Since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, Marvel has significantly declined in their production of films, with an occasional hit such as Spider-Man: No Way Home or Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. As a Marvel fan for most of my life, I have felt really disappointed by the recent phases in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Watching recent films has felt like a chore; I should only watch because I want to keep up with the timeline. However, the most recent MCU film, released on May 2, Thunderbolts*, serves as a light at the end of the tunnel for fans of this universe. It currently stands at a critic rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes while opening with $76M in ticket sales. Not only is this film a box office hit, but it restores the love of Marvel in many fans.
The movie feels nostalgic for the past MCU phases and brings back the essence that many recent Marvel movies have lacked. To start with, the cast is one of the best parts. Leading with Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, it follows with Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes), Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, David Harbour as The Red Guardian (Alexei Shostakov), Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost (Ava Starr), Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and newly introduced Lewis Pullman as Robert Reynolds (Sentry). Bringing in characters from all different backgrounds in the MCU could be seen as controversial, and almost as if they’re assembling a team reminiscent of DC’s “Suicide Squad.” However, after watching this movie, I couldn’t imagine a better team of anti-heroes to work together.
The plot follows the main character, Yelena, as she dreams of something bigger than just working for her boss, Valentina, and wants a more public figure job. Valentina sends her to do one last task, but finds herself in a death trap alongside other MCU anti-heroes such as John, Ava and Taskmaster, doing a mission meant to eliminate them and cover her tracks from her illegal activities. After surviving the task that was supposed to kill them and meeting a mysterious man named Bob, who is later revealed to be a presumed-dead test subject of Valentina, the group learns of her true nature and unites with Bucky and Alexei.
The most surprising and important aspect of this movie is that it hyper-focuses on mental health. All of the characters have bad histories, high kill counts and don’t give off “superhero” energy. There are multiple heart-twisting scenes in this film; one which stood out to me the most was the scene where Yelena confided in her dad, Alexei, on how alone she has felt since the passing of her sister, Natasha (the Black Widow), and how she needed her father to be there for her. Almost all of the characters, including Valentina, who may seem heartless, have one sentimental scene where we see deeper into who they are as people and what they struggle with internally. Overall, Marvel portrayed the humanity of these characters in a way that felt personal and relatable to the audience.
In a surprisingly perfect correlation with the deeper themes, the movie is also hilarious. Marvel has a theme of enforcing comedic relief, but watching this film made the humor feel effortless. There were multiple scenes that I found hilarious, but in particular, the scene where the team is running from armed forces in Alexei’s limousine while listening to “Pony” by Ginuwine brought levity and humour to a scene that could otherwise be stressful and anxiety-inducing. The team banters with one another in a way that feels like they are a family, which reminded me a lot of the “found family” Marvel gave with the original Avengers.
Arguably, the end credits, the most exciting part of any MCU movie, stood out the most to me for this. From the first one, not only do we get more comedic relief from Alexei, but we see that the asterisk in the title represents the team’s real name, “The New Avengers.” In addition to the first end credits scene, we get a second one that portrays the “New Avengers” working in the former Avengers tower, where it is revealed that Sam Wilson (Captain America) is suing the team for copyright infringement. I was really upset by this. From past projects, especially “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” we know that Sam and Bucky were close friends. So knowing that they are now feuding leaves me uneasy about what can happen in future adaptations. However, my faith was restored as at the end of the scene, when the team detects something from another universe entering the orbit, and we see the ship from the “Fantastic Four.” This sets the stage for not only the new Fantastic Four movie coming out in the summer, but also for “Avengers: Doomsday,” set to release in 2026.
Thunderbolts* is a comeback in the MCU with every aspect, and shows that Marvel has not lost its touch. Every part of it was fantastic. It was all perfectly formatted and brought together in a way that leaves audiences feeling excited for future projects. As long as Marvel continues to make their films just like this one, fans will continue to enjoy and love the MCU.
