Considering just how big the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become, even if you’re not a huge fan, you probably have a movie or two that you enjoy. Of course, the actors who appear in the MCU have their favorites as well. And a lot of them, as it turns out, actually love the same movie: Thor: Ragnarok.
Speaking with six different actors who have appeared in the MCU, Disney’s D23 Fan Club finds four of them of them who are big fans of Taika Waititi’s first outing directing a Marvel film. Both Simu Liu and Iman Vilani list it among their favorites, as does Ant-Man star Paul Rudd, who said…
I’ve really enjoyed all the Marvel movies – and I’m not just saying that because [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige has my phone number. I really do! But I gotta say Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are two of my favorites.
However, one of the more surprising people who put Ragnarok on the top of their list was Natalie Portman. She’s one of the few who picks a franchise that she’s actually part of, but she picks the one Thor movie she wasn’t in, saying…
I do love Thor: Ragnarok. It just makes you smile the whole time.
To be fair, it’s completely understandable why so many people love Thor: Ragnarok, it’s actually just a flat-out great movie in my opinon. Portman’s comment that it makes you smile the whole time is right on the money. The movie is fun, funny and exciting in equal measure. Whatever it is you love about Marvel movies, or just movies in general, Thor: Ragnarok has it. It’s one of the best MCU movies to date.
Paul Rudd, being a part of one of the other comedy-focused corners of the MCU is sure to appreciate the movies in the franchise that have made you laugh. Natalie Portman made her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the movie that followed Ragnarok. It seems quite likely that her love for it is part of the reason Taikia Waititi was able to convince her to come back in a single meeting.
The fact that many of the follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder took things a little too far (even Chris Hemsworth sees it as a failure) shows just how precarious the balance was, and how easy it was to overdo it all.
One thing that’s probably worth noting, is that of all the movies mentioned by the various stars, none of them call a movie that has been released post-Avengers: Endgame their favorite. That’s probably something that Marvel would like to change. Perhaps one of the other upcoming Marvel movies will become somebody’s favorite.