Thor: Love and Thunder is the God of Thunder’s most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, but is it Chris Hemsworth’s best performance as the character? Here they are ranked.
Thor: Love and Thunder premiered over the weekend and quickly became the No. 1 movie in the world. It was the third best opening of the year and Marvel Studios’ 12th best ever. This writer saw it and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a nice continuation to Taika Waititi’s Thor franchise. The actors helped make the story what it is.
Natalie Portman showed that Jane Foster has more to offer the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie proved that she deserves her own spin-off. And, of course, there’s Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. The God of Thunder was great. He came in and was goofy, loving, and showed that he’s the greatest god in the MCU. Was it his best outing?
Here are Chris Hemsworth’s performances as Thor ranked.
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Thor in Avengers: Age of Ultron was forgettable. It wasn’t Chris Hemsworth’s fault; this movie was more about the relationship between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers so it could lead to Captain America: Civil War. Then, there was the introduction of new characters Wanda and Pietro Maximoff and the Vision.
Thor was a big part of making sure that the Avengers accepted Vision as one of their own. He came to this realization after a vision. Unfortunately, that was about it. Overall, this wasn’t a bad outing for Chris Hemsworth. It just wasn’t something fans will go for when they think of the Odinson.
8. What if…?
This writer almost forgot about this one. If we did, we should all be ashamed. What if…?‘s Party Thor could be the most fun episode of any Marvel Studios project. The God of Thunder was all about having celebrations and there’s no better place for a god and beings from other realms to party than Las Vegas.
Even though Party Thor was an animated character, that doesn’t take away from how Chris Hemsworth was. He brought the God of Thunder to life. No one else could have done this like him. Hemsworth knew the inside and out of the Avenger he’s played for over a decade. Hopefully, we’ll see more of him in What If…? in the future.
7. Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World is this writer’s least favorite of the MCU movies. Most of it had to do with the villains. Malekith was an abomination compared to his comic book counterpart. Plus, he was bland. He was just another typical villain. Nevertheless, Hemsworth rocked as Thor. He wasn’t as silly as he was in the movies going forward. It was a perfect balance. But Malekith not being a good antagonist meant that the God of Thunder didn’t have someone worthy of him. If he did, Thor would have a classic rivalry instead of an underwhelming movie.
6. Thor: Love and Thunder
This was the latest movie for the God of Thunder. It was also the second in the franchise to be directed by Taika Waititi. While putting the article together, this writer had to take his personal feelings out of the ranking. It was a fun movie, but the Odinson may have been more over the top than fans might have wanted.
However, there were more than a few scenes where Hemsworth showed his range, especially when it came to romantic and somber moments with Jane Foster. This writer believes that people will go back and enjoy this film more than they originally thought, because it’s a lot of fun and Hemsworth is reliably great in the title role.
5. Thor
The first Thor movie isn’t looked at as fondly as it should be. Chris Hemsworth took the Odinson and showed audiences who he was before and after he learned humility. Going from arrogant deity to humble and loving Asgardian wasn’t an easy thing, but Hemsworth did it and made it look easy – so much so that it looked like it came right out of the comics.
The best part may have come when Thor realized that he was no longer worthy. His face showed pain, sorrow, and disbelief when he couldn’t lift Mjolnir. Not every actor can do something like this. If this project had a better ending, it may have been looked at more fondly, but Hemsworth’s performance was great.
4. Avengers: Endgame
Thor felt awful for not killing Thanos when he had the chance in Avengers: Infinity War. After that, he spiraled into depression. He became a drunk recluse and no longer looked like the God of Thunder. He lost all of his confidence. The Odinson spent more time battling people online than he did in real life. It wasn’t until the final battle with Thanos that he became the God of Thunder again. Even then, he hadn’t fought a physical battle in five years. Had he been in practice, Thanos would have lost his head.
3. Marvel’s The Avengers
The first Avengers movie was the beginning of one of the greatest franchises in movie history. Sure, Iron Man got the momentum going, but Marvel’s The Avengers showed that major actors could exist in one project. Among them was Chris Hemsowrth. Among all of the big names and characters, he made the Odoinson stand out.
Thor had a way of always doing something to make his presence known. A lot of it was him being an arrogant god and having great lines. “You want me to put the hammer down” and “You people are so petty and tiny” are only a couple of them. If you go back and watch Marvel’s The Avengers, you’ll see even more memorable moments.
2. Thor: Ragnarok
It was difficult to not make this number 1. Hemsworth was always good in his roles, but, if this movie failed, it could have been the last project starring the God of Thunder. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
Chris Hemsworth gave the best performance in any of his solo Thor projects in Thor: Ragnarok. This was the first time he had more fun than ever, and it was clear. That said, within all of the jokes and quips, he still managed to have deep scenes throughout the movie, especially when Thor saw his father die and Asgard being destroyed.
1. Avengers: Infinity War
This is where Hemsworth truly shined. Every possible emotion that could have been displayed was used. There was the pain of watching his brother Loki and best friend Heimdall killed in front of him while he was helpless, smoothness when he met the Guardians of the Galaxy, and rage and determination when he joined the battle in Wakanda.
The latter of those is this writer’s favorite MCU moment. It’ll be difficult to find someone who watched that scene and didn’t get goosebumps when Thor yelled, “Bring me Thanos!” Then there was the look of disappointment when he realized he should have aimed for the head.
You won’t find a better performance from Chris Hemsworth as Thor than you will in Avengers: Infinity War. Everything he’s done before and after in the MCU, he did even better here.
What do you think, readers? How would you rank Thor’s best Marvel Cinematic Universe performances? Let us know in the comments below.