1. Thor (2011)
Don’t worry, no-one is going to say that Marvel’s Thor wasn’t a successful movie, so please don’t gather up your torches and pitchforks. However, its titular hero does lean heavily on mythology in a fairly inconsiderate manner.
While the characters and story used in the MCU’s Thor were generally all established by Marvel back in the ’60s, that doesn’t excuse the blatant appropriation and re-writing of Norse mythology.
Taking Norse Gods and making them superheroes isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but 2011’s Thor makes the Asgardians less Gods and more advanced aliens.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t work within the overall narrative of the MCU, but it still buries a large aspect of an entire mythology before running away with the bits it wants to keep. For a slightly different perspective, imagine if the MCU had Jesus running around, except he was a super-powered alien (oh, wait, that actually sounds pretty awesome… maybe Marvel were right). Taking deities and using them as characters in a movie isn’t overly sensitive to the culture they’re borrowed from, but luckily, it didn’t seem to hurt Thor‘s box office appeal at all.
And that’s the list. If you enjoyed it, why not check out 7 Movies That Played Fast And Loose With History? You can also drop any feedback below in the comments.
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