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The MCU has been capturing the imagination of moviegoers and converting many of them to superhero nerds for almost two decades now, but it’s also been responsible for drastically altering the career trajectories of many of its prominent stars. Among those most affected wasChris Hemsworth. The Aussie heartthrob may be a household name now, but before he first wielded Thor’s mighty hammer, he wasn’t well-known outside Australian soaps.
However, after a brief 2009 appearance as Kirk’s father in J.J. Abrams’Star Trek,Hemsworth went on to gain some recognition for his gritty portrayal of Kyle Garrity inPerfect Getaway.Histruebreakwould come two years later when he was given the role of the title character and becameone of the original AvengersinThor,alongside a stellar cast that included the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, and Rene Russo.
The rest is history, as Chris Hemsworth went on to star in many other highly popular movies, like theExtractionfilms and, more recently,Furiosa: AMad Max Saga.This, all while earning a reputation as one of the most popular and desired movie stars in the world along the way. However, given that popularity, it’s easy to forget that he’s been in some stinkers too — like the highly maligned 2015 Michael Mann film he starred in calledBlackhat.
‘Blackhat’ Never Quite Lived Up to Its Billing
Premiering in 2015 at the TCL Chinese Theater in LA,Blackhatstarred Chris Hemsworth as a convicted hacker named Nick Hathaway, who was temporarily released to help US and Chinese officials on a joint task force to stop a very dangerous cyber syndicate. He was cast alongside Viola Davis and Chinese actress Tang Wei. The film featured someintriguing depictions of hackingand other high-level cyber narratives mixed in with action and suspense.
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However, despite an engaging premise coupled with a good cast and director, the film was quite a let-down in many respects.For Michael Mann especially, this was quite a surprise. As a highly acclaimed filmmaker with a BAFTA win, two Primetime Emmys, and four Academy Award nominations to his name, Mann was well known for making some thrilling films in the past, likeTheLast of the Mohicans.Given his superb credentials and solid body of work, the film was initially billed as an exciting venture and, between the reputation of Mann and the massive stardom of Hemsworth, seemed like a project that couldn’t fail, yet it did — badly!
‘Blackhat’ Was a Failure Across Multiple Fronts
Aside from receiving largely mixed to negative reviews that left it with a paltry 32% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes,Blackhatwas alsoa commercial failure,earning just $19.7 million against a budget of $70 million. Given the stature of Mann as a director and just how popular and famous Chris Hemsworth was already becoming when it was released, this was kind of an unforgivable result for the film. In the end, even all the hype and buzz around Hemsworth at the time was unable to helpBlackhatfind any semblance of success.
In fact, in addition to many prominent critics skewering the film, it achieved an even lower audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and only holds a 24% rating in that regard. This was quite unexpected. For starters, one has to remember just how crazy the world was about Chris Hemsworth. At the time, he was People Magazine’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive, and if you think titles like that don’t matter, consider that Hemsworth’s popularity led to his MCU salary going from $3 million forAvengers: Age of Ultronto between $15 and $20 million by the time he starred inEndgameandThor: Ragnarok.
Chris Hemsworth Quickly Rebounded
Despite all the negative noise aroundBlackhatand its director and stars at the time, we all know that Hollywood is a fickle town. In the end, the failure of the film was merely a tiny blip on theradar of Chris Hemsworth’s careerever since. 10 years on, he’s still considered one of the most popular stars around and continues to star in huge blockbusters. Not bad at all, considering he’s now 41 years old and officially entered the more mature end of his career.
That maturity has certainly shown, too. He went on to add new credits like producer and executive producer to his filmography. From starring in irreverent comedies to thrillers and dramas and his recently acclaimed voice role asOptimus Prime inTransformers One,it’s safe to say thatBlackhat’ssuccess never had much of a lasting impact on his career.
Why Chris Hemsworth Remains a Leading Man of Modern Hollywood
His obvious looks and physique aside, one of them is the fact that he’s undeniably talented. Not only can he be devastatingly charming in a film, buthe’s also perfectly adept at being funny, dramatic, intimidating, or just plain fun and sweet. It’s this same kind of persona that he exudes off-screen as well that has so many fans and co-stars always gushing over him. As reported byYahoo News,here’s what Scarlett Johansson had to say about him on the red carpet at the 2015 G’day USA gala:
“He’s all at once sensitive and ferocious, otherworldly and grounded, is shockingly handsome and is surprisingly approachable. He is every man and like no man you’ve met before. He is versatile despite his physicality, which makes him a grade A movie star.”
Aside from all this, Hemsworth has since also developed a widely beloved persona as a family man. With numerous reports about the kind, gentle, and loving husband and father he’s known to be, fans continue to hang on to his every move. Still a part of the MCU and now withan incredible rangeand two new highly anticipated projects in the works,Blackhatremains an anomaly in the career of Chris Hemsworth and a film that never really hurt his career despite its failings. Nevertheless, if you’d still like to watch it,Blackhatis now streaming onNetflix.
