Director: Jake Schreier
Writers: Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
Cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Geraldine Viswanathan, Olga Kurylenko

As Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) comes to an end with Thunderbolts*, it seems fans are a little divided on the current state/imminent future of the Universe, particularly with a new set of Avengers on the horizon. As something of a sequel to Black Widow yet a standalone in its own right as a ‘team-up’ of sorts (and being anti-heroes rather than heroes à la the Avengers), Thunderbolts* made sense as a bookend between the beginning of Phase Four, which kicked off with Black Widow, and the end of Phase Five. It pulls together some familiar faces from across the MCU and one or two new faces. Is Thunderbolts* a worthwhile new group of (anti)heroes, or is the MCU continuing to miss the mark?

**SPOILER WARNING: There are no spoilers for Thunderbolts* in this review (bar a note on a post-credit scene at the very end), but there are spoilers for previous MCU films.**

After the death of her adopted sister Natasha, aka Black Widow, Yelena Belova (Pugh) is working covertly for the CIA under director Valentina de Fontaine (Louis-Dreyfus). Yelena soon finds herself pitted against other contracted killers, including John Walker, aka former Captain America, now dubbed U.S Agent (Russell), Ava Starr, aka Ghost (John-Kamen), and Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster (Kurylenko), all hired by Valentina and ordered to destroy each other. In turn, they discover someone else is present: a mysterious man named Bob (Pullman). They reluctantly band together to escape, but after Bob is captured by Valentina, a secret operation comes to light, causing the anti-heroes to form a team, along with Yelena’s adoptive father Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian (Harbour), and James “Bucky” Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier (Stan).

After the split of the Avengers, it’s always been known a new team would come along to take their place, as that’s kind of what the MCU is based on. To mark the change, Thunderbolts* itself begins with a new Marvel logo intro that no longer features the ‘old’ Avengers. It feels a little sad to lose that, but makes sense when ushering in a new era, so from the off we’re expected to know that things are about to change. It has a bit of a slow start, but things being to ramp up well as the characters find themselves in some hot water. Usually these ‘misfit’ characters who are forced to work together come across as annoyingly arrogant and self-serving, and while a little of that still exists in this film, the characters are actually more likable than in other films of a similar ilk (thinking more of the not-so-great Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad movies rather than Guardians of the Galaxy), and so it’s easier to get on board with them from the beginning and, dare I say, even root for them. It also helps that the characters understand their own plights yet have an inkling of empathy, having all served some good in previous movies in spite of their belief that they themselves are no good (talk about relatable).

As is usual for an MCU film, it is energetic and filled with moments that fans will enjoy, but also boasts a story that goes deeper than just overt action, something the MCU doesn’t always manage to do well (looking at you in particular, Captain America: Brave New World). In many ways, it makes aspects of the story and the characters highly relatable, even if the darkness they experience is a little on the nose at times. It also manages to implement the right amount of humour at just the right times; the story can get a little heavy, and so the comic relief, mainly provided by Alexei (being far more comical than when he appeared in Black Widow), is needed to keep it from getting too dark. Without giving away too much, the inclusion of the villain Sentry/Void was a risky one; how are the protagonists supposed to defeat an antagonist that is supposed to be undefeatable? Well, they ended up going a very interesting way about it, and that avenue is what really gives this film its meaning. (I also couldn’t stop thinking of Sentry’s costuming and overall look as a weird mix of Flash Gordon and Nuclear Man from Superman IV. It’s a bit garish to be honest.)

Pugh’s previous performances as Yelena (Black Widow and the Hawkeye TV show) have been very strong yet very human, and in Thunderbolts* she continues this trend. Pugh gives Yelena her brains and brawn as well as her heart, and leads most of the film very well. Russell and John-Kamen also provide strong performances for characters that haven’t always stood out that well in their previous appearances. Pullman gives Bob his depth and easily draws audiences in to his emotional state. Harbour makes a wonderful comeback as Alexei, with excellent comedic timing as mentioned, and Stan’s Bucky is as stalwart as ever, helping the film to ground itself within the MCU. (Though I can’t help but wonder why Bucky always seems to be supporting others – will he ever get his very own film or show?) Louis-Dreyfus gives a performance that makes her character entirely unlikable in all the right ways, leaving audiences wondering what her larger impact will be in the future.

The cast and characters have good chemistry, which bodes well for a future that is going to see much more of them (whether individually or as a team). Will they prove to be just as good as, if not better than, the Avengers? That remains to be seen, but they are off to a fairly strong start. The next Phase will begin with the Fantastic Four, and many fans are certainly keen to see how this particular rebooted team will fit in within the MCU.

**SPOILERS FOR POST-CREDITS SCENE AHEAD***

Thunderbolts* reveals the reason for its asterisk in the title, in that the name ‘Thunderbolts’ was a placeholder until they were revealed as the New Avengers. They receive a distress signal from space, revealed to be from a spacecraft that bears the number ‘4’ on it, pre-empting the next film being the Fantastic Four and suggesting that the New Avengers may have a part to play in that film. It’s an exciting little reveal and worth sticking around for.