Marvel’s Thunderbolts is now out with Thursday previews. I just got out of the theater and finished watching it about twenty minutes ago.
Overall, I liked the movie. I recommend it if you’re a hardcore Marvel fan. The acting, cast, directing, fight scenes, and special effects are all solid. There are connections and payoffs if you’ve followed the Disney+ shows, Black Widow, and the rest. It’s a family-friendly movie with humor throughout. The post-credit scenes are good—especially the last one, which is a must-watch.
So yeah, the gist of it: Thunderbolts is a decent movie. Now on to the deep dive…
Warning: Spoilers follow
While Thunderbolts is an enjoyable movie, there are a lot of cringeworthy and corny moments. It also starts off pretty slow. I think the average Marvel fan might be lost if they haven’t followed these characters. Someone on social media said the movie feels like a two-hour therapy session—nailed it. It’s basically a sequel to Black Widow, since it’s all about Florence Pugh’s Yelena. And for the record, I thought Black Widow sucked.
Yelena is depressed. Her sister died. She’s bored with life. Who cares? Seriously. Thunderbolts opens with her beating the crap out of a dozen guys—which, to be fair, is a well-done fight scene. I like Florence Pugh, and I even like Yelena, but I prefer her as a badass assassin, not a mopey mess.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character is super cringe. She drops lines about being known for promoting females and calls Bob a man-baby or something. I could go the rest of my life without seeing Val again. Thunderbolts even opens with her in an impeachment hearing. More cringe. She’s a try-hard.
David Harbour as the Red Guardian is good. He cracks some good jokes. He’s a good actor. That one scene with the little girl is an “Oh, shit!” moment. I remember not liking him at all in Black Widow, but I like him a lot in Thunderbolts.
Next up is Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost. I liked her in Ant-Man and the Wasp and welcomed her return. She’s actually got really cool powers.
Probably the favorite in Thunderbolts is Wyatt Russell as John Walker, aka US Agent. He does a great job portraying the character as an ahole.
Olga Kurylenko returns as the gender bent version of Taskmaster. Not for very long! Thank you!
Sebastian Stan has some cool scenes. He returns following Captain America: Brave New World, where he’s a Congressman. That’s dumb AF. However, he makes up for it. You can’t go wrong with Bucky. The movie would have been a complete fail without him.
What about the man with the power of a million suns? Lewis Pullman as Robert Reynolds aka The Sentry?! While watching, I couldn’t believe they originally wanted Steven Yeun in the role. WTF were they thinking? Thankfully, they made the right choice. I thought Lewis Pullman played the role well. Really, my only gripe is I wanted more from The Sentry! That fight scene vs the Thunderbolts was super cool! Special effects looked good, for a change.
I like the overall story. Val sets them all up, and they come together and form a team to take her down. She has a secret weapon, The Sentry. He turns on her and becomes The Void and starts killing everyone. However, things get a little too cringeworthy for my taste with all the “my life sucks” talk. We get it, especially with Yelena.
The movie ends with the Thunderbolts successfully taking down The Void. Yeah, they talk Bob down. What else were they going to do? It’s super cringe when they basically all have a group hug at the end. WTF. Yelena – finally – smiles. Cringe!
We’re not done yet as Val sets them up to save herself — they’re the New Avengers! Super super cringe!!!
However, Marvel Studios is well ahead of the backlash. As the end credits roll, it features reactions in the “trades” about how they’re “not my Avengers” and things like that. That’s pretty cringe, too, but I thought the post-credit scene saved the entire movie. If you are a fan of the comics, these are definitely not the New Avengers. Marvel Studios is well aware.
The post-credit scene sets up there being TWO teams of New Avengers, so maybe in Avengers: Doomsday, they will battle it out. It also answers where is Anthony Mackie’s Cap. Okay, but where the frig is Doctor Strange? Spider-Man? Daredevil? (LOL).
Also, if you pay close attention to the credits, when they list the credits for the songs, that spoils what happens! Hello! And that is a big spoiler for the next movie!
The Verdict
Thunderbolts has some really cool, fun moments, but it’s dragged down by the therapy session vibe. It’s one of the better MCU movies to come out post-Endgame. Would I want to see more from these characters? Yep—but please, drop all the baggage. 8/10.
