Top 4 Thor Films

Since the very early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU); Thor has remained one of the series most prolific, reliable, and popular characters! It’s quite hard to think of any of the original castings in the MCU that are still around to this day…

Thor in the MCU, is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, who is obviously based on the Norse God of the same name. The son of Odin, and Frigga; Thor hails from Asgard, and possess great strength and an extended lifespan. He also carries his iconic hammer Mjölnir, and as the God of Thunder, can, well, make Lightning happen at will.

In his many adventure’s in both comics and film, he is frequently aided his friends Sif, The Warriors Three and Heimdall, has had an off and on relationship with Jane Foster, whilst his own brother Loki has served as his arch-nemesis.

Thor made his MCU debut in 2011, played by Chris Hemsworth; and has so far appeared in four main outings, as well as crossovers featuring the word ‘Avengers‘ in them. So far there has been no official announcement for a fifth Thor film, although it is heavily rumoured. But whilst we wait (as given the frequency of the series, it could be a long while), why not look fondly back on one of the MCU’s most consistent heroes,? So, without further ado; here are My Top 4 Favourite Thor (main outings, not crossovers) Films; Enjoy!

4. Thor: Love and Thunder – After losing his daughter, Gorr; a loyal follower of the God Rapu, finds him, only to discover he will not help his follower. So Gorr gains the Necrosword, and kills Rapu, before then embarking on a journey to eliminate all Gods in the universe!

Love and Thunder feels like a greatest hits album, as it features the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, whilst also bringing back the characters and humour from the third film. But whilst it features the flavour of Waititi’s previous Thor film, this one just feels, so so! The comedy to begin with is pretty funny, but the longer it goes on for (such as the screaming Goats), it just gets awkward and borring. The plot is all over the place, and the ending is rather dull, and meaningless. It does have it’s moments, such as the return of both Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) (who does have better on screen chemistry with Hemsworth than Portman does), and Korg (Taika Waititi); but the real highlight is Christian Bale as Gorr, one of the most interesting villains in the entire MCU so far, with a brilliant introduction!

3. Thor: The Dark World – Thousands of years ago, Odin’s father Bor waged a war against a species known as The Dark Elves, who wanted to use a weapon known as the Aether, to return the universe to total darkness. Thousands of years later, the aether has been found, and the Dark Elves have re-awoken to claim their great prize!

Up until the release of Eternals; Thor: The Dark World was the lowest scorring film in the MCU on Rotten Tomatoes (67%). Now this was a pretty low accolade for the film, but given that it was still a fresh score, it can’t be all that bad right? Thor: The Dark World is still a very enjoyable movie, as it re-unites the core cast of the first film, whilst blending them together more, and having them deal with both personal issues, and (much like the above entry) a pretty cool villain (Christopher Eccleston). Yes the main theme is over done and too repetitive, and the pacing is rather off, as there’s an awesome battle early on, and then quite a bit of filler until the final showdown, but it’s not as awkward as Love and Thunder!

2. Thor – Thor; the arrogant heir to the throne of Asgard, launches an attack against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, in response to an attack on Asgard from them. Shattering the truce between the two nations, Thor is banished from Asgard, and sent to Earth completely powerless. Meanwhile his brother Loki takes the throne when Odin falls ill!

As the MCU progresses, it’s hard not to consider some of the very first films in the series as the best. I mean personally I still think the first Iron Man film is the best film in the MCU, and this film is not far away either. The first Thor film is a simple yet deeply interesting tale, of what happens if a God lost their powers? So there’s a lot of campy comedy early on as Thor still believes he has the right to his own powers, only to discover that he’s lost them. So goes on a journey of redemption, ridding himself of his arrogance. It’s a reall fun story, packig quite a bit of drama, but still allowing time to introduce, and develop new characters, whilst gently building to a magnificent climax (and also the end credits are magnificent)!

1. Thor: Ragnarok – After returning to Asgard to find Loki possing as Odin, Thor and Loki go looking for their father, who is now residing in Norway. Odin explains that he is dying, and that his death will free Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death, and his firstborn child. Now free from her prison, Hela quickly despatches both Loki and Thor, who both arrive on the mysterious planet Sakaar!

Following the mixed critical returns of Thor: The Dark World, the third film in the quadrilogy could have gone one of two ways. So in the hope of going in the right direction, they hired Taika Waititi, who had a very unique vision for the film. Ragnarok is unlike any of the two previous film, in fact it’s probabaly the most unique entry in the MCU. It takes a character with an established background, and throws him outside of his comfort zone. Sakaar’s a more vibrant world than either Earth or Asgard, and it’s filled with an assortment of strange new characters…and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Thematically it’s very simillar to the first film, but instead of going on a journey of redemption, it’s more a journey of self discovery, as Thor discovers the real source of his powers, leading to the realization, that his way of doing things, isn’t necessarilly the right way to do them, even if the original intentions were good. It’s an epic super hero movie, filled to the brim with new and clever comedic directions, whilst also telling a story that packs a punch, even on an emotional level!