Chris Hemsworth Talks Marvel, Thor Criticisms

The actor’s latest foray as the God of Thunder in the 2022 movie Thor: Love and Thunder was met with a decidedly mixed reaction, garnering 63% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.2 on IMDb.

According to the profile, some critics of the movie included the friends of Chris’ 8-year-old son. “It’s a bunch of 8-year-olds critiquing my film: ‘We thought this one had too much humor, the action was cool but the VFX weren’t as good,’” Chris recalled. “I cringe and laugh equally at it.”

When it came to the adult critics’ reactions, Chris said, “I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly.”

“It’s always hard being in the centre of it and having any real perspective…I love the process, it’s always a ride. But you just don’t know how people are going to respond.”

Two big criticisms of the MCU have come in recent years from Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. The former even referenced Chris explicitly in his argument that the “Marvel-ization of Hollywood” had led to the decline of the movie star, saying, “Thor is the star.”

“That’s super depressing when I hear that,” Chris said of the comments. “There goes two of my heroes I won’t work with. I guess they’re not a fan of me.”

“I’m thankful that I have been a part of something that kept people in cinemas. Now, whether or not those films were to the detriment of other films, I don’t know,” he continued. “I don’t love when we start scrutinizing each other when there’s so much fragility in the business and in this space of the arts as it is.”

“I say that less to the directors who made those comments, who are all, by the way, still my heroes, and in a heartbeat I would leap to work with any of them. But I say it more to the broader opinion around that topic.”

When it comes to the criticism of the MCU that all the stakes are too high, Chris explained, “That’s the trick: you have to separate all those stories. The moment it’s like, ‘Your world is in danger, the entire universe!’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, so [it] was the last 24 films.’ It has to become a bit more personal and grounded.”

Chris is still open to reprising his role as Thor, depending on “what they have to offer creatively, if there is something new” for the character. That being said, he added, “But I really wanna do some other stuff for a while.”