Thunderbolts* is the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directed by Jake Schreier, and it tells the story of a group of antiheroes – Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) – who have to team up to defeat an undefeatable threat.

it’s no secret that the MCU has had a mixed phase 5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 was great and Deadpool and Wolverine was fun but The Marvels and Ant-Man and The Wasp were poor. Overall the multiverse saga has been a bit of an inconsistent mess, which has led to many people losing patience with the MCU. Personally, I’m a lifelong fan of Marvel Comics and so I held on to the MCU longer than most but Phase looked to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Captain America: Brave New World was the first Marvel movie that I haven’t seen since Iron Man 2, while Moon Knight was the last Marvel show that I’ve actually finished. I went into Thunderbolts* cautiously optimistic. I thought the trailers looked good but I wasn’t fully sure how they could pull of Sentry (Lewis Pullman), and overall, my general apathy towards the MCU in the last couple of years has led to a cap on how much I actually care about new projects. That being said, Thunderbolts* might have just brought me back in.

Now I first want to say that just because this was good, it doesn’t mean that the MCU is fully back. There has been highlights of the MCU since Avengers: Endgame and they haven’t necessarily acted as a shot in the arm for the franchise. However, Thunderbolts* is definitely a step in the right direction. The big thing is that it actually looks good. A big issue many people have had with a lot of recent MCU projects, is that they generally look like grey sludge. They’re shot in such a dull, flat and lifeless way that adds to the feeling of them being more like corporate products than actual pieces of art. Thunderbolts* however, is well-shot. The action scenes are generally well-helmed, especially a oner near the start of the film, and it feels like there was a bit more care given to the visuals. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nowhere near the cinematography of fellow comic book films like The Batman or Logan, but it’s definitely stronger than a lot of recent MCU entry’s in that field.

I honestly think that the main thing that the film benefits from is its heart. It was refreshing to see an MCU film that felt sincere. I liked that it never undercut the serious moments with jokes. It was dealing with some fairly heavy themes, and yet I felt that they were handled with maturity and with the needed care, while also sprinkling in jokes but without it ever feeling like a tonal mis-match. It’s been getting a lot of comparisons to the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I think its tone is comparable to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. I hope this becomes a more common occurrence in the MCU moving forward, but I won’t hold my breath.

All in all, I thought that this was one of the stronger entry’s in the MCU. It’s a refreshing and mature entry in this franchise that gives a solid spin on the found family trope. Definitely among the best that MCU has had to offer in this current saga, and I hope to see more of these characters.

Overall Rating – ****