‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ praised as the ‘best of MCU Phase 1 and Phase 4’ in one movie

The initial reactions to Thor: Love and Thunder are continuing to emerge, and it sounds like we’re in for an absolute treat in early July. Taika Waititi’s second MCU adventure has been one of the most anticipated upcoming MCU movies ever since Natalie Portman held Mjolnir aloft at the San Diego Comic-Con back in 2019.

The very first reactions emerged late last night, heaping praise onto Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman’s Thors, saying Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher is “phenomenally menacing”, and that Russell Crowe is “superb” as Zeus. Since then, the reactions have kept coming, and they should make happy reading for any self-respecting Marvel fan.

Now we have some more fresh takes. Journalist Brandon Davis says it’s his favorite Thor movie and that it combines elements from Phase 1 and Phase 4 into a delicious cocktail:

Drew Taylor goes as far as calling it his “favorite Marvel movie” and teases some visually dazzling action sequences:

And Rachel Leishman calls it Taika Waititi “at his best” and says she left the film emotionally satisfied and sobbing:

Taika Waititi is already in high demand in Hollywood, but if Thor: Love and Thunder is as big a success as it appears, he should be able to pick and choose his projects from now on. He already has a dizzying array of future movies lined up, though the two most exciting have to be the long-awaited live-action adaptation of Akira and his mysterious Star Wars project.

Let’s hope he doesn’t leave the MCU forever, though. We have no idea how Thor: Love and Thunder ends, but assuming the story continues, there’s nobody we’d rather have at the helm.

Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8.