THUNDERBOLTS*. Marvel Is Great Again [REVIEW]

Quite poetically, Thunderbolts* rhymes with the current situation at Marvel Studios. The world is slowly forgetting the Avengers, learning to cope without them, and a group of written-off misfits decides to show what they’re made of one last time. Fortunately, they succeed — because the film that closes out the fifth phase of this universe is one of the best, and definitely the freshest, installments in the brand.

The film tells the story of a group of rejected and secondary (anti)heroes from various corners of the Marvel universe, who, as a result of a government black-ops conspiracy, become targets for elimination — so they team up to take revenge on those who wanted them dead.

At first glance, everything pointed to failure: from the concept that looked like a cheap knock-off of the rival Suicide Squad, to the sudden title change (adding an asterisk to the original Thunderbolts), the departure of two of the project’s original stars (Ayo Edebiri and Steven Yeun), and the strange feeling that we were about to witness a clumsy sequel to Black Widow, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and… the second Ant-Man.

But on the other hand (as Marvel itself boldly highlighted in a marketing clip titled ABSOLUTE CINEMA), the film was crafted by the creators of the brilliant Beef, the cinematographer of The Green Knight, and the composers of Everything Everywhere All at Once. In front of the camera are some of the MCU’s biggest current stars, including Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour.

Thankfully, the concerns turned out to be unnecessary. Experienced and respected artists delivered something rare for Marvel — a great film. Not a theme park ride, not a sequel, not a prelude to a cosmic crossover (that’s saved for the second post-credit scene!), not a cameo fest. A film. Largely a political-espionage thriller with superheroes, and in its third act, surprisingly, a psychological drama drawing on horror aesthetics.

It’s all grounded in real locations, imaginative and expertly executed action sequences, practical effects and stunts — but also built on flesh-and-blood characters, plot twists, an engaging story, sharp humor, and an emotional catharsis that comes with the film’s finale.

The true heart of Thunderbolts* remains Yelena, played by the always perfect Florence Pugh, who is undoubtedly the center of the story. However, she surprisingly gives space to a new character introduced to the MCU — Bob (a fantastic, truly fantastic Lewis Pullman, who delivers the film’s most original performance). Julia Louis-Dreyfus also gets plenty of screen time, with her character finally receiving a compelling role in the MCU and essentially serving as the main villain in Kevin Feige’s latest production.

The other members of the titular team are somewhat in the background. That doesn’t stop Bucky, Red Guardian, or US Agent from shining and stealing many scenes — particularly satisfying in the case of the latter, for whom Thunderbolts* is a big-screen debut. However, Ghost (known from Ant-Man and the Wasp) is treated rather superficially, and Taskmaster is completely unnecessary. Fortunately, this doesn’t affect the quality of the story being told.

So, if you’ve been missing Marvel that entertains without overwhelming with humor, intrigues with its story without requiring knowledge of 35+ other titles, delivers full joy with action scenes without forcing you to watch a CGI sludge-fest, and engages with well-written characters instead of being a random cameo parade — Thunderbolts** is for you. It has all of that and its own character, its own moral, and a level of production quality rarely seen at Marvel Studios.

It’s worth it.