The Single Biggest Mistake Each MCU Film And TV Show Has Made

33. Thor: The Dark World - The Complete Lack Of Energy

Avengers Endgame Thor
Paramount Pictures

Even after the disaster that was Phase 4, Thor: The Dark World is still arguably the very worst film in the MCU.

Yes, the MCU has given us a few other duds, but at the very least, its other failures had something going for them. The first Thor had a moving hero's journey, Ant-Man and the Wasp was very funny at times, Black Widow had mostly solid performances, Eternals had great ideas, Doctor Strange 2 and Thor 4 were both beautifully directed, and Ant-Man 3 had an awesome lead villain. As regarding the second-worst MCU film, Iron Man 2, at least that one was trying to do something, even if it did it badly.

But what does The Dark World have? Nothing. This is the most vanilla, unadventurous, generic and boring thing imaginable. None of those video game-like action sequences are fun, none of the comedy lands, there's no compelling dramatic material; truly, the MCU had never felt so lifeless.

If you asked an algorithm to come up with a superhero film based on all the genre's clichés and tropes, Thor: The Dark World is probably what it'd come up with. It felt like no-one involved was even trying, and aside from one admittedly great scene - the funeral of Thor's mother (Rene Russo) - the film never comes to life at all.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.