Chris Hemsworth Agrees With You That Thor: Love And Thunder Was Just Too Silly
"Thor: The Dark World" is one of the worst chapters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite a couple of entertaining setpieces and the always reliable dynamic between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), a forgettable, boring villain and a messy script made the sequel rather disappointing. Thankfully, writer/director Taika Waititi ("Hunt for the Wilderpeople," "What We Do in the Shadows") injected new life into the God of Thunder's franchise with "Thor: Ragnarok," a movie that utilized the trippy, cosmic visuals from comic legend Jack Kirby and delivered a sci-fi adventure that was as hilarious as it was exciting.
The success of "Thor: Ragnarok" turned Taika Waititi into an in-demand studio filmmaker, and it inspired Marvel Studios to trust him with the direction of "Thor: Love & Thunder," the superhero's first solo outing since his dramatic transformation in "Avengers: Endgame." Unfortunately, Marvel may have let Waititi run a little too wild with "Love & Thunder." Critics were lukewarm, with the movie landing just 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score was only slightly better at 77%. In fact, even Chris Hemsworth himself (who previously agreed with the criticism of "Thor: The Dark World") has recognized that the movie may have gotten a little "too silly."
'It's a bunch of eight-year-olds critiquing my film'
Speaking to GQ in a recent profile, Hemsworth echoed what many critics and fans said in the wake of the film's release. The actor said:
"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."
That's always the biggest risk when making any movie. While everyone working on the production is typically (hopefully) on the same page, it's never clear how the movie will turn out until it's in the editing room. But even then, the audience reaction could end up being unfavorable, no matter how good the filmmakers and crew feel about the film's execution. Hemsworth's reassessment of the movie may have something to do with criticism from one of the film's key demographics. It turns out that the friends of Hemsworth's son didn't hold back when it came to expressing their opinion. The actor recalled:
"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."
Regardless of how you feel about the movie as cinema, it's hard to argue with the fact that the visual effects felt undercooked in "Love & Thunder." Part of the reason that the VFX in the sequel weren't up to snuff goes hand-in-hand with the questionable filmmaking tactics employed by both Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios at large.
Finish the script!
Last summer, there was an uproar from visual effects artists who had become fed up with how Marvel Studios treats them and their work. From rushed deadlines to underbidding for their hard work, VFX artists are not happy with the comic book blockbuster studio. But perhaps the biggest issue is Marvel's production process which often finds a movie rolling cameras before the film's script has been finely tuned. This results in changes during principal photography that will create major shifts for post-production, which is where visual effects help to finalize a movie that is bringing the unbelievable to life on the big screen.
Despite the fact that Waititi reportedly used the production delays for "Thor: Love & Thunder" caused by the coronavirus pandemic to perfect the script, the filmmaker was also constantly changing what was on the page behind the scenes during production. Whether it was a completely different opening sequence or a couple of cameo appearances from previous MCU characters that ended up on the cutting room floor, there was plenty about "Thor: Love & Thunder" that we didn't see in the final version of the movie. There was also plenty in the movie that wasn't part of the original script, especially when it comes to jokes. Perhaps Marvel would do best to focus on solidifying a script for their film rather than rushing into production in order to meet a release date.
As it stands, it might be a while before we see another Thor adventure in the MCU. Hemsworth told GQ that he's going to do "some other stuff for awhile," but since Thor is one of the few members of the original Avengers line-up who is still an active superhero, he's likely to return for "Avengers: Kang Dynasty and/or "Avengers: Secret Wars." Stay tuned.