If by chance you'll be new to the MCU by the time "Thor: Love and Thunder" releases on July 8, 2022, you may be wondering which of the MCU films you should watch before its release. Thor is actually making a bit of history within the MCU. "Love and Thunder" will mark the first time that a Marvel superhero will be starring in a fourth solo film. Iron Man, Captain America, and the MCU's version of Spider-Man have only had three solo outings.
So, there are three Thor movies to catch. In addition to that, Thor has appeared in all four Avengers films. That means that you'll have to watch those as well. Below is the viewing order for the films and a brief description/review for each film. Enjoy!
When Marvel was setting up its Cinematic Universe, "Thor" was announced alongside films for Hulk, a sequel to Iron Man, and the first Captain America film. On the road to the original "Avengers" film, I was a bit hesitant about this film. I had never been a Thor fan and, as a kid, I didn't really like the character at all.
Thankfully, that all changed with Kenneth Branagh's "Thor". He chose wisely to introduce this epic part of the MCU through an adventure set mostly in a small town in New Mexico. Thor has lost his powers as a result of defying his father, Odin, and is banished to Earth where Odin hopes that his son will learn the error of his ways.
The movie contains a lot of fun action and great performances from both Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. On top of that, there are also great supporting performances from Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Stellan Skarsgârd Erik Selvig, and Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis. This may not rank high on many people's lists of MCU films, but I find it to be a suitable introduction for Marvel's true Strongest Avenger
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| 4/5 STARS |
Thor's next adventure came when his brother Loki returned to Earth in order to conquer it for an unknown enemy (revealed to be Thanos in the post-credit scene). The movie was the first to bring together all of Marvel Studios' heroes at the time and expanded the MCU yet again. As far as Thor's role is concerned, he simply wants to capture Loki and bring him home.
In order to do that, though, he has to reluctantly agree to be apart of the Avengers, a new team of superheroes set up by Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The movie turned out to be an absolute blast as our heroes definitely ended up working well together. The final battle in New York City alone is worth the price of admission.
The MCU's future was secured with this movie and Thor was officially one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The movie is also another great showcase for Hiddleston as Loki, one of the best MCU villains. He proves to be more than a suitable threat to bring these heroes together for the first time. "The Avengers" is 10 years old this year and it still ranks high on my list of MCU films.
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| 5/5 STARS |
When Thor returned for his second outing, it didn't get quite the reception from fans that I thought it deserved. However, my own opinions on the film have cooled as well over the years. I still think it's better than what its worst critics give it credit for, but I do understand why it ranks lower among other MCU films.
The movie sees Thor trying to fight off the Dark Elves that have returned. Meanwhile, he's also trying to save Jane Foster who has been infected with a force known as the Aether. Then, of course, there is Loki who Thor must contend with after Loki's shenanigans in both "Thor" and "The Avengers".
While I enjoy this adventure, the biggest problem is that Thor is facing off against a completely forgettable and cliché villain known as Malekith. Therefore, it also wastes its actor Christopher Eccleston and that's the biggest shame in an otherwise action-packed adventure. I still think it's worthy, but "The Dark World" falls pretty close to the bottom even on my own rankings of the MCU films.
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| 3/5 STARS |
First thing is first, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a lot of fun to watch! From the opening to the final battle in Sokovia, The movie has a lot to offer. This includes a slam bang fight between the Hulk and Iron Man, a chase to capture a vital item from Ultron before he gets his hands on it, and the first hints that there is a fracture between a couple of heroes that will play out later on in "Captain America: Civil War".
The problem with this movie is that it sets in between the original film, "The Avengers", and the climactic conclusion of the Infinity Saga found in both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame". Therefore, I'm afraid that this movie is kind of forgotten amongst all the other MCU films.
As far as Thor is concerned, he is in this film and featured in many of the biggest set pieces. However, he also kind of bounces for most of the film while trying to find out more about the infinity stone held within the scepter and to try and decipher some apocalyptic visions he's been having lately. That means that compared to the other heroes, he doesn't have much to do but it is still worth watching as it does set up some of his motivations for his next solo outing.
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| 4/5 STARS |
Now, for a lot of people this is where Thor really came into his own with both adventure and humor at his side! Director Taika Waititi hits the ground running with an adventure worthy of the likes of Marvel's own "Guardians of the Galaxy" and other films outside the MCU such as John Carpenter's "Big Trouble in Little China". Gone is all the melodramatic seriousness found in "The Dark World".
Not only is Hemsworth having a blast here, so is the rest of the cast. Hiddleston turns in another fantastic performance as Loki, Anthony Hopkins briefly returns one last time as Odin, Jeff Goldblum is great as the Grandmaster, Tessa Thompson is electric as Valkyrie, Mark Ruffalo is great as the Hulk, and Cate Blanchett steals every scene she is in as Hela, the goddess of death and Thor's long lost sister.
I love every frame of this movie and I'm also glad that it gave Hemsworth a breath of fresh air when it was revealed that before this movie, he was thinking about hanging up the hammer for good. Waititi finally cracked the code on how to properly portray Hemsworth's epic superhero and I can't wait to see what they do next with "Thor: Love and Thunder"!
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| 5/5 STARS |
Thor's next adventure would pick up in the next Avengers film and pick up right where "Thor: Ragnarok's" post-credit scene ended. Thanos has found Thor and Loki and is trying to get the infinity stone from the Tesseract, something that Loki stole before leaving Asgard. Thanos gets the stone and Thor finds himself stranded in space until he's picked up by the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Thor then goes on a mission to get a new weapon after the destruction of Mjölnir in "Ragnarok". This teams him up with Rocket Raccoon and Groot and this proves to be a fun team-up. While they're on a quest to make a new weapon, the rest of our heroes are trying to stop Thanos before he can get all the stones.
This movie is damn near perfect from beginning to end. Every hero gets their due, the action is astounding, and the cliffhanger ending is both shocking yet also satisfying. Thor had a much better role in this movie than he did in "Age of Ultron" and the directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, successfully pick up where Waititi left off with the character.
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| 5/5 STARS |
When we return after "Infinity War" for the "Endgame", the Avengers are done for and five years has passed since Thanos successfully got all of the Infinity Stones and managed to wipe out half of the Universe. Eventually, though, Ant-Man returns from the Quantum Realm and states that there is a way to bring everyone back.
This means gathering the original Avengers together so that they can go throughout various points in time to recapture the Infinity Stones (Thanos destroyed them after using them) in order to bring everyone back. This movie is another solid piece of entertainment and one of the best MCU films as it wraps up the Infinity Saga, a story that began with 2008's "Iron Man".
Thor is in a bit of a rough place since losing to Thanos. He's horribly out of shape and barely running New Asgard on Earth. In this movie, he sees a chance for redemption while also wondering if he is still worthy. Despite being out of shape, though, Thor is no less powerful and plays a big part not only in retrieving the Infinity Stones but also in the massive climactic battle between the Avengers and Thanos' numerous forces.
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| 5/5 STARS |
At the end of the day, Thor is in a very good place going into "Love and Thunder". It'll be interesting to see where Thor's path goes in the MCU's latest storyline that is heavily focused on the Multiverse. My hope is that Hemsworth at least stays on to sort of be the elder Avenger as a new team emerges in other films. I don't know if that'll happen, but at the very least, I'm definitely ready for "Love and Thunder" on July 8!
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