What Thor: Love & Thunder's Gorr Reactions Reveal About Bale's Villain
Early reactions to Thor: Love and Thunder shed some much-needed light on the movie's mysterious villain, Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher. Ever since Bale's casting was announced, speculation has run rife over how the notoriously intense actor would shape and define the movie. But, while many critics have been quick to commend the British star's performance, it's clear that there's much more to the movie than Bale chewing scenery.
Although the MCU has enjoyed plenty of critical and commercial success since its inception, one area that the franchise has struggled with is its villains. While Josh Brolin's Thanos was praised as a nuanced, brooding and tragic presence, and Tom Hiddleston's turn as Loki turned him into an international superstar, MCU antagonists as a whole have lacked the well-rounded characterization of some of their blockbuster contemporaries. Compared to the likes of Heath Ledger's Joker (who famously starred opposite Bale in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight), figures like Malekith, Ghost and Taskmaster have been largely bland and forgettable – slowly blending into one homogenous and dispensible baddie. As a result, one of the major challenges for every MCU director is to repair the saga's reputation for creating a worthy opponent for its heroes.
Related: Why Thor Really Calls Rocket Raccoon A Rabbit
If the early reactions to Thor: Love and Thunder are anything to go by, however, director Taiki Waititi may very well have done enough to ensure that Christian Bale enters the top tier of MCU villains. Not only do many critics describe him as a genuinely sinister, malevolent presence, but it's also clear that in a movie not short of levity, Bale brings a terrifying intensity to the screen. As a result,
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