While the official reviews aren’t in yet, you can get an early taste from the film critics leaving early screenings and posting their first impressions on Twitter. Granted, the instant impression you have upon leaving the movie theater does tend to have a half life that declines over time. But the praise is so strong that it’s hard to see the film dipping below the 93% fresh that Thor: Ragnarok achieved on Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab).
Thor: Love and Thunder — what are the critics saying?
“Thor: Love and Thunder is absolutely AMAZING,” exclaimed Therese Lacson of Collider (opens in new tab). “It blows every other Marvel movie out of the water and doubles down on the Ragnarok charm.” The best Marvel film? Lacson isn’t alone in that assessment. “Thor: Love and Thunder might be my favorite Marvel movie, and it also might be their very best,” says Drew Taylor of The Playlist (opens in new tab). At the very least, it does appear to be the best of the four Thor movies to date. “My favorite Thor movie of the four,” chips in Brandon Davis of ComicBook (opens in new tab). “Feels like the best of MCU Phase 1 and Phase 4 in one entry. Loved it.” Indeed, while some clearly prefer other entries in the series (“it can’t quite match the visual or comedy bombast of Ragnarok,” writes Inverse’s Jacob Kleinman (opens in new tab)), it’s hard at this point to find any seriously dissenting voices. The biggest criticisms come at some of the comedy not quite landing (a critique leveled by both Andrew Salanzar (opens in new tab) and Laura Sirikul (opens in new tab)), but overall it seems to deftly combine humor and heart in a way that’s quite difficult to pull off. But if anybody can, it’s director Taika Waititi. “Thor: Love and Thunder is the perfect blend of Taika at his best with comedy and a punch to the gut all in one,” writes Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue (opens in new tab). Or, as Insider’s (opens in new tab)Kirsten Acuna put it: “I laughed. I cried. Then I laughed and cried some more, in that order.” And yes, you should stay through the end credits as per usual: “EPIC,” says Clayton Davis of Variety. (opens in new tab) Originally due out in 2021,Thor: Love and Thunder was delayed because of the pandemic, and will now emerge on July 8 2022. By the sounds of it, it’ll be more than worth the wait.
