Marvel Studios hasn't had a great start to 2025, it has to be said. While Deadpool and Wolverine performed well and kept fans happy, it has had some retroactive criticism thrown against it; that its story is barely existent and most of its quality comes from blind nostalgia bait. Daredevil: Born Again, also started off as a success but ended its first series on a somewhat sour note leaving fans, especially those of the original Netflix series, disappointed. Of course, the biggest dent in the studio's reputation this year has been Captain America: Brave New World, which underperformed both financially and critically. It was doomed from the start with a new director who was in over his head, a geriatric Harrison Ford and constant reshuffles of the script. Now with DC Studios finally getting their act together under the control of James Gunn with his very own Superman coming in the summer, Marvel really need a win to get back in the game. Thankfully for them, that seems to have come in the form of a film that follows a similar formula to what put Marvel in the spotlight all those years ago when The Avengers first released.
With Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus) acting as a more nefarious version of Nick Fury, she puts together a team of rogues that work as mercenaries for her company to clean up her dirty past in the wake of her impeachment trial. The team is lead by Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) with US Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), they're then joined by Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Along the way, they meet the mysterious Bob (Lewis Pullman) who the team learn is far more powerful than he lets on.
As hinted to before, team ups are pretty much Marvel's bread and butter, it's what made them the power house of box office they've become and Thunderbolts* proves once again where their strengths lie. However, unlike earlier team movies in Marvel's resume, like The Avengers and especially Guardians of the Galaxy, avid viewers of the franchise will have some form of connection to each and every member of the titular Thunderbolts, meaning that there's less time wasted on character introductions and more time spent on deeper character moments. The ensemble is led by Florence Pugh, who gives a characteristically great performance (despite her comically irritating phoney Russian accent), but plenty of time is given to each and every member of the team. US Agent was a highlight of the otherwise underwhelming The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series and has finally been given some more well deserved screen time here, where Wyatt Russell shows off his darker version of Captain America.
A weaker element to the ensemble is Taskmaster, who many online had theorised wouldn't have much time in the film. Those eagle eyed trailer viewers have been proven right sadly, a character who was the emotional climax of the underrated Black Widow is almost swept under the rug. While the character isn't comparable to the original menacing comic book counterpart, the film almost takes joy in her dismissal. Additionally, Red Guardian is used as tedious comic relief a lot in a film that would otherwise be very dark, he has his sombre moments which make up for this and he's of course not the only character guilty of this occasional tonal shift with the likes of Yelena Belova and Bob having their fair share of sometimes unnecessary comedy moments. Marvel has always had a chronic addiction to adding quips and funny one liners, so some fans will possibly not see this as an issue but others looking for a dark tone throughout will have to wait for Daredevil: Born Again's second season.
Despite the compulsive lighter moments, the film is indeed one of Marvel's darkest, proving that the studio's content is hopefully growing up with its audience. The film tackles some more mature themes, the most prominent of which is mental illness. Depression and what it does to the human mind informs almost every plot point and while it isn't tackled in a very subtle way it nonetheless adds a level of depth to Thunderbolts* that is otherwise absent in a lot of Marvel's projects. Every member of the team suffers from some form of mental illness or another which is explored in great detail showing a team that have real human flaws in contrast to the earlier classic Avengers whose problems stem more from their power and/or wealth. In fact, the villain himself is a rather on the nose metaphor for depression, making for one of Marvel's most compelling and frightening antagonists to date.
In addition to its darkness, Thunderbolts* is one of Marvel's better made films as well. The fight scenes and stunts often have a lot of impact and weight, added to being well choreographed. The sets all look real, giving the film its more grounded atmosphere, a relief from Marvel's previous addiction to obvious green screen. That being said, special effects are used here quite a lot but they're often incredible, a highlight being the film's depiction of the Void. A real standout, however, is the score composed jointly by Ryan Lott, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang which adds new themes to Marvel's discography but also brings some fun new twists on more familiar ones. With Thunderbolts* it does feel like Marvel is possibly starting to give their directors more creative power, possibly due to James Gunn's policy over at DC. It's paid off for them here, and while the film does still manage to feel like a Marvel Studios entry, it definitely feels new and fresh.
Marvel have finally remembered what they do best and have used a darker and deeper take on their Avengers team up formula to craft what is one of the better MCU films for a very long time. Despite containing very few A-list franchise characters, it still has stakes, a compelling narrative and also is a very important harbinger of things to come in future films. It's by no means perfect and still carries some of Marvel's chronic issues but it is very much a step in the right direction.
★★★★
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