5. Does Jane Foster Need To Be In The Movie? - Thor: Ragnarok
Ask fans of Thor what they think of Natalie Portman and her ham-fisted excuse for a love interest character, Jane Foster, and you'll usually get an answer along the lines of: "I couldn't care less." It's not that Portman is bad in the role - it's just that she's entirely unnecessary and the part - that of a thankless girlfriend with nothing important to do - feels below her. Nobody has seen Jane since Thor: The Dark World, of course, and though her inclusion in the upcoming sequel, Thor: Ragnarok, probably wouldn't derail the movie entirely, one hopes that Marvel are smart enough to know a weak link when they see one. In other words, do they have the balls to simply break off her lame relationship with Thor and write her out? After all, the MCU is expanding at a rapid rate; any dead wood needs to be discarded before things get overwhelmed, and time spent with Thor and Jane from here on in is going to feel redundant in the grand scheme of things (she is always awkwardly missing in Avengers films). It's valuable time that could be spent on important narrative developments (or Loki).
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
