"Thor: Love and Thunder" definitely wasn't the best that Marvel has offered audiences, upsetting fans more than anything. However, Christian Bale left MCU fans with strong feelings about Gorr the God Butcher, who, despite not living up to his comic book counterpart, is a highlight of the movie. It turns out, it wasn't for lack of trying, as Bale wanted to bring some of Gorr's comic book violence to the film, pushing the boundaries of Marvel's PG-13 rating.
"Taika [Waititi] and me, we kind of knew that some of the stuff we were doing probably wouldn't end up in the film, but we wanted to just push it and see," Bale told Inverse regarding "Thor: Love and Thunder." "Ultimately, it is and should be a film that all the family can go and enjoy. And Chris Hemsworth, a couple of times he looked at me and was like, 'Dude, that's a little too far. I don't think anyone's gonna want to see that unless it's an R-rated film,' but it was a great joy to give it a shot."
While fans will probably never see the R-rated Gorr, "Love and Thunder" could've left in a few scenes showing the villain earning his title of God Butcher. Instead, Marvel delivered an average movie that even Hemsworth admits missed the mark.
While Thor didn't get off to the best start in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, further character development across "Thor: Ragnarok," "Infinity War," and "Endgame" turned him into a fan favorite. Unfortunately, "Thor: Love and Thunder" didn't live up to expectations, and Chris Hemsworth knows that.
"I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly," Hemsworth told GQ. The actor recalled that even his kids' eight-year-old friends were critiquing his movie, so he knows "Love and Thunder" wasn't the best. Hemsworth admits it's hard to tell how people will respond when he's in the middle of filming. Sometimes it's good, like with "Ragnarok," while other times there's plenty of room for improvement, like with "Love and Thunder."
While the latest installment of his superhero journey didn't play out as he hoped, this isn't a first for Hemsworth, as even he recognizes that it doesn't get much worse than "Thor: The Dark World."
"The first one is good, the second one is meh," he said in a different interview with GQ. Meanwhile, "Ragnarok" brought much-needed change to keep the character feeling fresh. Following "Love and Thunder," it seems Thor may have hit a similar roadblock as it did with "The Dark World."
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