Thor: Love And Thunder Has Premiered, Here's What People Are Saying About The Marvel Blockbuster

It’s been in the works for years, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 continues with the upcoming release of Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth is back as the title character for a fourth solo movie, which has been in the plans since Thor: Ragnarok surpassed box office expectations in 2017. Anticipation is high for the Taika Waititi-helmed project, as Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) are recruited to help Thor stop Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). The MCU blockbuster held its premiere ahead of its July 8 release to theaters, so let’s check out the audiences’ first reactions. 

The latest trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder continued to build excitement, showing the crossover action with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord and other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ll also see the introduction of Mighty Thor, and Christian Bale making his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher. Let’s take a look at what people are saying about the latest Marvel blockbuster, starting with CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg, who says he was surprised in many ways by Thor: Love and Thunder:

Perri Nemiroff of Collider says she loves that the MCU is leaning hard into the directors’ styles, and Taika Waititi’s voice is loud and clear in his latest project. Thor: Love and Thunder apparently runs the gamut of emotions and in the end has plenty of heart:

Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com calls the latest offering his favorite Thor movie of the four.  Natalie Portman tried to make the argument that she was actually the best God of Thunder, so fans will have to show up July 8 to decide for themselves, because Davis tweets that Portman hits it out of the park as Jane Foster/Mighty Thor:

Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue says Chris Hemsworth — who had fun and worked hard to get as ripped as he needed to be for the movie — is at his best in his fourth solo movie, prompting a literal, “I laughed, I cried,” reaction from this moviegoer:

Drew Taylor of The Wrap has a similar reaction to others who got an early peek at Thor: Love and Thunder, saying this one might be his favorite Marvel movie yet — high praise considering there are dozens to choose from:

Another person calling Thor: Love and Thunder his favorite of the character’s four movies is Richard Nebens of The Direct, who praises director Taika Waititi for being able to deliver an emotional story amid the expected action and humor. 

Those who watched the trailer (over and over again, apparently) know that the movie carries a PG-13 rating for some partial nudity. In other words, Taika Waititi is giving the people what they want. Gabriel Carvalho cheekily says that Chris Hemsworth bares not just his ass but his soul for this surprisingly deep story:

The first reactions are certainly promising, and we’ll know more when critics release their full reviews on July 5. If you want to start planning your trip to the theater for Thor: Love and Thunder, the film opens Friday, July 8. You can also check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what else is coming soon to theaters, and see what’s next in the MCU as we keep track of the upcoming Marvel movies.

Heidi Venable
Content Producer

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.