At this point, many of my friends with whom I watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe films have bailed out. A few are willing to hang in there with me, but I have often been the only one willing to believe in the MCU. When Thunderbolts came around, many of us asked the same question: Who? This is a question that I remember last asking myself when Guardians of the Galaxy came out nearly thirteen years ago. While many of these characters have already been seen in a project or two before, this is the first time that they are headlining a film. Going into my theater, I had two questions. Does this film reignite the interest so many of my friends had in the MCU? Does Thunderbolts* fully show us that we are out of the void that was the Chapek era? Let’s find out!

For those who don’t know, Thunderbolts* is a film that stars various supporting characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s more recent work. At the center is Yelena, sister of Natasha and a former Black Widow assassin who is lost in her assignments. Looking for a path forward, she accepts an assignment from De Fontaine that sends her into a collision course with several unsavory individuals. They include John Walker, Ghost, Taskmaster, and Bob. Tagging along are The Red Guardian and Bucky, aka The Winter Soldier. This unlikely group of anti-heroes and villains have to find a way to work together to make sense of what is going on while trying to prevent a catastrophe.

Overall, this is a much different type of film than we are used to in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thunderbolts* is contained in terms of settings as there are three principal locations that everything happens in. There are occasionally some secondary places where the plot goes, but most of the film takes place in either Washington D.C., New York City, or an undisclosed location.

The other part that stands out is the practicality of the areas, as a lot of the locations feature very little green screen work, if any. There also doesn’t appear to be any use of the volume that has become popular in certain Disney productions. The only thing missing to be a true standout film is the lack of a punchy soundtrack. This is probably for the best, as if they did have one, people would likely say that it was copying Guardians of the Galaxy.

The true heart of this film is the main characters and their flaws. Everyone who is part of the Thunderbolts suffers from some sort of setback or regret in their lives. While Yelena is the core of the film, she eventually finds a scene partner in Bob. The two characters are very similar in terms of the pain that they have been through. The difference is that Yelena has The Red Guardian that she can lean on, while Bob has no one. This causes Yelena to be protective of Bob throughout the film, even if it puts her at odds with other characters. 

Beyond those two, each character has their time to shine throughout Thunderbolts*. Red Guardian and Bucky are the two who provide quite a bit of comic relief. The banter between these two is amazing, and the general demeanor of Red Guardian always puts a smile on my face. John Walker stands out as the perfect comedic punching bag amongst the team since he tries to bully most of them to some degree, and this always backfires on him. Ghost and Taskmaster don’t have a whole lot to say and are generally used for plot advancement to either set the tone of the film or get the characters from one point to another.

Overall, Thunderbolts is a lot of fun! Quite a few of my friends who had given up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe have now decided to give it a second chance after seeing this film. While the year may have started a bit rocky with Captain America: Brave New World, I believe that this film will provide a better runway for The Fantastic Four: First Steps to soar at the box office. It is way too early to tell if that is true or not. However, I am glad that Thunderbolts has restored so many fans’ hopes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we get closer to Avengers: Doomsday. If you are looking for other Marvel film reviews, consider checking out my review of Captain America: Brave New World right here.

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Thunderbolts*

0.00

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Wonderful Group Chemistry
• Amazing Music and Sound Design
• Simple, yet Deep Story
• Great Humor

Cons

• Some Main Characters Not as Developed as Others