Is Thor: Love and Thunder safe for kids? Is Thor: Love and Thunder OK for kids? In the new Phase IV Marvel Studios movie, read the Thor: Love and Thunder Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide to the MCU 2022 Thor 4 sequel film starring Chris Hemsworth. No spoilers! #ThorLoveandThunder May contain commissioned links.
Thor: Love and Thunder Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide
After Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took a turn for the scary, families may be a little weary about taking their kids to see Marvel’s newest summer film, Thor: Love and Thunder. Understandably so. But with Chris Hemsworth and Director Taika Waititi at the helm again for Thor 4, should we expect more of a Thor: Ragnarok party scene or a Thor: Dark World let down?
Should parents expect all Marvel movies moving forward into Phase IV and beyond to be for adults only now, and no longer child friendly?
Is Thor: Love and Thunder safe for kids? In this Thor: Love and Thunder Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide, I’m talking about visuals, the story, a full PG-13 rating parents guide breakdown for violence/suspense, language and adult themes, and sharing whether the Thor 4 sequel film is the child friendly Marvel film families are hoping for this summer. A no spoiler parent review – is Thor: Love and Thunder kid friendly? What child age is recommended to watch Thor: Love and Thunder?
And more importantly, where are the As-Guardians of the Galaxy?
The Visuals
Chris Hemsworth in IMAX. Enough said. The Marvel Cinematic Universe visuals are out of this galaxy per usual. Plenty of new space worlds, landscapes and CGI infused fight scenes to take in, Thor: Love and Thunder brings the hammer…axe…PARTY when it comes to a summer movie release. Definitely worth the IMAX upgrade if you’re a huge Marvel or Thor fan.
The Story
It’s hammer time. God of Thunder, take 4. Chris Hemsworth and Director Taika Watiti return for another round of fun Thor adventures and self-discovery in Thor: Love and Thunder. Last seen boarding the Milano with the Guardians of the Galaxy in Endgame, we catch up with The God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) as he teams up with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend-turned-Mighty-Thor Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) to take on a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).
Closing the story gaps between Thor: Dark World to now, this easy digestible Marvel superhero storyline follows Thor’s emotional journey as he faces some repressed feelings head on. Insert Jane. I’ve never been sold on the whole Thor and Jane love story – but with a movie title that includes the word “love,” you know that Marvel is going to address some of the messy superhero god-to-human relationship issues. More toned down on the party atmosphere and funny punchlines, this “more serious” Thor movie is more intense – especially when it comes to the dialogue, violence and action sequences.
Add in some fun cameos, and unexpectedly convincing Christian Bale bad guy portrayal, a great 70’s soundtrack and multiple connected themes of love (self and others), family, and sacrifice, and you have a Thor: Love and Thunder movie that is lighter on the party mood but deeper on the heart. A little sloppy and less believable as the movie winds down towards the end (you’ll see), Thor Love and Thunder is still a solid Marvel sequel. Thor: Love and Thunder has 2 post credit scenes – one mid credit scene and one end credit scene, so be sure to stay to preview a surprise or two.
Thor: Love and Thunder PG-13 Rating Explained
Is Thor: Love and Thunder safe for kids? While the latest Thor: Ragnarok (2017) was highly successful following a depressing Thor: Dark World sequel, with this latest Phase IV of the MCU increasing the horror and suspense intensity (I see you, Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), no one is quite sure where Thor rollercoaster will take audiences next.
It’s no secret that I am highly skeptical of all MPAA ratings (um hello, PG-13 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker not disclosing any language and The Jungle Cruise not disclosing suspense??). With all film ratings unpredictable these days, even PG ratings oscillating between Turning Red intense to Christopher Robin calm, having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie is family friendly – and safe for the whole family to watch together.
Why is Thor: Love and Thunder rated PG-13? In this Thor: Love and Thunder Movie Review | Safe for Kids, this Thor sequel film has a PG-13 age rating for “intense sci-fi violence, action, partial nudity, some suggestive material.” Is Thor 4 safe for kids? Should parents be worried about taking their kids to see another questionable PG-13 rated Marvel movie? Let’s breakdown that MPAA rating for parents in this Thor: Love and Thunder Parents Guide.
Language. After 4 movies, the God of Thunder has not toned down his potty mouth. I easily counted over 20 swear words, ranging from “sh!tty” (lots of punchline moments with that word), “d@mn/d@mmit,” to more mild “h-e-double-hockey-sticks,” “crap,” “piss off,” and “freaking/freaky.” Two g-d references, one “moron” insult and a few “shut up’s” round out the newest Thor: Love and Thunder. Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder has a huge increase in language from Thor: Ragnarok (which had about 5 swear words). Keep that in mind.
Violence. Gorr the God Butcher is pretty darn scary looking as far as Marvel villains go. And the violence matches the look. I mean, he is “the God Butcher.” More intense than seen in previous Thor films, we have multiple killings (including close range in Thanos style), chokings (could be too intense for some kids to watch), deaths, visual of hangings, monsters, some gore and some mildly suspenseful scenes involving children. There are multiple action sequences and fight scenes including weapons, darkness and light effects (photosensitivity or those prone to seizures, keep in mind).
Adult Themes. It’s getting hot in here?! Because the Thor: Love and Thunder adult themes has really turned up the volume for this 4th sequel, especially when it comes to innuendo. Following a 360° shirtless scene in Thor: Ragnarok, of course Thor: Love and Thunder had to intensify the spiciness for fans as well. Did you miss the trailer? Then you probably missed the buzz about the partial nudity scene. Is there a Seamore Butts here? Full Thor butt, NOT censored. Imagine seeing that in IMAX.
The suggestive material in Thor: Love and Thunder is quite a bit more than “some,” in my opinion. While the it’s getting steamy in Thor: Love and Thunder, the sexual innuendo is not only for Chris Hemsworth’s bottom. There’s plenty of love to go around including multiple long kisses (I counted at least 5) and a few kisses of hands/top of head as well. Hold onto your Valkyrie. There’s more. Your kids may have questions about what an “orgy” is – since that word is mentioned 3 significant times in the movie and a phrase of “get in your rocks” that may also have some questions. We also have a mildly inferred same sex kiss of a hand interaction and a couple of mentions of “my two dads” with visuals.
Alcohol is also present, with multiple scenes of drinking of beer, visual of beer kegs, a bar with bottles of booze (some empty) and the verbal offer for some wine. And we have a few hospital/medical scenes that may be tough for some to watch with IV’s, drips, and other equipment.
Thor: Love and Thunder Age Rating for Kids
At a runtime of 1 hour 59 minutes, this was a rather surprisingly short feeling movie. Thankful that Taika Watiti didn’t draw out the story for the sake of Marvel, I appreciated the to-the-point plot, keeping Thor and the fans in focus. With more heavy dialogue, intense action scenes and a more serious tone, this Thor: Love and Thunder film falls between Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Dark World as far as kid-friendly level.
If your child is a hardcore Thor fan, parents will be relieved to know that this Thor film has not lost it’s overall fun and more family-friendly feel than some of the most recent Phase IV Marvel releases. While more intense in violence, language and even adult innuendo (most I think would go over a child’s head), Thor: Love and Thunder still remains closer to a family-friendly film than an adult horror/suspense film like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
This Thor 4 sequel film has a PG-13 age rating for “intense sci-fi violence, action, partial nudity, some suggestive material” by the MPAA.
Yes, there are 2 end credits scenes. 1 mid-credit scene and 1 post-credits scene.
Based on my Thor: Love and Thunder parents guide and mom review above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Thor 4 to kids younger than the age of 9-10 years old.
Considering the full PG-13 rating breakdown above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Thor: Love and Thunder to kids younger than the age of 9-10 years old. Finally, a Marvel film that my 9-year old daughter CAN watch. Feeling left out of the party since Shang-Chi (her favorite MCU film so far), it’s great to see that Marvel hasn’t completely diverted from the more kid-friendly Marvel movies.
I still highly recommend parents prescreening Thor: Love and Thunder for the more intense violence scenes and suggestive adult themes for your kids.
The Overall
Breathes sigh of relief. Well, that was one heck of a space Viking story. While certainly a Taika Watiti movie through and through with lots of fun 70’s music, fun punchlines and an upbeat Marvel vibe, (so thankful we didn’t backtrack to Thor: Dark World), I have to say that Thor: Ragnarok still stands as the best Thor movie in the MCU. Focused more on the “love” than the “thunder,” the reinsertion of Jane into the Thor storyline really dampens the party mood – sorely missing that fun banter, action, and relationships that audiences usually get between the heroes (and perhaps hindering the Watiti creativity).
But let’s not dampen the mood too much. While not my favorite Thor movie, Thor: Love and Thunder is still an overall fun summer movie (and one of the few bright spots in Marvel’s Phase IV Cinematic Universe). Solid but not totally sold, this more inclusive and family-friendly Marvel film still gets all the love from this mom movie reviewer. The God of Thunder is still for kids – and it’s great to see that they can still follow and enjoy this iconic Marvel superhero from the beginning to now the 4th successful Thor movie. But sorry God of Thunder, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is still my favorite Phase IV film.
Follow Thor: Love and Thunder on social:
- Website: https://www.marvel.com/movies/thor-love-and-thunder
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thor/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thorofficial
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thorofficial/
- #ThorLoveandThunder
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Catch Marvel’s newest Phase IV film, Thor: Love and Thunder in theaters on Friday July 8, 2022. Will your family be watching this Thor sequel?
I was invited to a special movie screening in exchange for this Thor: Love and Thunder Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of Marvel/Disney. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment and behind-the-scenes info!
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