The Single Biggest Mistake Each MCU Film Has Made
3. Thor: Bad Action
The Film:
Thor is unexciting, weakly plotted and often dull, but it's lifted from 'bad' to 'mediocre' by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, director Kenneth Branagh and some interesting character development.
Many enjoy Thor just fine, which is fair enough since it's merely an OK movie instead of a bad one, but it generally ends up on the lower end of MCU rankings and this isn't surprising at all.
Thor's focus on humor and character development was admirable, but it got the balance wrong. When you go into a superhero film you want to see some good action, but Thor offers virtually none of that. The action sequences away from earth are OK, but the action on earth is hugely underwhelming and always ends far too quickly. In particular the battle with the Destroyer on earth is a ridiculously tedious set-piece.
Thor and Loki's character moments are very well-done (despite how terrible Thor's romance with Jane Foster is), but by neglecting to provide any memorable action Thor really slipped up, since with any superhero movie some epic spectacle is a big part of its hook.
Fix:
Focus less on the annoying human scientists quipping and serve up some genuinely entertaining action.