As "Avengers: Endgame" is considered to be the current gold standard of the MCU, only a few films in the franchise released after it have been considered to be at the same level: "Spider-Man: No Way Home", "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", and "Deadpool and Wolverine." Much like "Endgame", those films also marked the end for the current era of those particular characters. But we have a surprise new entry for this club with "Thunderbolts*", a film that signifies a new beginning rather than a culmination of what came before.
In essence, "Thunderbolts*" is a team origin story in the same vein as the original Avengers and Guardians movies. What helps set it apart is its more grounded nature, with the main team members being a trained assassin in Yelena (Florence Pugh), three super soldiers in Bucky (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Alexei (David Harbour), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) with her intangibility. There's not much variety in the powerset, but it's part of the charm. It's a scrappy team that's down to Earth, which makes it easy to root for them. Not to mention it leads to fun action scenes that are easy to follow.
The Thunderbolts* are comparable to the Guardians of the Galaxy, being a group of criminals overcoming their shameful pasts to become something more. That said, it did lead to a little disappointment for me that the movie didn't have a unique soundtrack like the Guardians trilogy did after all four trailers had some stellar song choices. But then it hit me; another comparison to be made is with Suicide Squad, and I feel "Thunderbolts*" matches the tone of what David Ayer originally intended with his film (see the 2015 Comic Con trailer for reference).
Like any ensemble film, the heart comes from its cast. The interactions between characters highlights their individual strengths and shortcomings as they go from trying to kill each other to building comradery. As the film's central character, Florence Pugh gives her best performance as Yelena yet. The weight of loss and her past actions bear down on her, contrasting with the youthful energy she exhibited when we first met her. David Harbour is still highly entertaining as the Red Guardian, continuing his quest to reclaim his glory days while acting as a father to Yelena; and his brief interaction with Bucky is also great, carrying over their chemistry from the "What If...?" episode that showcased the two having a team-up. I also enjoyed seeing Ava having more control over her powers and gaining more confidence in the process. As for Walker, his douchiness carries over from "Falcon and Winter Soldier" which makes it nice when he acts humbler as the story goes.
We've seen Julia Louis-Dreyfus sprinkled here and there in the MCU as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, though it's been hard to really lock down what she's about. With this film, the answer is she's the anti-Nick Fury. She assembles the Thunderbolts*, though inadvertently, acting for her own self-interest and orchestrating to come out on top no matter the scenario. She's basically Amanda Waller with a more pleasant demeanor.
Lewis Pullman is the heart of the film as Bob. He's a character whose childhood trauma has shaped him, which allows Pullman to showcase his range as an actor. He goes from friendly yet socially awkward as Bob to getting a confidence boost as Sentry that leads to a literal god complex, exploding into a force of darkness as the Void. Void's design is simple yet unsettling, personifying the self-doubt within Bob that should resonate with some viewers.
If I had one gripe, it's that Taskmaster was done dirty. I think a majority of people knew what would happen with her, but damn, you could have cut her and lost nothing.
Overall, "Thunderbolts*" is a top tier Marvel film that deserves to be one of its biggest successes, so see it in theaters as soon as you can.
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