Writer-director Taika Waititi’s shift to a more zany and comedic tone for “Thor: Ragnarok” was considered as having ‘saved’ that particular Marvel franchise.
It delivered a third entry that shook things up, felt fresh and full of energy, and had a fun sense of humor – a welcome far cry from the overly dour, serious and dull second entry, which is amongst the worst MCU films.
Well, that love went sour quickly with “Thor: Love and Thunder”. Though it still managed to gross $760 million worldwide, what had been the third film’s strengths became the fourth’s weakness going by the reviews as the humor was seen as way overindulged, the tone wildly jarring, the story struggled to be cohesive, and the visual effects roundly criticised.
Now Thor actor himself, Chris Hemsworth, has spoken about the fourth film’s reception and seems aware of the negativity around it. Talking with GQ for a new profile piece, the Aussie star explained what he thought went wrong:
“I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly. It’s always hard being in the center of it and having any real perspective… I love the process. It’s always a ride. But you just don’t know how people are going to respond.”
Hemsworth added that his biggest critics were his son’s friends:
“It’s a bunch of eight-year-olds critiquing my film. ‘We thought this one had too much humor, the action was cool, but the VFX weren’t as good’. I cringe and laugh equally at it.”
Hemsworth has starred in eight movies in the MCU and is currently not contracted for any more but says he’ll return if it’s a good opportunity. He also spoke about another recently criticised Marvel film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”.
The actor revealed he hadn’t seen the film yet, but had seen the marketing and wondered why Marvel opted to make a big space epic out of that franchise:
“That’s the trick: you have to separate all those stories. The moment it’s like: ‘Your world is in danger, the entire universe!’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, so [it] was the last 24 films.’ It has to become a bit more personal and grounded.”
Hemsworth has also heard the criticisms of Marvel by top filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, calling it “super depressing when I hear that… I guess they’re not a fan of me. I’m thankful that I have been a part of something that kept people in cinemas.”
The full interview is up at GQ.
