The negativity towards Thor: Love and Thunder has become so loud that it’s reached deafening levels, with the majority of the vitriol being pointed in the direction of Taika Waititi.
Eve though predecessor Ragnarok comfortably stands tall as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s very best efforts, fans didn’t extend him much leeway when it came to the sequel. Riding a wave of hype and expectation, greatness was expected from Chris Hemsworth’s fourth solo outing as the Odinson, but it would be an understatement to say the people were left disappointed.
As a result, Waititi’s name has become mud among many MCU supporters, and by extension he’s been tainted by a brush that’s additionally seen Star Wars and DCU diehards weigh in and state they don’t want him anywhere near their franchises of choice, either. That being said, the tide might be turning ever so slightly after an intrepid band of hardy heroes rode to the Academy Award winner’s defense on Reddit.
Asking if Love and Thunder was a good movie turned into a mediocre one against its will in post-production is an interesting question, and one that’s got a lot of evidence to support an answer in the affirmative. We know that Christian Bale had plenty of scenes cut, while cameos from Peter Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum, Lena Headey, and more were left on the editing room floor.
Thor 4 rushes without pausing to catch a breath, and it felt as though there was a reason why it suspiciously ran for 119 minutes, right on the cusp of the two-hour mark. It arguably would have been much better had it gotten another 15-20 minutes to let its many storylines breathe, so maybe it isn’t all Waititi’s fault after all.