Tom Haire May 3, 2025

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) started as a hare brained concoction, erupted into an organized thrill-ride-money-machine that topped itself for nearly two decades. Production has has difficulties since the pandemic and has scrambled to create more at home content. Since then every studio has been upping the budgets to get people back to the theater. Thunderbolts* is a mishmash of interesting characters who manage to work for their own justice together and carry the early summer numbers. However their former moral centers are long gone. They do not unite in justice for the greater good, but justice for revenge. Not a bad start, but not new. By its nature it oughta be engaging, compelling, intriguing. Yet it finally comes across as a bit of a parody of itself, its self-awareness both amusing and unintended. A good movie to wait for.

The movie begins with a somber Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), resigned to cleaning up the messes of a bigger criminal- her oligarch boss and CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)- do not forget to address her Ms. de Fontaine. Director de Fontaine is under heavy Congressional scrutiny, and employing the dregs of superhero-dom to keep her from federal prison. We then meet Red Guardian (David Harbour), grasping onto the past while his present falls to pieces. He lives close yet doesn’t contact his daughter Yelena.

Not to sound cynical, but this is a movie that will make money and justify further production of new films. The primary issues Thunderbolts* would love to tackle- justice in the face of unreal power- are fascinating but get bogged down in political minutiae and reading “packets”, only for them to be slacked aside for action instead of intrigue, clever lines instead of true meaning. I am being bad when I bring up the Winter Soldier, a perfect blend of spy-action and melodrama, or Guardians of the Galaxy, the bold rebuttal to The Avengers, but this movie requires a ton of prior knowledge to begin with.

In the end it seems everyone gets what they want, but the message of the “New Avengers” lacks any kind of hope when its tone is to escape incrimination and manipulate the public. Especially since the problems they encounter are all brought onto them by themselves.

Then again questioning authority may have been the point after all. It’s shortcomings can be overlooked by the performances, but with a bit more lighting and concentrating on the characters, there would be a much fuller early Summer experience. But there was a crowd and my bucket was empty.