Every Marvel movie and show from Phase 4, ranked worst to best
By Daniel Roman
16. Thor: Love and Thunder
Similar to Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder is a Marvel film that, on paper, had everything going for it but somehow fell short. Featuring the return of Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi as well as Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/the Mighty Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and a fantastic new villain in Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher, Love and Thunder generated a ton of hype in the lead-up to release.
However, the movie was way less than it could have been. Waititi’s comedic flare made Ragnarok the most beloved Thor movie yet, but it feels like he was given too much free rein in Love and Thunder. Korg, the rock alien played by Waititi himself, dominates large stretches of the film to the point where he distracts from the more important MCU characters around him. Jokes that land well the first time we hear them are repeated so often they became groan-worthy. Guardians of the Galaxy had a huge impact on the overall MCU with its carefully curated classic rock soundtrack; Love and Thunder is scored with a Guns ‘n Roses mixtape that feels more like a gimmick than a feature.
Then there’s the ending, where Thor gifts his power to a bunch of captured children to fight off Gorr’s monsters. On premise that scene is fantastic; empowering kids in superhero movies is a wonderful idea and something I think kids of all backgrounds would benefit from seeing more of. But the way Love and Thunder does it raises a lot of continuity questions. Why couldn’t Thor empower the Wakandans to fight Thanos? Other Avengers? There are enough instances where it might have come in handy that it’s strange this ability was never even mentioned before.
That’s not to say there aren’t good things about Love and Thunder, of course. Some of the action scenes are excellent, especially the stylistic sequence in the Shadow Realm. While some actors like the Guardians crew and Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) feel underutilized, others like Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, and Chris Hemsworth shine.
Thor: Love and Thunder is a fun movie. But it’s also one of the sloppiest films to come out of Marvel Studios since Thanos snapped away half the universe.