The anticipation for Thor: Love and Thunder had reached a fever pitch, leading up to its release in July 2022. Following the success of its predecessor, and with Natalie Portman’s franchise return and Christian Bales MCU debut, all signs pointed to another commercial and critical hit for Marvel Studios. Upon its release, however, the movie was met with mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Some people had grown tired of director Taika Waititi’s humor, while others thought it may be time for Thor to lay down his hammer for good. One of the biggest issues is the inaccessibility of the movie to a general audience.
Above all else, a complaint that most could seemingly agree on is the manner with which the character of Gorr the God Butcher is used and the standout performance given by Christian Bale in that role. There are many factors that contributed to this, from directing to writing, to the overall direction of the character. Let’s examine why Gorr the God Butcher was wasted in Thor: Love and Thunder.
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Butchering Off-Screen
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
When we meet Gorr as a mere mortal man struggling with his faith, wondering why the gods have forsaken him, his friends, his family, and his home. When Gorr loses his daughter, he begins to be drawn in by a cosmic and unholy weapon, the Necrosword. After forsaking his god, Rapu, and murdering him, Gorr vows to kill all gods for their cruelty and betrayal of those who worship them. And that my friend, within 10 minutes of the film, is the only “god butchering” we see from the God Butcher. We may even hear more screeches from Thor’s flying pet goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr throughout the movie than we see butchering by Gorr.
While this is partly understandable, Marvel Studios is owned by Walt Disney Studios, and most Marvel films tend to lean heavily on their family-friendly elements. However, Marvel has not been afraid to address darker themes before. Half of our favorite heroes were dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Certainly, no one was asking for or wanting a 2 1/2 hour bloodbath either. We meet Gorr as this man who has given up on his faith, and by the time we see him again he is a full-on god-killing psycho, but we do not see any of these actions. Even the death of Thor’s friend and fellow god, Falligar, is brushed over in the movie. At the end of the film, the audience is asked to empathize with Gorr and the loss of his daughter, which is easy for them to do, given how he is presented throughout the movie. More scenes of him slaying gods, and perhaps even some fan-favorite characters, and you have a much more complex question to present to your audience on whether to empathize with this man or not.
And the Oscar Goes to Gorr
Gorr the God Butcher is an extremely complex character within Marvel Comics history; he possesses much more depth than the film itself even begins to explore. A Marvel villain with one of the most complex histories we have seen chosen to be put on screen. When it was announced that Christian Bale was being cast as this villain in the fourth installment of the Thor franchise, we knew he would knock it out of the park. The performance given by Bale in the movie may be one of his best ever, as he fell completely into the character of Gorr. Bale is known for committing himself 100% to every role he takes on, and transforming himself completely to fit the character. His commitment to his craft is on full display in the movie, and he gives nothing but his 100% best with what he is given. The problem is that what he is given is, at times, not the best.
Not only was the character of Gorr wasted in Love and Thunder, but wasted along with it was an all-time performance by Christian Bale. Marvel has featured compelling and in-depth stories for villains in the past, including Killmonger, Thanos, and Scarlet Witch. These characters were not only given the chance to grow and thrive, but they paid off through the performances of the actors portraying them. What could have been an all-time best villain performance paired with an iconic villain on screen was marred by a lack of focus on the character himself. This is understandable to a degree. After all, the movie is a Thor movie, not a Gorr movie, but the movie nevertheless wasted Gorr the God Butcher. Marvel fans can only hope that any potential Thor 5 takes a different direction than its predecessors.
