The Thor: Love and Thunder discourse has put all MCU Phase 4 titles on the spotlight, and social media is particularly divided on if Taika Waititi’s utmost reliance on comedy was a miscalculation. However, one side of the Marvel fandom and critics have high praises for the fourth installment. Regardless, dissent centered on the Chris Hemsworth-led Thor 4 has largely berated CGI sequences produced using LED screen, the VFX tech used for Mandalorian.
Even a low B+ Cinemascore for Thor: Love and Thunder haven’t shaken the film’s ongoing box office run currently estimated to rake in $140 million on the opening weekend. Still, the stalemate discussions have left one side praising the director’s vision as the best follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok. But others hold 2011’s Thor to the highest regard for grounded storytelling and smooth pacing. In addition, some even compared Thor 4’s massive budget to India’s Kollywood cinema, RRR which was made on a $72 million production budget.
Also Read: MCU fans discuss Thor: Love and Thunder’s low Rotten Tomatoes score & compare to Eternals
Marvel Studios’ latest films have all come under the radar for wonky CGI and its creative choices. Earlier, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also faced similar criticism for depending on cameos and fan service over the plot. Furthermore, questions regarding the MCU’s direction and its narrative also arose. Readers can check it out below.
RRR budget: $70 million
THOR 4 budget: $185 million pic.twitter.com/680XIG7Jgf— Jesse Hawken (@jessehawken) July 9, 2022
THOR (2011)’s $150M budget VS THOR: LOVE & THUNDER (2022)’s $250M budget pic.twitter.com/Z15J307PdZ
— Jesabel (@JesabelRaay) July 9, 2022
Going to watch #ThorLoveAndThunder now but a reminder to anyone else going to see it pic.twitter.com/2s322oZXX1
— Avenjedi 🦆🐸🦉👻 #ThankYouAmphibia (@Avenjedi81217) July 8, 2022
https://t.co/zSmI03P87n pic.twitter.com/rhG0QfIgyW
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) July 9, 2022
Don't listen to the bad reviews. #ThorLoveAndThunder lives up to the hype in all of the best ways. #MightyThor is totally awesome. #Thor is hilarious and epic. #Valkyrie and #Korg are lovable again. And #Gorr is the best villain since Thanos. This is the best Thor movie yet! pic.twitter.com/uFGIw61iMj
— Annlyel James (@annlyeljames) July 9, 2022
I literally burst out laughing in the middle of the Thor premiere when this happened 💀 pic.twitter.com/2QlMZs2r4i
— DriiftyFilm 💯 (@driiftyfilm) July 9, 2022
Thor Love & Thunder is a masterclass in how to ruin an interesting story with constant unfunny jokes.
— Ashley Talks Comics! (@ComicGirlAshley) July 9, 2022
They need to go back to releasing 2 movies per year MAX so these VFX teams have a realistic and humane timeframe to work with. Until then we'll continue to get inconsistent and embarrassing "finished" products like THOR 4 (and a slew of other MCU products). https://t.co/YK1ab8jHPM
— meez, (@wongkarwaiss) July 9, 2022
Bruh CBM Twitter is exaggerating too much about TLAT. Like i get it y'all criticisms and i agree about them but calling it the the worst THOR movie? pic.twitter.com/uU9W3tKjGC
— Marc (@MarAbh999) July 10, 2022
Just watched the new Thor movie
And I loved it way more than I thought I would!! The battles were awesome, had pretty funny jokes, compelling villain, and I recommend it pic.twitter.com/vTulqyUG0O
— Touya! ★ (@Touyarokii) July 10, 2022
thor love and thunder/it leaned too heavy on the jokes and had no weight when it came to the serious moments. regardless of that though,it was a fun movie.gorr was a crazy villian and val and korg carried.wasn’t feelin the stuff with jane but thor himself was good as always 6/10 pic.twitter.com/wTSgqC0OWo
— no304s (@no304z) July 9, 2022
"In…Thor: Love and Thunder, Valkyrie has no agency. As a character, she is written by a series of decision-makers [who] dictate how her sexuality manifests… It is crucial to interrogate why, in a movie where love is supposedly at center, queerness only exists in the ether." https://t.co/7mvr0ZoCaU
— Rotem Rusak (@Moondancer1626) July 8, 2022
Say what you want about the comedy in #ThorLoveAndThunder
But the love triangle between Thor, Mjolnir and Stormbreaker was PERFECT comedy pic.twitter.com/uceGmwcNlT
— Caleb Williams (@KnightGambit) July 9, 2022
Crazy how the best scene in the first Thor movie doesn't even have Thor.
Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins shine in that scene.
It is probably the best performance in the Thor saga. pic.twitter.com/S4TPGyW227
— By Jocelyn (@cuddleswerever) July 10, 2022
NGL Phase 4 has felt like filler content.
— Robert Jefferson (@comicsexplained) July 10, 2022
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER is one of the messiest and most ill-conceived movies I've seen in years. It's a cosmic circus of try-hard cringe that bizarrely tries to connect heavy themes about death, god and love to nonstop pubescent humor and series-low visuals. I wished I liked this. pic.twitter.com/SW3Gi88WDa
— Brendan Hodges (@metaplexmovies) July 8, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder was fun and I enjoyed it overall. The biggest highlight for me was Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher. He was mesmerizing. He’s got some really kickass and creepy scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed every second he was on screen.#ThorLoveAndThunder #Gorr pic.twitter.com/adorbFTyz9
— Sudhanshu Rajput (@Sudhans40813499) July 9, 2022
Boy, Thor: Love & Thunder is certainly bringing out the worst of discourse. I didn’t love the movie, but the black and white, “it’s the best!” or “it’s the worst!” discourse is…something. Hyperbole on both ends is a choice. Remember when we could like but not love things? pic.twitter.com/wp0xXDWXBt
— PJ Campbell (@pj_campbell) July 10, 2022
Since Love and Thunder’s theatrical worldwide release – fans and critics alike wondered if the movie was subject to cuts. Natalie Portman spoke openly on Thor 4’s deleted scenes stating to Indiewire, “There were whole sequences, planets, characters, and worlds that didn’t end up in the movie that were hilarious and amazing and [that] we spent a lot of time and energy on, and certainly the entire crew also designing and conceiving,” Though, Waititi doesn’t seem to have any plans on releasing a director’s cut and in fact hates the idea.
“Director’s cuts are not good,” he said to NME. “I’ve been thinking about director’s cuts. I watch director’s cuts of a lot of other directors. They suck. Director’s cuts are not good. Directors need to be controlled sometimes, and if I was to say, ‘ah, you wanna watch my director’s cut? It’s four and a half hours long!’ It’s not good, at four and a half hours. There’s a lot of cup-of-tea breaks in there, you don’t even have to pause it.”
It’s unclear if the current dissent could impact Marvel chief Kevin Feige’s decisions for Thor 5 or even the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Thor: Love and Thunder is out in theaters.
