Why the Guardians of the Galaxy Were Necessary in Thor: Love and Thunder

Even though Thor: Ragnarok was applauded by critics and audiences alike, Taika Waititi’s follow-up has split the parties right down the middle. Thor: Love and Thunder is dominating both at the box office and through social media chatter, for better or worse when it comes to the latter. Movie-goers are criticizing several aspects of the picture, though the involvement of the Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be a glaring issue with most who have problems with the flick. Except the film—or the story arc it contained, at least—likely wouldn’t have happened without the inclusion of the cosmic team.

Light spoilers up ahead for Thor: Love and Thunder — proceed with caution if you have yet to see the movie!

When all is said and done, the Guardians only appear at the beginning of the movie. After an opening sequence that sees Gorr (Christian Bale) kill his god with the Necrosword, the Guardians and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) fight intergalactic crime in a montage. After the quick montage, there’s an extended scene on an alien planet where the Guardians beg Thor for his help, only for the Asgardian to make quick work of the issue at hand.

The scene that follows, however, might be the most integral part of the entire movie.

Shrouded in Waititi’s typical in-your-face comedy is a rather serious conversation between the God of Thunder and Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill. The fabled space outlaw known as Star-Lord convinces Odinson to dig deep to find out who he truly is. Even though Thor isn’t convinced, it’s Quill’s conversation that persuades him to leave the team and try finding himself in a world that’s crumbling around him.

The Guardians aren’t a waste in the film by any stretch of the imaginton since they quite literally set everything in motion for Love and Thunder to be the movie it needs to be. In fact, this one scene alone packs one of the biggest punches in the entire flick. You can always count on the Guardians to know what’s best.

Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok, returns to direct Thor: Love and Thunder. He also co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, and Vin Diesel.

Thor: Love and Thunder is now in theaters.

What’d you think Thor: Love and Thunder? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!