I would easily claim to self-identify as a comic book nerd, especially when it comes to Marvel. As a kid, which is likely when a lot of people fall in love with comics, I had the time to invest in a lot of these heroes. Granted,there was always a tier, with X-Men and their various spinoffs being at the top, but followed by basically every other Marvel hero to some extent that existed in the 90’s. I remember having Spider-Man comics, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and even I think I got a Loki one. But, somehow, the gaggle of heroes clustered together to make the Thunderbolts eluded me. 9-year old me could have broken down the entire roster of Generation X, but had no idea what US Agent was. But, I’ve been here before. i had no prior knowledge of the Guardians Of The Galaxy either, and James Gunn made me love that franchise.
So can the director of Beef do the same thing? Yes? No? the internet has been ringing the death knoll for Marvel for years. But, it only keeps ramping up like a passive aggressive lifeboat looking for disillusioned nerds who think Kevin Feige has nothing left in him. Has he released deeply disappointing films? yes. Brave New World was very disappointing. has he released anything truly terrible? That depends on what you feel regarding Eternals or Black Widow, though Thor Love And Thunder is frequently blamed for all the problems, as is The MArvels. Hell, even Ant Man Quantummania and Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness are lumped in depending on the strength of the ire. Truly, the only films that seem safe by majority, are Deadpool And Wolverine, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3, Shang Chi, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, and Spider-Man No Way Home. Five films have been fueling Marvel fans basically since Endgame.
Now, we have one more. thunderbolts, while not perfect, is a great entry into the echelon of Marvel films, and likely will be seen as such in broad rankings of every Marvel film ever. It takes a bunch of characters no one really thought would be good to go in a film, and makes one out of this set of misfit toys. The lead with the most focus and screentime is Yelena (Florence Pugh) who has turned into the new Black Widow for better or worse (don’t worry, Scarlett Johansson is a producer here). Her character has been dealing with a lot, emotionally, and when the film finds her, the depression is quite real. But she’s also found at the same time that Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is under investigation. Valentina sends Yelena on one last mission, but as we learn, she wasn’t the only one who was sent. Yelena ends up running into Taskmaster, Ghost, and US Agent, and it takes them a little surprise tragedy to realize that they were all sent there to kill each other, and Valentina is trying to clean her slate. Of course, because Yelena is centric (but not the leader), Red Guardian (David Harbor) soon joins the fold, as does Bob (Lewis Pullman) a seemingly dorky individual who isn’t really sure why he’s here with a bunch of hand-to-hand combat veterans who are also exceptional on weapons. Basically everyone has the same power set except Ghost who can phase through walls. And since this review is mostly spoiler free, you also won’t get to learn any revelations on Bob.
Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has been leading the investigation into Valentina, which eventually leads him to the thunderbolts. they are a bickering mess of anti-heroes with no leader, and Bucky has the experience. you would think that would help Bucky, but this is very much still Yelena’s film, and she and the others are about to face Sentry, which is another project sent by Valentina to finally get rid of these third tier heroes. In this world, the Avengers are no more, and no one is coming to save these guys. Can they overcome all their various mental health doubts and depression to beat Sentry?
the film has a really fun ending, if I’m being honest. very creative. it also directly addresses why there’s an asterisk in the title. I liked so much about this film. Pugh is excellent. she handles the darker side of her character beautifully and becomes the Black Widow for 2025. She’s depressed, the government is actively trying to kill her, and it is very relatable. I also loved Harbor, who is the most comic relief of the film (though Wyatt Russell’s US Agent and Pullman both have their moments), and Stan is always welcome as Bucky continues to evolve.
The serious look at mental health, the plausible and practical action sequences, and a talented cast help this soar. My biggest problem is that this feels entirely like a transitional piece. We know what’s next. One of the two post-credit sequences addresses what is directly next, but after that, supposedly is this Doomsday film. Because that is an Avengers level event, it means cast from all over are being ripped out of their movies and thrown into the Avengers, and it looks most like the Thunderbolts won’t recover. What I mean, is that Thunderbolts 2 will never come. They feel like a catalyst for something greater. Marvel will never get rid of Fantastic Four, or the X-Men. But, this newly formed Thunderbolts? yes. I can see them absolutely never reteaming, much like I hope we never see the Eternals again.
In the end, it may be the movie we need right now. It is the kick in the ass this universe needed, but I am very curious after five or ten more years of the Marvel franchise, will thunderbolts hold up on its own as a transitional piece essentially with no sequel? Will we be Ok with the ramifications of this film, and the two upcoming Avengers films? I can’t predict that. But, what I can predict, is that his weekend, audiences are going to enjoy a Marvel movie. For some, it won’t have been that long, as we just had Deadpool and Wolverine, but for others it might be the best since Endgame, no way Home, Wakanda Forever, or the final Guardians film.
Deadpool and Wolverine was in my Top 10 last year. So for me, it is the best Marvel film in ten months.
(Note: I saw an advance screening that didn’t have audio description, though the film definitely has available audio description in its release).
fresh: Final Grade: A-, Audio Description: N/A