In 2008, the mastermind genius of Kevin Feige and John Favreau, combined with the unmatchable acting prowess brought forth by Robert Downey Jr. gave birth to one of the most profitable global franchises, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After carefully crafting the stories that followed with continuity and patience, the full team of the studio’s original six heroes came to full force in 2012’s The Avengers, with Chris Hemsworth as Thor standing out for his physique and charisma.
Playing the God of Thunder, the Australian actor soon won over hearts for the on-screen raw strength that he displayed. Furthermore, going down the lines, his epic entrances became a much sought-after affair for fans.
Despite the enormous popularity of the hero, his solo movies oftentimes painted contrasting pictures with a hit-and-miss approach coming to the fore alternately in his four such outings so far. However, it truly was 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder that destroyed a streak, making fans acknowledge an underrated flick.
Thor: Love and Thunder did irreparable damage to the character
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder completely bulldozed the character arc that he himself had planned out since his earlier directorial helm with Thor: Ragnarok. Additionally, the movie steering away from the events set up after Avengers: Endgame, and essentially turning the character into a goofball has touched upon the angry nerve of fans, having them acknowledge that 2013’s Thor: The Dark World was a significantly better film.
The decade-old movie featured Malekith the Accursed and focused on the Dark Elves and their plans of conquest. Soon after its release, it drew massive ire from critics and fans alike who disliked the serious and brooding nature of the story. Several audiences also commented on the generic villain that differed vastly from the comics and had stereotyped evil intentions without much reason.
Sidelined characters such as the Warriors Three and a botched romantic subplot involving Jane Foster made it one of Marvel’s lowest-rated movies and the most poorly rated of the Thor franchise until Thor: Love and Thunder. The 2022 movie’s disastrously humorous plot, near-waste of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, and lack of focus on the main character himself derailed it. And now, fans have overwhelmingly settled on it as well.
Fans vote for the most underrated Marvel movie
Expressing their dislike for the last Thor outing, fans pointed out the many rights that Thor: The Dark World had with itself. From beloved scenes featuring Tom Hiddleston’s Loki to preferring that dark tone and tension for the character, fans voted with a whopping majority on their preference of the latter over the fourth or in some cases, any other of the character’s movies.
The votes of favor came to the fore on X (formerly Twitter). Moreover, many replied with their best takes on the movie even as a few others pointed out the obvious flaws that had it sink to a low position in the first place.
Miles better than love and thunder pic.twitter.com/4B6xYorHhl
— A K K I (@AkkiZac019) May 29, 2024
I maintain, that while it kinda wasted Malakith, Dark World has the best balance of humour and drama we’ve had in a Thor movie. First one was a little too… Shakespearean, and Ragnarok and L&T went WAY too far in the other direction.
— Taheg (@TigerMinusTheR) May 29, 2024
I wouldn’t go that far, but this scene in particular is one of the mcu’s best! pic.twitter.com/efskxut0Rt
— Obscure MCU (@ObscureMCU) May 29, 2024
Yeah. This was a good movie.
— Anson Phillip #Free🇵🇸 #RebelMoon (@aepgm46) May 29, 2024
Agreed
— Rick Jones (@rjman48) May 29, 2024
Better than any Taika Waititi comedy fest
— 𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐍 (@wolverineofxmen) May 29, 2024
The outcome of Thor: Love and Thunder drew flak and disappointment from Chris Hemsworth himself. The star regretted having his movie turned into such a disliked outing and expressed hopes for recovery in the future. With regards to this, Marvel Studios could also be developing a fifth Thor movie with the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga actor returning and a new director taking over the charge of affairs.
Thor: Love and Thunder and Thor: The Dark World are available to stream on Disney+ and to buy and rent on Apple TV+, Prime Video, YouTube, and Fandango.
