--- title: "Thor: Love and Thunder: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/thor-love-and-thunder/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/thor-love-and-thunder" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 26 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Thor: Love and Thunder (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 26 reviews: 12 positive, 8 mixed, 6 negative. ## The Times — Tom Shone Rating ★★★★★. 10 July 2022. The critic hails it as the best Marvel movie ever made, a scintillatingly silly send-up blending superheroes with Monty Python-style absurdity and camp comedy that feels like a bona fide classic. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/thor-love-and-thunder-is-the-best-marvel-movie-ever-made-psw8tzzzc) ## Empire — Ben Travis Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. A giddy, gleaming guitar solo of a movie that is sidesplittingly funny, surprisingly sentimental, and tonally daring. It is a deeply weird, deeply wonderful triumph about love in all its forms. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/thor-love-and-thunder/) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 2022. Unashamedly absurd and wildly entertaining, the film is a perfect example of what Marvel Phase 4 should aspire to be, delivering a self-contained and satisfying story. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-marvel/) ## The Independent — Clarisse Loughrey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 July 2022. The film is a delightful sequel powered by goofy self-awareness and childlike imagination, remembering its main audience are kids. It radiates with love and heart, though not as thematically tight as Ragnarok. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/thor-love-and-thunder-review-release-b2116119.html) ## The Telegraph Rating 4/5. The review praises the film as a howlingly enjoyable return to form with superb cast chemistry, Flash Gordon styling, and Christian Bale delivering one of the series' best villains. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/thor-love-thunder-review-howlingly-enjoyable-return-marvellous/) ## The AV Club — Todd Gilchrist Rating B. 5 July 2022. Trades on Chris Hemsworth's charm and tests Taika Waititi's, with strong performances from Portman and Bale, but the first hour feels like a slog; overall a positive take on its visual adventuresomeness. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/thor-love-thunder-chris-hemsworth-taika-waititi-natalie-1849108250) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2022. Not as good as Ragnarok but goofy and moving on its own terms, with strong performances from Hemsworth, Portman, and Crowe, and kid-friendly CGI sequences set to Guns N' Roses songs. There is a whole lot to love. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/thor-love-and-thunder-taika-waititi-chris-hemsworth-marvel-b1010212.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The critic praises it as a funny and emotional follow-up that benefits from Portman and Hemsworth's chemistry, with the story growing more serious and moving toward an affecting finale focused on love and sacrifice. It occasionally feels unfocused or jokey but remains a solid addition. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/thor-love-and-thunder-review/5172187.article) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating B-. 5 July 2022. The film is a fun and quirky space epic that confronts the aimlessness of the post-Thanos MCU with emotional honesty and open-heartedness, even if more of the same. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/07/thor-love-and-thunder-review-1234738041/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The critic finds the film an entertaining followup to Ragnarok that repeats its tongue-in-cheek cosmic spectacle with nice gags and Hemsworth's relaxed performance, though notes Marvel's comedy mode risks becoming a reflexive cul-de-sac. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/05/thor-love-and-thunder-review-taika-waititi-hammers-home-franchise-fun) ## Radio Times — Jeremy Aspinall Rating 3/5. The critic sees it as more knockabout comedy than full-throttle action adventure, with heavy-metal spectacle and tongue-in-cheek humour such as the screaming goats and Russell Crowe's Zeus. It delivers fun moments but does not match the heights of Ragnarok. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-jrtx8q/thor-love-and-thunder/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 6 July 2022. The critic calls it a funny but uneven MCU return that gets close to straight-up comedy before losing its way in an over-busy plot. Hemsworth shines and there are plenty of laughs early on, but the third act drags and the film fails to sustain its irreverence. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/thor-love-and-thunder-2022) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2022. The critic notes that Waititi injects antic silliness into the franchise once again, making it infectious in spots, but finds the film sillier and thinner than its predecessors with an overstuffed plot that becomes a creative dead end. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/movies/thor-love-and-thunder-review.html) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 2022. The film is a fractured affair that mixes pathos and humor poorly, spinning its wheels with off calibrations, though Bale's performance stands out; makes one wonder if Marvel is okay. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/thor-love-and-thunder-makes-you-wonder-if-marvels-okay.html) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 3/2/2. 6 July 2022. The critic finds it a disappointing sequel sorely lacking in charm and imagination. Waititi burdens the film with a wishy-washy love story that feels shallow and formulaic, though Russell Crowe's Zeus cameo provides some fun. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/thor-love-and-thunder) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The critic finds the film tiresome and weightless due to excessive wisecracking that snuffs out excitement and grandeur, making it feel like a strained rehash sparking neither love nor thunder. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/thor-love-and-thunder-1235175416/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 13 July 2022. The critic finds the film brisk and amiable with a puckish cartoon spirit but ultimately unable to transcend the franchise’s sludgy formulas, delivering no real sustenance amid its CGI artifice and faith-based themes. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/thor-love-and-thunder-reviewed-marvel-as-a-faith-based-organization) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The critic calls the sequel painless but largely pointless, praising isolated moments like the screaming goats and Crowe’s Zeus while lamenting flat-footed jokes, under-realized aims, and a franchise spinning its wheels. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-07-05/thor-love-and-thunder-review-mcu) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The film is woefully unfunny and tonally inconsistent, with mealy-mouthed hints at queerness and slipshod action sequences. The inconsistent tone between tragedy and goofiness undermines its emotional heft. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/thor-love-thunder-review-taika-waititi-marvel-1724061) ## Collider — Therese Lacson Rating A. 5 July 2022. The critic praises the film for recapturing the charm of earlier MCU entries with its mix of comedy, heart, and character development for Thor. They highlight the strong performances, especially Hemsworth and Bale, and the thematic focus on vulnerability and love. [Read the review](https://collider.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review-spoiler-free/) ## NME — James Mottram Rating 4/5. 5 July 2022. It's a fun, entertaining romp with quirky humor, great music, strong chemistry, and deeper themes, though not quite as fresh as Ragnarok. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/thor-love-and-thunder-review-3261413) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 3/5. 7 July 2022. The critic finds it a serviceable but messy summer movie pulled in conflicting directions, praising Bale's performance and the romance but noting it's formulaic and disposable. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/thor-love-and-thunder-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Luke Walpole Rating 3/5. 7 July 2022. The film returns to the comedic, colorful style of Ragnarok but struggles to fully recapture its spark. It features strong visual moments and Waititi's humor alongside some narrative and tonal missteps. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/thor-love-and-thunder-review/) ## Deadline — Valerie Complex Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2022. The film belongs to Jane Foster, who has clear goals and a meticulously developed full arc as Mighty Thor. It mixes horror, romance, drama and comedy that entertains but is lazily assembled, losing substance amid standard MCU elements while strong performances and action scenes keep it from failing. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2022/07/thor-love-and-thunder-review-1235057949/) ## /Film — Josh Spiegel Rating 5/10. 5 July 2022. The sequel has trouble balancing sincerity and glibness, feeling like a labored attempt to repeat Ragnarok's success. Christian Bale's performance as Gorr stands out as a highlight amid the uneven tone and execution. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/915626/thor-love-and-thunder-review-a-shaky-attempt-to-recapture-lightning-in-a-bottle/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2022. Taika Waititi cracks the jokes but loses the thread by trying to balance zippy quippiness with heavy themes that cancel each other out. It delivers many surface pleasures of an MCU movie but leaves a nagging sense that none of this quite works and falls far short of the best entries in the franchise. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/thor-love-and-thunder-film-review-taika-waititi-cracks-the-jokes-but-loses-the-thread/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/thor-love-and-thunder.md