Note: Contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have done amazing work with some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's top characters.
For instance, Captain America: Civil War showed their masterful grip on Cap and Iron Man, weaving a heartbreaking tale of betrayal out of their friendship.
But for some reason, when it comes to Thor, not so much.
Chris Hemsworth's cheeky god of thunder has changed a lot since his introduction in his original 2011 solo movie.
The actor has admitted that he was a bit sick of Thor's initial portrayal as the blond-eyebrowed, faux-English-accented, somewhat stuffy character of the earlier films (though we'll always have him smashing mugs).
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But in 2017, Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok developed Odinson in some brilliant ways. Taking advantage of Hemsworth's comedic skills, the film also pushed his character in new directions by shattering his hammer and consequently shattering his confidence, and then teaching him to trust in himself and his innate abilities. Out of that film comes a character ready to lead the Asgardians in Odin's place.
Then Avengers: Infinity War happened.
The Guardians of the Galaxy find Thor floating in space after his defeat by Thanos. He comes to, and we can only assume that he suffered some kind of head trauma, because beyond a token expression of loss, he's basically reverted to being an arrogant idiot.
He picks a fight with Star-Lord for no reason, calls Rocket a rabbit and generally acts like a knob. He gets some action scenes and kicks some arse with Stormbreaker but not much more than that.
Avengers: Endgame opens with him basically in mourning because of his failure to stop Thanos from erasing half the life in the universe, which is fair enough. Thanks to the time-travel shenanigans, he also gets the chance to see his mother, Frigga (Rene Russo), one more time, which is undeniably touching.
But it's all undermined by the fact that Thor is played in the film as one long fat joke.
You see, the Russos and their screenwriter collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely decided to express his feelings of regret and guilt by showing that he has hidden himself away, playing video games with Korg and Miek, drinking endless amounts of beer and putting on weight.
Iron Man calls him "Big Lebowski", and the comparisons to Jeff Bridges' The Dude are frighteningly accurate. He wears a ragged beard and dirty bathrobe and spends a lot of the film cringing from danger. Not only does the joke wear thin very quickly, but it also feels incredibly mean-spirited.
The MCU may be populated solely by thin and musclebound characters (the only people we can think of who defy that are Happy Hogan and Spider-Man's pal Ned, in that they look like their lives don't centre around the gym), but Marvel has a huge fanbase of all shapes and sizes. Not only has the MCU failed to represent different body types, it's now actively turning overweight people – not to mention alcoholism and depression – into the butt of an unfunny joke.
Not only is the portrayal of 'Fat Thor' unkind but Hemsworth's performance is so broad and silly that it completely undercuts the genuine tragedy of his situation. Russo is left to do the heavy lifting for their reunion scene and she manages to pull it out of the fire, but only in spite of this dire take on Thor.
The film ends with Thor – who finally gained his confidence and stepped up to fill Odin's shoes in Ragnarok – decide that nah, he isn't actually a leader at all. He chooses instead to join the Guardians on their intergalactic adventures, promising more tedious standoffs with Star-Lord until Hemsworth's contract finally expires.
Endgame completely undoes the good work that Waititi did with Thor in Ragnarok. In the tightly controlled and usually carefully considered MCU, it's a duff note that jars with the beautiful treatment of Cap and Iron Man.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will have its work cut out undoing the damage that has been done to the god of thunder.
Avengers: Endgame is out now.
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Disney/Marvel Studios Avengers: Endgame 4K Includes Bonus Disk [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]
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Disney/Marvel Studios Avengers: 1-4 Complete Blu-ray Boxset Includes Bonus Disk [2019] [Region Free]
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