5 Marvel movies that definitely should have been better

Since Iron Man premiered in 2008 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born, Marvel has done an incredible job cranking out hit after hit after hit leading up to Avengers: Endgame in 2019. In the years since Endgame premiered and wrapped up many storylines set up by the many MCU before it, there have been more than a few MCU movies that didn't live up to the hype. We picked five Marvel movies that just should have been better for this list.

To preface, these Marvel movies are not bad movies. There are so many good moments in each of the movies listed, and I'm a fan of each one, although some more than others. Marvel created a high bar with the inception and execution of the MCU, and some of the recent additions haven't reached that high bar.

Let's get the list started with one of the more disappointing of the recent MCU movies, and that's Thor: Love and Thunder.

Thor: Love and Thunder

• Release Date: July 8, 2022
• Directed by Taika Waititi
• Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman

Thor: Love and Thunder premiered in theaters in the summer of 2022. Taika Waititi returned as director and also starred in the film, along with Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman. With such a stellar cast, fans had high hopes for Thor: Love and Thunder, but the movie fell flat in a lot of ways.

The film follows Thor (Hemsworth), Jane Foster (Portman), and the gang team up to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Bale), an excellent villain that wasn't used properly in the movie. I don't think the film was bad, by any means, but it left a lot on the table. It could have been better. The pacing was way off, and the story's wheels spent too long spinning without taking viewers anywhere.

After Thor: Ragnarok, it's safe to say expectations were way too high for Thor: Love and Thunder. I'm guilty of expecting way too much from the movie. Ragnarok was a tighter story and featured a better villain. It also fits very well with other storylines within the MCU ahead of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Thor: Love and Thunder did not have the benefit of any of those three things mentioned, so it's hard to hold that against it.

Still, Love and Thunder should have been better. It's hard to put my finger on what exactly didn't work for me. Bale was great as Gorr, but we need much more Bale and much less screaming goats. I love ridiculous storylines, jokes, and all of that. I'm a huge fan of Waititi. Thor: Love and Thunder just didn't do it. Under different circumstances, this movie could have been so much better.

Thor: Love and Thunder isn't the worst of the Thor movies, but it's not the best either.

Continue to the next page for the other Marvel movies that just should have been better.