The whole Marvel institution, a once vibrant form of entertainment, feels totally played out right now.
Thunderbolts* feels like an in-betweener movie that’s setting up possible goodness later this summer and next year. It doesn’t really stand on its own; it feels like paint-by-numbers Marvel moviemaking and lacks the charm of the old Avengers days.
Much of Thunderbolts* takes place in dark, claustrophobic rooms, and the film’s staging feels small even when a dark force is taking over all of New York City. The elements put in play by director Jake Schreier just don’t come together; the movie is shot with a lot of dull grays, and the vibe of the film reflects that dullness.
The likes of Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Wyatt Russell provide some relatively fun moments, but the movie has an overall dreary feel. It’s not dark in a good way; it’s dark in a somber, suffocating kind of way.
Following the events of Marvel’s heretofore latest stinker, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts picks up in the aftermath of Red Hulk’s brief Washington, D.C., rampage, with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) scheming to avoid impeachment and create a new superhero team.
Pugh’s Yelena is still mourning the death of her sister, Black Widow, and her dad, Alexei (Harbour), is driving limos. She’s thinking of quitting her job as an assassin for hire but agrees to take one last gig.
That gig turns out to be a double-cross that leads her to John Walker (Russell) and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), who are all unknowingly pitted against one another. Of course, everybody eventually gets along, and a mysterious dude named Bob (Lewis Pullman) joins the party. The Thunderbolts, Marvel’s version of The Suicide Squad, are formed, and the group is here to put you to sleep.
What happens next starts to feel like a joyless episode of The Boys rather than a pulsating chapter in the Marvel legacy. The events lead up to a staging for this summer’s Fantastic Four and a future Avengers installment. The Marvel movies are feeling more like episodes of a TV show rather than movies that stand by themselves.
Fantastic Four looks it could be the sort of true detour that can make this universe interesting again. When Pugh, Russell and Harbour run alongside the likes of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and other Marvel stalwarts in the next scheduled Avengers movie (currently slated for release on May 1, 2026), perhaps Marvel will have a pulse again. But for now, Marvel = big bore.
