THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (12, 119 mins, streaming from September 8 exclusively on Disney+, Action/Adventure/Comedy/Romance)Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, Russell Crowe, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and the voices of Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel.
SEPARATED from magical hammer Mjolnir, the strapping Norse god of thunder (Chris Hemsworth) has a new weapon – a mighty axe called Stormbreaker – as he answers cries for help alongside Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel).
A distressing vision ushers Thor and rock-like warrior buddy Korg (Taika Waititi) back to New Asgard, ruled by Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), where accursed Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) lays a diabolical trap as part of his plan to slaughter all deities with the fabled Necrosword.
Thor offers a robust defence alongside pre-eminent astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who has taken on the guise of the Mighty Thor with Mjolnir at her side.
However, Thor, Mighty Thor and Valkyrie are no match for Gorr and his relentless army of shadow creatures, which can snatch screaming children from their beds.
Thor: Love And Thunder serves up a similarly heady cocktail of action-packed spectacle and raucous humour, including cheeky cameos for Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Melissa McCarthy to poke fun at the rampant commercialisation of the Marvel brand.
There are noticeably fewer laughs in the sequel co-written by director Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson but the pleasures comfortably outweigh the pain.
Hemsworth flexes dramatic muscles in key scenes with Portman and action sequences are briskly choreographed with a heavy reliance on digital effects.
Bale's all-guns-blazing performance as a vengeful villain is on a different plane to everyone else in the gung-ho odyssey.
RATING: 3/5
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (8 episodes, starts streaming from September 2 exclusively on Prime Video, Fantasy/Action/Adventure)
SET thousands of years before devastating events chronicled in The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, this epic fantasy chronicles upheaval from the Second Age of Middle-earth's history, including characters that will already be familiar to fans of JRR Tolkien's work.
Developed by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power begins in a time of relative peace and harmony as characters from across the realm confront the re-emergence of evil.
News of this insidious threat spreads quickly from the island kingdom of Numeno to the dark depths of the Misty Mountains and the elf-capital of Lindon, home to High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo).
New heroes rise and others fall as armies of arcs rampage across the dominion and humans stand side by side with elves, hobbits and other magical creatures to prevent the shroud of darkness from extinguishing flickers of hope in the world.
The first two episodes premiere this week and further instalments arrive every Friday, culminating in the series finale on October 14.
