic lead, or a space-exploring wanderer. Through the capable performance of Hemsworth, Thor can be everything and anything this universe wants.

The pliability of Thor makes him a fitting character for the chameleon-like director and writer Taika Waititi . While his sense of humor remains largely the same throughout his work, his films have covered various genres and subjects. There's the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows , the found family story of Hunt for the Wilderpeople , and his last film, Jojo Rabbit , which presents the Holocaust through the eyes of a child (and won Waititi an Oscar). Hemsworth and Waititi have worked together beautifully before with 2017's Thor: Ragnarok , which harnessed their inherent goofiness into one of the most enjoyable and insane films in the MCU. But in their latest collaboration, Thor: Love and Thunder , the license to do everything all at once seems to have become a trap, and as a result, the fourth Thor film is too scattered and too disjointed to leave much of an impact.

From the very beginning, it's clear that Love and Thunder has lofty goals but doesn't know how to follow through on its ambitious ideas. The film starts with Gorr ( Christian Bale ), whose unrelenting faith in a god has led to the death of his daughter. When he comes face-to-face with this deity, he is told that there is no afterlife for him, all the promises that religion made were false, and his dedication was all for nothing. Following that, when Gorr becomes Gorr the God Butcher and ventures out into the universe to slay all gods everywhere, we can't help but be on his side. Later, when Thor and the rest of his crew go to Olympus to warn Zeus (a delightfully over-the-top Russell Crowe ), they similarly see the ignorance and self-centered nature of the gods. It's almost as if Waititi thinks that Gorr is right.

RELATED: 'Thor: Love and Thunder' Review: Taika Waititi Reinvigorates Phase 4 With Comedy, Heart, and a Pair of Screaming Goats

Despite this clear presentation of gods as monsters and the supposed futility of religion, Love and Thunder doesn’t have much to say about this conflict. Bale is doing great work as the believer succumbing to the rage and retribution. Yes, he is disturbing as Gorr, but he also makes it understandable how his journey would lead down this path. Considering how the gods have acted, we can’t blame him for his choices. By the end of Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson 's ( Someone Great , Unpregnant ) script, though, he has reverted to form, becoming little more than the villain the piece needs.

This disappointment continues with the return of Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster—Thor’s will-they-won’t-they love interest for over a decade. After being diagnosed with stage IV cancer, Jane seeks out Thor’s old hammer, Mjolnir, and becomes The Mighty Thor. As this new Thor, Jane is just as powerful as the God of Thunder, but the longer she spends in this guise, the weaker she becomes outside it.

Waititi and Robinson make the relationship between Thor and Foster most interesting when plays with rom-com tropes (particularly when the film flashes back to moments that happened between franchise installments.) Clearly, Portman is having fun with her newfound role as a superhero. But her inclusion in the film and the resurgence of this romance is fairly one-note: the two realize they still have feelings for each other right before it’s too late. By the film's end, Jane dies in the arms of Thor. Their relationship, sweet as it is, seems little more than a way to give closure to this part of Thor’s story—one that probably didn’t need a conclusion—and give Portman a proper MCU sendoff as she heads to Valhalla where she’s greeted by Idris Elba ’s Heimdall.

Considering both Gorr and Jane’s powers are destroying them from the inside out, it’s a shame that Love and Thunder doesn’t do anything interesting with that readily available dynamic. Both are working against a ticking clock, yet there’s never any through-line that brings value out of that. Instead, Gorr represents the villain, Jane represents the love interest, and any deeper discussion about how these two storylines within Love and Thunder coalesce is absent. There’s a nagging feeling that both exist soley to give Thor a new, adorable partner-in-crime in Love—Gorr’s daughter, who he resurrected with his dying wish. Early on, Star-Lord ( Chris Pratt ) mentions that Thor needs to find someone worth fighting for. He finds exactly that by becoming a father to Love. It’s an odd direction for Love and Thunder to end on, and like too many stories in Phase 4 of the MCU, one that makes Thor feel like yet another Marvel film setting up what is to come instead of telling its own story.

Overall, Love and Thunder attempts too much. In its relatively brisk run time we get the Guardians of the Galaxy, a pair of screaming goats, the gods of Olympus, a woefully underutilized Valkyrie ( Tessa Thompson ), a jealous war hammer, and a mission to save a cage full of Asgardian kids. With all that and more, it’s spread too thin. Again, Portman and Bale are quite good here, but their initially intriguing characters become fairly basic by film’s end.

All this isn’t to say Love and Thunder isn’t enjoyable, but it doesn’t offer enough to grab onto. Even my personal favorite MCU character, Korg (voiced by Waititi), doesn’t have the same level of humor that he had in Ragnarok . At almost every turn, one can see great potential followed by disappointingly missed opportunities. Everything is fine and enjoyable, but there isn’t enough that sticks with the audience once the credits start to roll.

Waititi often works best when he embraces a single focus and sticks with it, as he did with What We Do in the Shadows or Ragnarok. His approach seems to only fall apart when he tries to stretch himself. Jojo Rabbit works in bits and pieces, but the shifting from absurd comedy to moving Holocaust tale doesn't coalesce as well as one would hope. The same issue arises in Love and Thunder , which tries to be a wild 80s-inspired space adventure and offer a dark look at faith and wrap up loose ends from the first two Thor films and create a moving and hilarious story. By trying to do it all at once, Love and Thunder, unfortunately , becomes just mediocre in a bunch of different ways.

Thor: Love and Thunder is in theaters now.

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• Movie Reviews

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Is a Rollicking Cosmic Rom-Com

This is a spoiler-free review of Thor: Love and Thunder . 

When the MCU first began it was a slow burn series of lightly connected movies, crafted in the hope of creating a set of building blocks for a wider universe. Twelve years later we know how that initiative went. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was a cultural phenomenon, expanding swiftly and soon becoming a landscape-shifting Hollywood juggernaut. During that time the franchise became obsessed with interconnected narratives that insisted on viewers knowing and watching every movie in the series. But the MCU has always worked in phases. If Thor: Love and Thunder and its recent predecessor Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are anything to go by, we’re entering something entirely new: the fun standalone MCU movie phase. 

Hot on the heels of the Sam Raimi superhero showcase , Thor: Love and Thunder continues the trend of an outrageous adventure that doesn’t immediately feel like it’s setting up a wider world and instead is just a wild flick. Saying that, you might still enjoy this more if you’ve seen the previous Thor movies. If not, though, writer/director Taika Waititi does a very good job filling you in. Translating the oral storytelling tradition to the big screen, the space opera is introduced by Korg (Waititi). Here we learn about Thor’s adventures, his loss, and his loves. Those are all important as this is very much a story about Odison finding himself. But it’s also about space pirates fighting battles set to Guns N’ Roses songs. So yes, it has something for everyone.

Thor: Love and Thunder is both entirely the movie you expect and not at all the film you thought it would be. It’s a rollicking romantic adventure—about exactly who you think, no matter what the lead-in interviews might have had you wondering—but it’s also a story about parenthood. It’s as rambunctious and colorful as Ragnarok but also a different sort of film entirely.

It’s very much a family movie but more in the vein creepy kids flicks like Return to Oz and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang than more contemporary fare. And younger viewers who can make it through Christian Bale’s legitimately terrifying turn as Gorr the God Butcher will be rewarded with what might be this reviewer’s favorite MCU battle yet. He’s channeling the Child Catcher as he torments the children of Asgard and it’s delightfully ghastly. 

Speaking of Bale, he delivers a wickedly unhinged turn as the vengeful deity killer. Chris Hemsworth is once again at his charming best, with an extra layer of romantic and familial love. Natalie Portman returns for a far more fun and electrifying Jane Foster performance, as she takes on the mantle of the Mighty Thor. And Tessa Thompson once again steals the show as Valkyrie. The battle-hardened Asgardian leader has particularly wonderful chemistry with Jane, and is tired of her rather boring life as King. It’s lucky for all of the above then, because Gorr starts godbutchering and suddenly the crew are on an epic adventure through the universe. If you like Guns N’ Roses, space explosions, and adventure stories with a lot of heart, you’ll love it. 

This is Waititi channeling the subversive and heart-filled family filmmaking of Hunt for the Wilderpeople through the MCU lens. That makes it feel really different from anything we’ve seen before. There’s a lightness and freedom here that belies the billion dollar franchise it has the responsibility to continue, and without those we get to just enjoy the ride. But that might not work for phase one MCU fans who love to catch an Easter egg and guess where it’s all headed. However, it did work exceedingly well for this regular theory-haver. It feels exciting, adventurous, and Amblin-influenced in the best way.

All of that said, like many MCU movies—and contemporary entertainment in general—there’s one part of the movie that was over-promised in the lead up to its release. To get anymore specific is to get into spoiler territory but let’s just say this one doesn’t go quite as deep as it could have when it comes to exploring certain characters. All in all, though, it’s another super fun superhero flick from Waititi, who cements himself as one of the MCU’s most exciting and original directors.

Thor: Love and Thunder

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Review: Thor: Love and Thunder

Please, hammer….

Kurt Loder | 7.8.2022 7:30 AM

The last Thor movie was a lot of fun, you'll recall. Taking over the franchise reins for Marvel's third solo romp with the hunky thunder god, director Taika Waititi injected the 2017 Thor: Ragnarok with impish wit (even the fire demon got a cute line) and managed to freshen up a key component of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (an enterprise now in its fourteenth year).

Waititi's second Thor outing, Love and Thunder , is also fun, but not as much. A down-shift is apparent right at the beginning, as we watch a pitiful character called Gorr (Christian Bale) traipsing across a vast desert salt flat with a dying child in his arms. The child is Gorr's daughter, and when she does in fact die, he curses the gods who failed to save her and the rest of his family. Vowing to destroy all deities—Greek, Roman, Aztec, whichever—he becomes Gorr the God Butcher, and our story begins.

This is a relatively slow, bleak open for a Marvel movie, but Waititi and his co-screenwriter, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, are clearly trying to bring real-life emotion into their hugely expensive superhero tale. In doing this, though—and in later introducing terminal cancer as a plot point—they can't help but diminish the cartoony brio that has made these pictures so never-endingly popular.

Since the movie runs a few seconds under two hours, the story's setup is briskly sketched in. We see Thor onboard the Guardians of the Galaxy spaceship with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and the rest of that gang. And we see his ex-girlfriend, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman)—last on-hand for the 2013 Thor: The Dark World— undergoing chemotherapy in a New York City hospital. Although her cancer is incurable, Jane thinks there could be a medically restorative power in Thor's magical battle hammer, Mjölnir—now residing, in pieces, in Thor's home world of Asgard (which has become a complete space-tourist trap). Arriving there, she is startled to see the dismantled hammer reassemble itself and make a beeline for her hand—turning her into a new superhero: The Mighty Thor. (Later, checking out her cape and her metal breastplate and her familiar long blond locks, Thor says, "That's my hammer you've got there. And my look.")

Chris Hemsworth is an unimprovable Thor, of course, and it's nice to have Tessa Thompson back on the Marvel beat as the cheerily queer warrior woman Valkyrie, whose romantic interest in Portman's character rivals Thor's own. ("We're on the same team," she tells the big galoot. "Team Jane!") But while Christian Bale is an actor of capacious ability, there's not a lot he can do with Gorr—a character entirely defined by grief and rage (and, okay, a useful ability to summon monsters from the bowels of the Earth). And bringing Russell Crowe into this movie to play Zeus is an idea that must have been hatched during an all-night mead bender. In a scene that goes on much too long (in which the Greek uber-god is given a pro-wrestling-style intro as "the man, the myth, the legend"), Crowe for some reason adopts a bellowing Italian accent that wouldn't be out of place in a Super Mario vignette. (Whether this is ridiculous or actually kind of funny will be a personal call for each viewer.)

The movie is skillfully made—especially Gorr's shadowy, near-black-and-white homeland, which recalls the rich grayscales of old Universal horror films. Elsewhere, though, the picture is busily over-designed, and aglow with colors that suggest an explosion in a candy factory.

But the fundamental problem with Thor: Love and Thunder is its feeling of incompleteness. Waititi has said in interviews that he shot four hours' worth of footage for the picture, then edited it down to two. That's a lot of cutting, and there are times when you can feel the absence of necessary plot detail. (Scenes featuring Lena Heady, of Game of Thrones , had to be cut, and Christian Bale has said that scenes he did with Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum were likewise excised.) This material will no doubt turn up somewhere down the line in expanded versions of the movie. Until then, all props to Waititi right now for committing totally to a very grown-up love story amid the powerful corporate tides of blockbuster cinema. We'll see how the fans feel.

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Like Guns N Roses, Thor: Love and Thunder asks: Where do we go now?

Fun but uneven, Thor: Love and Thunder proves even Marvel doesn’t know what to do with Thor anymore.

What is Thor’s story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, really?

The other Avengers are easier to grasp. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is an arrogant, ego-driven capitalist of Ayn Rand’s fantasies whose selfless last act saved the world. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is forever a puny dweeb with a big heart who stands up to bullies no matter how many inches his biceps grew.

As of Thor: Love and Thunder , in theaters July 8 from director Taika Waititi , Chris Hemsworth’s spoiled prince turned idiot jock is now meandering, left in the purgatory of a roundabout tale that makes some sense on paper but in execution fails to maintain viscosity. It’s now mighty clear Marvel Studios doesn’t know what to do with the Mighty Thor, for what should have been (and was straight-up advertised ) as Hemsworth’s curtain call from these movies amounts to little more than an open-ended season finale of a TV show that has gotten too comfortable and too unambitious.

Thor: Love and Thunder is framed by Korg (Waititi in mo-cap), who laboriously catches the audience up on Thor’s past and present via campfire. After Avengers: Endgame , Thor has been with the Guardians of the Galaxy (in glorified cameo capacity) traversing space answering distress calls. But Thor lacks something in his life and is unexcited by the thrill of battle.

Thor is pushed into action when a string of dead gods alarm him. The murders are the work of Gorr , Christian Bale playing a sinewy and oily peasant follower of a selfish god who took no pity on his suffering. Aided by the Necrosword, an ancient weapon of shadows, Gorr begins a murder spree, vowing revenge on all gods. One wonders why he didn’t opt for the Infinity Stones, but alas.

Thor finds unexpected help in Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a decorated scientist and ex-girlfriend last seen in Thor: The Dark World nine years ago. Suffering from stage four cancer, Jane is summoned by the shattered pieces of Mjolnir and becomes empowered with the power of Thor, taking on the “Mighty Thor” mantle herself alongside, well, Thor.

Sharing top billing with Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder is Natalie Portman, who returns to the franchise since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World with powers of her own.

Five years after Taika Waititi jolted Marvel, and Hemsworth, out of apathy with 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok , he returns for Thor: Love and Thunder , a script co-written with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson while pulling directly from writer Jason Aaron’s Thor comics. While Ragnarok was greeted with revelry as one of Marvel’s funniest entries, Love and Thunder struggles with its monumental expectations. Though it strives for an emotional story about loss and love, the movie gets in its own way with tiresome relentless comedy, distracted plotting, and uneven tone.

“Uneven” truly is the best word to describe it. Overloaded with laughs in the front and anchored by deadly seriousness in the back, Love and Thunder is a mix of disparate and conflicting ideas that never coalesce into a coherent vision. It’s all the more strange Love and Thunder takes cues from Aaron’s comics, which are not only the best examples of authorship in mainstream comics but fittingly reverent to epic fantasies. It’s a tragic story, but Waititi seems too disinterested to sincerely engage with the gravity the material demands.

Though Christian Bale is delightfully creepy in the role of Gorr, his oily presence feels at odds with the colorful tones that the rest of Thor: Love and Thunder carries.

Even the way Love and Thunder unspools feels misdirected. After a rock-solid prologue revealing Gorr’s creepy origins, the rest of the film wastes its enviably rich foundations — what other long-running film franchise can offer a veteran hero contemplating retirement and an ex with powers of her own? — to become manic and hurried. Despite the work of Bale in a legitimately scary performance unlike his ascetic Batman, by the end there’s the nagging itch of something absent that the more tightly-bolted Ragnarok had in spades.

Love and Thunder is still funny (you just won’t believe how much mileage Waititi can get out of screaming goats), and its action is exciting in the way comic book splash panels traditionally are, with a standout segment in Sin City -esque black-and-white that feels like Waititi thumbing the nose of critics who argue Marvel’s movies are grotesquely colorless . But in a movie obsessed with Guns N Roses needle drops, Love and Thunder can’t find a singular, original rhythm of its own.

Despite being a rousing addition to the Marvel tapestry after Ragnarok , Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, now a bureaucrat who itches for battle, has woefully little to do in Thor: Love and Thunder .

Hemsworth is still a mighty presence, proving he’s the resulting mix of Steve Martin’s cornball comedy and a gallon of creatine. His demeanor of a lunkhead in a china shop never wears thin even when the script stretches to the seams. Portman also bedazzles, demonstrating a killer combination of her established acting depths and a newfound UFC-ready swagger.

It’s just a shame both actors yield to lesser things like jealous CGI axes. They’re both fully capable of delivering the fury on their own, but when a movie’s weapons have more personality and importance than the humanoid characters, you know something went wrong. The two have chemistry, but there’s distance. They’re handsome in the way Hollywood pairings are, but when they stand together in armor it has the distracting optics that Waititi is playing with Hasbro action figures and making kissy noises.

So, what’s Marvel to do with Thor? No spoilers here, but the movie implies Marvel isn’t sure itself. (Not with ongoing contract negotiations behind the scenes, at least). And here we find ourselves in the quagmires of the modern cinematic universe. Like its characters caught in a will-they, won’t-they situation, what should have been a rollicking finale — a Thor farewell to match Captain America and Iron Man’s — Thor: Love and Thunder only leaves us with exhausting questions about what’s next, rather than the satisfaction in finishing what’s started.

Thor: Love and Thunder will open in theaters on July 8.

This article was originally published on July 5, 2022

• Superheroes
• Marvel Universe

30 Times Celebrities And Their Children Starred In Movies And TV Shows Together

Apparently actors love Take Your Kid to Work Day.

I have always appreciated when people follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. In fact, I think it is fun to see actors collaborate with their own children on-screen, of which there are more than enough examples. The following are 30 of our favorite movies and TV shows that proved to be a family affair for the stars involved.

Adam, Jackie, Sadie, And Sunny Sandler (You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah)

Not only did producer Adam Sandler star as the father of two girls played by his real daughters, Sadie and Sunny, in the You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah cast in 2023. The Netflix original coming-of-age dramedy also stars the comedian’s wife, Jackie, while Idina Menzel handled the role of Adam’s onscreen spouse.

Andie MacDowell And Margaret Qualley (MAID)

According to MAID developer Molly Smith Metzler, it was actually star Margaret Qualley who brought up the idea of casting her own mother , Andie MacDowell, as her character’s mother. The Golden Globe-nominated Four Weddings and Funeral star plays Paula (a woman with severe bipolar disorder) opposite the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member in the Netflix original miniseries based on Stephanie Land’s memoir.

Angelina Jolie And Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (Maleficent)

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt gave her debut (and, so far, sole) onscreen acting performance opposite her mother, Angelina Jolie , in 2014’s Maleficent — a live-action reimagining of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective. According to Vanity Fair , the then-5-year-old got the part of a younger version of Elle Fanning’s character, Aurora, because other children were too afraid of the Academy Award winner in full makeup and costume in the title role.

Ben And Jerry Stiller And Anne Meara (Various)

Ben Stiller shared the screen with both of his late parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, multiple times — the first being the 1989 mockumentary, That’s Adequate , followed by 1991 horror-comedy, Highway to Hell . Ben later played a sadistic fitness guru who purchases a youth weight loss camp from his parents’ characters in Disney’s 1995 summer comedy movie , Heavyweights , before casting them 2001’s Zoolander , with Jerry as Maury Ballstein and Meara cameoing as an egg-throwing protester.

Billy Ray, Miley, And Noah Cyrus (Doc, Hannah Montana)

Both Miley Cyrus and her sister, Noah, made their acting debuts on the medical drama, Doc , which was led by their musician father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Years later, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer took a supporting role on Miley’s smash hit Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana , which Noah would also appear on in various unnamed roles.

Brendan, Domhnall, And Brian Gleeson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Frank Of Ireland)

Brendan Gleeson reprised Mad-Eye Moody in the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter movies , which also starred his son, Domhnall, as Ron Weasley’s older brother, Bill, in 2010. More than a decade later, the Academy Award nominee starred opposite the Star Wars movies actor and his younger son, Brian, in an episode of their Amazon Prime comedy series, Frank of Ireland , as a new boyfriend of the title character’s mother.

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Blythe Danner And Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia)

In 2003, Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow played the title role of a biopic about Sylvia Plath. To play the renowned writer and poet’s mother, Aurelia, Paltrow’s real-life mother, Tony and Emmy Award winner Blythe Danner was cast.

Chris, Tristan, And India Hemsworth (Thor: Love And Thunder)

After his older brother, Luke, portrayed his comic book character in a play in Thor: Ragnarok , Chris Hemsworth made 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder a real family affair. Not only would Luke return, but Chris’s son, Tristan , appeared as the title character’s younger self in a flashback and his daughter, India , played Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, Love.

Clint And Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino, Trouble With The Curve)

The first time Clint Eastwood acted alongside his son, Scott, was in 2007’s Gran Torino for a scene in which — as the Suicide Squad star claimed to Conan O’Brien — his father threw a few unscripted insults toward his character. Five years later, Scott starred in the baseball movie Trouble with the Curve as a minor leaguer discovered by his father’s character.

Damon Wayans And Damon Wayans Jr. (Blankman, My Wife And Kids, Happy Together)

Daman Wayans Jr. debuted as the younger version of his father’s character — aspiring superhero, Kevin — in the funny ‘90s movie Blankman , before landing a recurring role on his sitcom, My Wife and Kids , and later inviting him to play his dad on his own sitcom, Happy Together . In early 2023, Deadline reported that the Wayans are developing a new sitcom that will pair them up as an on-screen father-son duo once again.

Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, And Rumer Willis (Various)

Rumer Willis’ first two acting gigs were alongside her mother, Demi Moore , as Angela Albertson in the underrated ‘90s movie , Now and Then , and as the daughter of Moore’s character in the classic stripper movie , Striptease . The actor and singer’s next two roles would be alongside her father, Bruce Willis, with an uncredited cameo in the 2000 comedy, The Whole Nine Yards , and as the daughter of Willis’ character in the 2005 thriller, Hostage .  

Donald And Kiefer Sutherland (A Time To Kill, Forsaken)

The first time Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appeared in a movie together — namely 1996’s A Time to Kill — Donald played a civil rights lawyer and Kiefer played a vicious white supremacist. Nearly two decades later, the father and son played a father and son in a western called Forsaken .

Eugene, Dan, And Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek)

The Schitt’s Creek cast has more than two related actors in it. Eugene Levy and his son, Dan (who also created the hit sitcom together), play Johnny Rose and his son, David, and Dan’s sister, Sarah, also stars as Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands.

George And Mayan Lopez (Lopez Vs. Lopez)

Comedian George Lopez teamed up with his daughter, Mayan, and Debby Wolfe to create the NBC sitcom , Lopez vs. Lopez . The series — which  was renewed for a second season, according to Variety — also stars George and Mayan as a father and daughter forced to reconnect after year when they have no choice but to move in together.

Henry And Jane Fonda (On Golden Pond)

The 1981 film adaptation of the acclaimed play On Golden Pond was a very special moment in Henry Fonda’s career. In addition to being his final performance, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar, it saw him share the screen with his real-life daughter, Jane, who played his estranged daughter.

Johnny And Lily-Rose Depp (Tusk, Yoga Hosers)

A nearly unrecognizable Johnny Depp plays Guy LaPointe in Kevin Smith’s bizarre A24 horror movie , 2014’s Tusk , which also stars his daughter, Lily-Rose, as a convenience store employee. When Smith made a spin-off in 2016 focusing on Lily-Rose and Harley Quinn Smith’s characters called Yoga Hosers , Depp reprised the French-Canadian P.I. as well.

Judy Garland And Liza Minnelli (In The Good Old Summertime, The Judy Garland Show)

As The Guardian recalls, the multi-talented Liza Minnelli was just three years old  when she made her acting debut with a brief cameo at the end of 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime , alongside her mother — the iconic Judy Garland. The Wizard of Oz star later invited her daughter to perform with her on her variety program, The Judy Garland Show , in the early 1960s.

Kirk, Diana, Michael, And Cameron Douglas (It Runs In The Family)

It Runs in the Family , marks a rare instance of a movie starring three generations of an actor family. It stars Kirk Douglas and his former wife, Diana, as the father and mother of a man played by their real son, Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, whose own actual son, Cameron, also stars as his eldest son in the 2003 dramedy.

Leslie Mann And Iris and Maude Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40)

Leslie Mann’s character in 2007’s Knocked Up and its 2012 quasi-sequel, This is 40, is married to writer/director Judd Apatow in real life. Their children, Iris and Maude — the latter of which went on to star in the Euphoria cast as Lex Howard -- appear in both This is 40 and Knocked Up with Leslie Mann.

Martin And Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez are celebrity siblings who have acted together multiple times, including once with their father, Martin Sheen, with small roles in Badlands . However, every other time the actors appeared alongside Martin was individually — with Charlie in Wall Street , Cadence , and Hot Shots , most notably, and with Estevez in In the Custody of Strangers and The Way .

Meryl Streep And Mamie Gummer (Heartburn, Evening, Ricki And The Flash)

When speaking to Jimmy Fallon , Mamie Gummer looked back on her acting debut as a toddler in the 1986 dramedy Heartburn , which was led by her mother, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. More than twenty years later, Gummer played her mother’s younger self in the 2007 romantic drama, Evening , before playing her estranged daughter in 2015’s Ricki and the Flash .

Ralph And Julia Macchio (Cobra Kai)

Ralph Macchio’s daughter, Julia, has made a name for herself as an actor in movies like Girl Most Likely and shows like Showtime’s City on a Hill . She would share the screen with her father on a couple episodes of Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai , as Daniel LaRusso’s cousin, Vanessa — a young, but highly skilled, child psychology grad student.

Ryan And Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon)

According to Collider , the record for youngest Oscar winner is still held by Tatum O’Neal for her performance in 1973’s Paper Moon . Her character in the crime dramedy directed by the late Peter Bogdanovich is a precocious, Depression-era orphan who teams up with a con artist who could be her father, played the actor’s actual father, Ryan O’Neal.

Robin And Zelda Williams (In Search Of Dr. Seuss, Nine Months, House Of D)

Zelda Williams had her first taste of show business with her father -- Academy Award winner Robin Williams -- right beside her in the 1994 TV movie In Search of Dr. Seuss and the following year with her small role in the Hugh Grant-led rom-com , Nine Months . Her first starring role in a theatrically released film was in 2004’s House of D , which also marked the third and final time she acted alongside her late father.

Sean And Dylan Penn (Flag Day)

Sean Penn and Robin Wright’s daughter, Dylan Penn, got her start as a model before she took up acting. Her biggest role to date was as the unwitting daughter of a criminal played by Sean in 2021’s Flag Day , which the two-time Academy Award winner also directed.

Sylvester And Sage Stallone (Rocky V, Daylight)

In the Rocky movies ’ fifth installment, Rocky Jr. was the debut role of star and director Sylvester Stallone’s real-life son, Sage, who would later appear with his dad in the ‘90s action movie,  Daylight . Sage went on to become the founder of Grindhouse Releasing — which prevented him from reprising his Rocky V role in Rocky Balboa — and, according to CNN , sadly passed away at 36 in 2012.

Thandiwe Newton And Nico Parker (Reminiscence)

Nico Parker — known for Disney’s live-action Dumbo remake and HBO’s The Last of Us cast — is the youngest daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker. However, in the 2021 futuristic noir, Reminiscence , she appeared alongside the Westworld star as a grandmother and granddaughter. 

Tom, Colin, Elizabeth, Chet, And Truman Hanks (Various)

Tom Hanks has shared the screen with all four of his children. He cast Colin Hanks in a small role in That Thing You Do! before appearing alongside him again in 2008’s The Great Buck Howard . Elizabeth Hanks was also in That Thing You Do! , but debuted in Forrest Gump . Chet Hanks has been in Larry Crowne and Greyhound and Truman Hanks normally does technical film work, but has appeared in three of his dad’s movies — News of the World , A Man Called Otto , and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City .

Will, Jaden, And Willow Smith (The Pursuit Of Happyness, After Earth, I Am Legend)

Jaden Smith has played his father's onscreen son in two of Will Smith's movies — the first being his debut role in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness and the second in the M. Night Shyamalan movie , After Earth . Willow Smith also made her acting debut as her father’s daughter in a heartbreaking flashback sequence from 2007’s I Am Legend .

If you're familiar with some or all of these films, you may agree that much of these parent-child pairings demonstrate the magic that can come from family members working together on screen. 

Jason Wiese writes feature stories for CinemaBlend. His occupation results from years dreaming of a filmmaking career, settling on a "professional film fan" career, studying journalism at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO (where he served as Culture Editor for its student-run print and online publications), and a brief stint of reviewing movies for fun. He would later continue that side-hustle of film criticism on TikTok (@wiesewisdom), where he posts videos on a semi-weekly basis. Look for his name in almost any article about Batman.

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‘Touch’ Review: A Search for a Lost Love Makes for A Heartrending Romantic Affair to Remember

Baltasar Kormakur directs the story of a widower with early-onset dementia who embarks on a cross-continental trip to find his soulmate during the pandemic in this weepie filled with humanity and hope.

By Courtney Howard

Courtney Howard

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The One Who Got Away is a romantic notion that’s been widely propagated by pop culture cinema. And for good reason, as heartfelt drama and compelling conflicts arise authentically from these confrontations with fate. Director-co-writer Baltasar Kormákur ’s “ Touch ,” based on Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson’s novel of the same name, expands on this swoon-worthy idea, elegantly crafting an achingly poignant story centered on an elderly man searching for his true love amidst a time of uncertainty. This gentle, unfussy romance contains a heart-clutching finale that’s as classically restrained as it is emotionally resounding.

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Kormákur and Ólafsson, who shares co-writing duties, make sure there’s never a dull, wasted moment. Though it lacks a stronger connection between the alternating timelines beyond narrative purpose, the non-linear storyline is never confusing. They instinctively allow tension to build steadily to its gripping 3 rd act climax, which holds profundity and provides tear-shedding catharsis. The feature moves at a brisk clip, even within quiet moments of respite when our hero is deep in thought, remembering the past that’s made him the pained man we see in the present. Not only do Miko and Kristofer’s romance and potential reunion provide the narrative motor, further depth is attained exploring the blossoming friendship between Kristofer and Takahashi-san in a time not conducive to cultural empathy. Supporting characters, like Nippon’s charming waitress Hitomi (Meg Kubota) and opera-singing chef Arai-san (Tatsuya Tagawa), are also given a rich and economical internality.

Kormákur and company conjure feelings of affection and anguish with gorgeous visual dexterity. He and cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson maximize the atmospheric pull utilizing subtle modulations within the cool blue-toned and warm sepia-washed color palettes. Effused lighting illuminates Miko and Kristofer’s unspoken, intertwined yearnings. Occasional bubble-like lens flares from natural light pouring into rooms gift the shots with a fresh, buoyant luminosity. Production designer Sunneva Ása Weisshappel creates intimate environments for these characters to play in, from the bakery-turned-commercial-kitchen to the walls of adult Kristofer’s desolate home.

Thematic overtones are sonically represented in Högni Egilsson’s tender, moving score that properly enhances motivations and augments actors’ work. As the violin strings are softly plucked, so are our heartstrings. Ólafsson and his young counterpart Kormákur pull off the tough job marrying their physicality and mannerisms. They share a commanding presence, playing a soft-spoken, vulnerable man forced into an uncontrollable transition. Kôki is a dynamic performer, depicting her character with grace, compassion and resilience. She instills in Miko a fighting spirit and autonomous sense of self. Her chemistry with Kormákur sparks the fire necessary to make the love story truly transcendent.

Though never overt in its intentions, nor its inspirations, the picture reverberates on a similar tonal key to Leo McCarey films like “Make Way For Tomorrow” and “An Affair To Remember.” Not only does it feature the tribulations of someone in their twilight years, there’s also the element of two lovers torn apart by destiny. Ultimately, however, this is a uniquely powerful, humane film about people rebounding from the rubble of devastating losses, choosing courage and love to overcome grief. And there’s nothing more touching than seeing that in action.

Reviewed at Wilshire Screening Room, Los Angeles, June 12, 2024. Running time: 120 MIN. Rated R.

• Production: A Focus Features release of an RVK Studios production in association with Good Chaos. Producer: Agnes Johansen, Baltasar Kormákur, Mike Goodridge.
• Crew: Director: Baltasar Kormákur. Screenplay: Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, Baltasar Kormákur (based on the novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson). Camera (color): Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson. Editor: Sigurður Eyþórsson. Music: Högni Egilsson.
• With: Egill Ólafsson, Pálmi Kormákur, Kôki, Masahiro Motoki, Meg Kubota, Tatsuya Tagawa.

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