Christian Bale makes his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder, but the villain does not mesh well with the movie he appears in. Outside of the towering presence of Josh Brolin's Thanos, it is safe to say that the villains are not usually the big draw for any particular Marvel movie. In fact, many would argue that some MCU outings actually succeed in spite of having a bad or boring villain, coasting on the strength of breathtaking visuals, exciting action, and heroes that are easy to root for.

In the case of Thor: Love and Thunder though, lots of moviegoers were looking forward to seeing how the MCU would make use of Gorr the God Butcher, a fairly recent creation in the pantheon of Marvel Comics. A big part of that anticipation was not so much about Gorr the character, but about the man who would play him, Oscar-winner Christian Bale. Bale famously said he was done with superhero movies after Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, so getting him back was an immediate draw for potential viewers.

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True to form, Bale gives a great performance as Gorr, crafting a villain who exudes a true sense of menace and feels like a real threat to the lives of Thor, Valkyrie, and Jane Foster. The problem is, Bale's deadly serious, sometimes monstrous villain performance as Gorr just does not fit in with the rest of Thor: Love and Thunder. While Thor: Ragnarok had a very comedic tone, director Taika Waititi takes the silliness up to eleven in Love and Thunder, with the relentless joke assault only really stopping when Gorr is onscreen or Jane's cancer is shown getting worse. Bale is doing work as Gorr that would be much better suited to a more serious-minded Marvel epic, but instead his appearances all feel like a case of mood whiplash.

Love & Thunder Proves Marvel's Constant Comedy Is Undercutting Its Villains

Gorr the God Butcher holding a sword in Thor Love and Thunder

While the contrast between Christian Bale's Gorr characterization and the movie he inhabits is the most pronounced case of this kind in the MCU so far, this is not the first time Marvel Studios' love of comedy has served to undercut one of its villains. To be sure, there is nothing wrong with a healthy amount of humor in a superhero movie, and many DC movies and shows have proven that going the completely dark and serious route is often not for the best.

Still, there is a fine line to walk when crafting a Marvel movie, as it can be hard to take the characters seriously if the movie doesn't pull back on the wackiness. After the smash success of Thor: Ragnarok, it feels like Waititi's reigns were loosened as far as how wild he could go. While that does result in some genuinely hilarious moments, Thor: Love and Thunder sometimes does not seem to know exactly what it wants to be.

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