MCU Good Parts

Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Current rank: 9 of 33

Before rewatch:

• Scenes I love: I found Wanda’s grief very powerful.  Some of the Illuminati stuff, the musical note fight.  Zombie Strange.  Though I like most of this stuff more than love.

• Expectations: I have this movie ranked surprisingly high.  Unlike most reviews, I find Wanda’s desperate need to return to her kids totally believable, even after the events of WandaVision.  I also like Sam Raimi’s horror-lite take on the MCU.  But will I still rate it so positively?  Not sure.

Rewatch stats:

• Time to process: 56:00

• Length of cut scenes: 9:42  

• Length of iffy scenes: 0:00

• Length of total movie: 2:06:15

• % with cut scenes: 92%

• % with iffy scenes: 92%

• Hero scenes kept: 100%

• Villain scenes kept: 100%

• Action scenes kept: 100%

• Time of scenes I love: 0:00

After rewatch: Wow, nothing cut, nothing loved.  Though to be fair, there are a bunch of scenes that I like an awful lot.  

Thor: Love and Thunder

Current rank: 13 of 33

Before rewatch:

• Scenes I love: Natalie Portman is a treasure in this, way more so than in her previous two appearances.  

• Expectations: Her relationship with Thor, their interactions, is probably the only reason this movie is as high as it is.  Something about it resonates with me.  Not sure if it’ll hold up, we’ll see…

Rewatch stats:

• Time to process: 1:20:00

• Length of cut scenes: 22:55

• Length of iffy scenes: 27:00

• Length of total movie: 1:58:27

• % with cut scenes: 81%

• % with iffy scenes: 58%

• Hero scenes kept: 62%

• Villain scenes kept: 67%

• Action scenes kept: 71%

• Time of scenes I love: 30:59

After rewatch: I would never have thought going into this movie that Korg would be the worst part.  And yet, there he is: Totally grating and almost never as funny as Taika Waititi thinks he is.

This movie is well in the bottom third in terms of cut/iffy scenes.  And yet it’s fifth in time of scenes I love!  What an insane juxtaposition of great and not-great scenes.  As predicted, I got sucked right back into the Jane/Thor love story.  So where does it rank this time around?

1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Captain America: Civil War

3. Captain America: Winter Soldier

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

5. Avengers: Infinity War

6. Shang-Chi

7. Avengers: Age of Ultron

8. Ant-Man/Wasp

9. Avengers

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming

11. Captain America

12. Dr Strange 2

13. Thor: Love and Thunder

14. Spider-Man: Far From Home

15. Iron Man 2

16. Black Widow

17. Black Panther

18. Iron Man

19. Ant-Man

20. Dr Strange

21. Iron Man 3

22. Thor 3

23. Captain Marvel

24. Thor

25. Thor 2

26. Guardians of the Galaxy

27. Guardians of the Galaxy 2

28. Hulk

29. Eternals

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder

TLDR: A cute little movie, but a little slight considering the fact that gods are getting slain.  I’m one of the few people who weren’t blown away by Thor: Ragnarok, and Taika Waititi’s humor is even less effective in this one (The scene where Sif loses her arm, plus all the nonsense with Russell Crowe’s Zeus fall completely flat for me.)  Other thoughts:

I love Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor.  She’s completely charming and delightful, though I couldn’t get the image of her standing on risers the entire time to give her six inches of height.  Her romance with Thor has some genuinely touching moments, and her death struck an emotional chord.  (And unlike Kirk’s resurrection in Star Trek: Into Darkness, I had no problem with her immediate revival in Valhalla at the end of the film.)

Screaming goats can’t be beat.

It’s too cute that Chris Hemsworth’s daughter, India, plays his adopted daughter here.  Their dynamic at the end is adorable.  

I’m not sure about all the kids getting Thor’s power.  It’s cute, but a little too cute.  

Christian Bale’s an odd combination of Fiennes’ Voldemort, Cage’s Castor Troy, Romero’s Joker, and Spence’s Mouth of Sauron.  I’m not the biggest fan of his portrayal, though there are definite moments where his grief as a father shines through.  

The final battle being resolved by “choose love, not hate” is anticlimactic, but it’s still better than the generic epic CGI battle that ends most MCU films.  

Love all the Gun ‘N Roses sound cues.  

This feels like a natural stopping point for Thor’s journey in the MCU.  Hemsworth has created an iconic character here, and deserves all the plaudits.  But he’s done enough, and it’s time for Portman’s Thor to take the hammer from him and carry on.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes 

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Captain America: Civil War

3. Captain America: Winter Soldier

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

5. Ant Man/Wasp

6. Avengers: Infinity War

7. Shang-Chi

8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

9. Black Panther

10. Captain America: First Avenger

11. Spider-Man: Homecoming

12. Avengers

13. Thor: Love and Thunder

14. Avengers: Age of Ultron

15. Spider-Man: Far From Home

16. Thor: Ragnarok

17. Iron Man 2

18. Captain Marvel

19. Black Widow

20. Ant-Man

21. Iron Man 1

22. Iron Man 3

23. Doctor Strange

24. Guardians 1

25. Guardians 2

26. Eternals

27. Thor

28. Hulk

29. Thor 2