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  1. Entertainment
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  5. Thor: Love and Thunder

4 years later, MCU fans are reassessing one of the most controversial Marvel Phase 4 releases: "I personally feel like this movie had so much potential”

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By Nick Staniforth
Published 14 February 2026

Is Love and Thunder really the worst thing Marvel has made?

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Chris Hemsworth in Thor Love and Thunder
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
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There’s every chance that when Avengers: Doomsday hits our screens, fans can rest easy knowing that the MCU has finally got its groove back. The period between RDJ’s imminent return and his departure in Avengers: Endgame has been a rocky one, with even fan-favorite heroes having slip-ups in that time. One often talked-about filmic fumble was Thor: Love and Thunder, which even its lead star, Chris Hemsworth, has admitted could’ve used some more work. Naturally, fans had their own thoughts on the matter, explaining that on paper, the fourth Thor film had potential, just the wrong person orchestrating it.

When an MCU fan on Reddit asked, “What are your honest thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder, do you think it deserves the hate?” The internet was quick to chime in. “Merging the Mighty Thor and Godbutcher storylines together was inspired, but [director] Taika Waititi was the wrong director for that idea,” argued one fan. “My biggest issue with the film is that it’s clear no-one took it seriously, which Chris Hemsworth kinda admitted after the fact. They got too carried away with improv and the comedy, and weren’t reigned in.”

One fan agreed with the sentiment, saying, “Exactly. It didn't know if it was a horror movie or a slapstick comedy. It couldn't be both.” Another added, “It’s the worst thing modern Marvel has made imo. Complete waste of Bale. Too much Waititi-ness. It’s one of the only MCU movies or shows that deserves its online rep (Secret Invasion being the other), most of the others that people act like are horrible are just mediocre to average, Love and Thunder is truly bad though.”

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Thankfully, it wasn’t all thunder, as there was some love for it, too. “While I do think they wasted Christian Bale, I genuinely thought it was a fun movie.” We didn’t mind it either, to be honest.

Hopefully, when Thor returns in Avengers: Doomsday, he’ll be back to the god-like standard we’ve all loved to see him deliver. In the meantime, there’s plenty of MCU action heading our way, which you can learn all about here.

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Nick Staniforth
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Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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