Thunderbolts* is a bargain bin version of The Avengers featuring leftover B and C characters from various Marvel movies and TV shows. Because of that, it often feels more like a placeholder than an honest to goodness Marvel movie. It doesn’t help that the team members have similar powers and costumes.
Assassin Yelena (Florence Pugh) is having a bit of an existential crisis. She wants to retire from black ops work, so she takes one final mission from her boss Valentina (Julia Louis Dreyfus). Naturally, she double crosses Yelena, along with several other cut-rate superheroes in hopes that they will kill each other off. They manage to survive, only to band together to fight off Valentina’s latest creation, the all-powerful evil supervillain Sentry (Lewis Pullman).
Thunderbolts* is fast-paced and is never boring. The stakes are refreshingly low too, although that winds up being kind of a mixed blessing. On one hand, it just looks and feels like a Disney+ show. On the other, it’s sort of nice to have a superhero flick where the fate of the galaxy doesn’t hang in the balance for a change.
The idea of a ragtag group of misfit superheroes coming together should’ve been a home run, but the movie itself never really comes alive. While there is a brief spark of fun here and there, for the most part, it just seems like another day at the MCU office. While Pugh does her best to keep the film together, it ultimately winds up feeling like a lower budget version of the shit we’re used to seeing. Wyatt Russell is pretty funny as the delusional Captain America knockoff, USAgent, as is David Harbour as the loudmouth Red Guardian. For the guy who’s been in the MCU the longest of anyone in the movie, Sebastian Stan feels curiously underutilized though. Pullman is also much too bland to register as the villain. At least Dreyfus is having fun chewing the scenery.
Once the team finally starts working together to save citizens from crumbling rubble, the movie comes to life. Too bad the scenes of Yelena getting trapped inside of her darkest memories almost immediately bog it back down. For every misstep though, there’s a strong scene that showcase the film’s potential. For a movie about a bunch of screw-ups fighting against their nature to do the right thing, I’d say that’s fitting.
AKA: The New Avengers. AKA: Thunderbolts*: The New Avengers.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Scorecard:
Spider-Man: No Way Home: ****
Avengers: Age of Ultron: ****
The Incredible Hulk: ****
Iron Man: ****
Thor: Ragnarok: ****
Avengers: Endgame: ****
Ant-Man and the Wasp: ****
Spider-Man: Homecoming: ****
Iron Man 3: ****
Captain America: Civil War: *** ½
Ant-Man: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy: *** ½
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: *** ½
Avengers: Infinity War: *** ½
Werewolf by Night: *** ½
Black Panther: *** ½
The Avengers: ***
Captain America: The First Avenger: ***
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: ***
Deadpool and Wolverine: ***
Thor: Love and Thunder: ***
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: ***
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: ***
Captain Marvel: ***
Spider-Man: Far from Home: ***
Thor: ***
The Marvels: ***
Captain America: Brave New World: ***
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: ***
Thor: The Dark World: ***
Iron Man 2: ***
Thunderbolts*: ** ½
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: ** ½
Doctor Strange: ** ½
Black Widow: ** ½
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: **
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: **
Eternals: * ½
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