Marvel Continues to Disappoint

How is it possible for one of the biggest production companies of all time to continue underperforming so badly? Thor: Love and Thunder 2022 is easily one of the worst superhero movies this year, really as bad as they come. I personally think that this is the direction that most of the upcoming Marvel projects will be headed due to their lack of attention to detail, and wanting to achieve a large number of releases on a very tight schedule.

The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been going off the rails lately, with critics pointing out the lack of creativity, boring storylines, and overall disappointing projects this last couple of years. Being under one of the biggest production companies of all time, Disney+, it’s hard to keep track of every single new film, tv show, video game, music video, etc… Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be an excuse, especially if Disney wants to continue fighting for the top spot as best production company out there.

Taika Waititi did a phenomenal job on the last Thor movie, showing everyone working inside the superhero industry how a funny, yet serious movie should be approached. Thor: Ragnarok 2017 was extremely enjoyable, with some memorable scenes, and a soundtrack that never felt forced or over the top. Box office wise, the movie crushed it, and it kind-off solidified the grounds for the upcoming MCU project. Even the harshest critics were acclaiming this movie as one of the best Marvel films out there. So where did everything go wrong?

I’m not a big fan or Marvel, but I even caught myself feeling disappointed when I walked out of the theater at the end of this years Thor catastrophe. It’s hard to pinpoint it, but before 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, every single MCU film and tv show had one thing in common, Thanos as the main antagonist. Every movie had an after credits scene where the audience would be left wondering how the stories would start to connect, and that was always intriguing. However, now it feels overused, and the movies feel more like a chore. If you somehow miss a tv show or a film, then nothing makes sense and you’re left feeling clueless.

In spite of all that, Waititi’s fall from grace has more to do with how boring, repetitive, and void Love and Thunder really was. For starters, the same bad jokes. Having an anti-climatic moment before or during a big fight is the definition of lazy writing, and the MCU excels in doing so. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he”, or “Sorry, it sounded way cooler inside my head” are quotes that maybe a character like Spider-man would say, cheesy, corny and all, but true to the characters identity. Then again, every single character now says one of this one-liners as a way to tone down a very important moment of the movie. Jokes aren’t landing anymore, so why explain them?

I won’t mention how bad the CGI was, because all of social media is flooded with Axl’s floating head.

Additionally, a good score can salvage even the worst movies, which definitely wasn’t the case for Love and Thunder. Everything felt like a very bad brand deal with Guns n’ Roses, from the score, some characters names and musical taste, even the costume design. I left the theater feeling like if I had just watched a very long, boring and senseless ad for an upcoming Guns n’ Roses tour. Don’t get me wrong, I love their music, but just not in a Thor movie. It felt cringey and extremely forced. I wouldn’t be surprised if Axl Rose was an executive producer somehow.

The thing that disappoints me the most is how Waititi had already done it before. Ragnarok will always be a great example of how superhero movies should be done. There was a formula that he created, still he failed horribly when trying to redo it.

At the end of the day, Scorsese was right. Cinema is dying and superhero movies are killing it faster with each release. I give this movie a 2/10, and only because I couldn’t fall asleep watching it.