Thor Movies Don’t Deserve The Hate, But This Issue Is Hard To Ignore

I am a defender of the Thor movies, and yes, that includes the last two. Although the first Thor movie was generally well received, and it established not only Thor as a character worthy of being an Avenger but also Loki as a compelling villain, there’s little doubt that Thor: The Dark World was a bit of a dip in terms of quality, in large part because the villains just weren’t as interesting. Unfortunately, both Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder were then considerably more criticized for myriad reasons, with Love and Thunder in particular being met with backlash.

What’s interesting is that, despite this mixed and, frankly, incrementally declining reception of the Thor movies, Thor himself remains a very popular character. Likewise, Loki is clearly a fan favorite, as he not only has returned from the seeming dead (and, after Avengers: Endgame, the actual dead, although that’s not really a resurrection in terms of the story) multiple times but also got his very own TV show, which remains one of the most popular MCU streaming shows to date. And, notably, he’s returning in Avengers: Doomsday as well, as is Thor.

The popularity of those characters and the success of the first Thor movie haven’t been enough to save the most recent Thor movies from fairly harsh criticism, though, and even as someone who adores these movies and these characters, when I rewatched all four of them recently, I realized that even I had to admit this major fan complaint is true.

The Tonal Shift In The Thor Franchise Is Jarring

The first Thor movie has an undeniably serious tone. Yes, there is plenty of humor in it, as is true of most MCU movies, but Thor is a serious god with some very deep flaws, Loki is a legitimate villain, and the stakes, especially when Odin sends Thor away, are quite high. This makes sense, given that the first film was directed by none other than Kenneth Branagh, who is best known for his connection to the works of William Shakespeare (seriously, his Hamlet is the best version of the character ever depicted on screen).

That more serious tone is fairly consistent in The Dark World. Again, there is certainly humor peppered throughout, and already, signs of this tone changing were there, but it’s not a drastic tonal shift by any means; they still feel like two fairly consistent parts of the same Marvel property. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of Ragnarok and Love and Thunder. In fact, the massive fan complaint that I finally have to admit to is just how jarring the shift in tone is for Ragnarok.

Although this movie introduces the most formidable opponent that Thor faces before Thanos—his own older sister, Hela, who he had no idea existed—and sees the devastating destruction of Asgard, it feels like an outright comedy at multiple points. While many of the jokes are actually rather funny, and Jeff Goldblum is always going to be great, Ragnarok feels like an entirely different movie when compared to the first two. Love and Thunder largely continues this change.

The Thor Movies Are Still Good Movies

Fans have, understandably, complained about this shift and the character inconsistencies with Thor—which have actually been worsened when considering Thor’s character development throughout the Avengers movies, wherein he also undergoes some major changes tonally, such as with his descent between Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Even so, the Thor movies don’t deserve the genuine hate they frequently get.

Is the shift in Ragnarok a major and somewhat distracting leap in tone and approach to the character? Yes. However, these movies are still plenty of fun to watch, and Thor and Loki remain some of the MCU’s best characters. It’s totally fair to critique the Thor movies for this issue, but it shouldn’t undercut all of the many positives about the movies too.