There was a time when Marvel movies regularly raked in at least $100K on their opening weekend.
Now they make headlines if they get more than $70K. People just don’t get excited about watching celebrities punch things like they used to. That said, MCU hasn’t exactly lost its touch, despite straying ever so slightly with critically besmudged yawnfests like The Eternals and Quantumania. The proof is in the Thunderbolts*, MCU’s latest entry into the ongoing Infinity Phase 7 Saga Wars. (I’ve lost track of the timeline.)
If Deadpool & Wolverine was Marvel’s return to commercial success, then Thunderbolts* is the studio’s critical redemption. It currently holds an 88% critical score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, far surpassing Captain America: Brave New World (48%), its most recent output. Why don’t we break down why the movie is working so well? While we’re at it, we can suggest one area for improvement.
*spoilers ahead*
Walt Disney
For a Marvel flick, Thunderbolts* is surprisingly light on distended CGI-heavy action scenes. The most memorable set pieces take place within the confines of Valentina’s vault and in the alternate reality of the Void. These claustrophobic spaces force the characters (Winter Soldier, Yelena Belova/Black Widow, US Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Bob) to connect, bond, and collaborate. We get to see their strengths and flaws in equal measure, quickly learning to root for them. Their underdog status makes this even easier. Compared to The Avengers, the Thunderbolts are losers. Can relate!
Thunderbolts* is technically setting up the final chapter of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, but it doesn’t devote much of its plot to this. Instead, Thunderbolts* is the story of a ragtag group of heroes overcoming their insecurities and interpersonal conflicts to coalesce and become their best selves. It’s inspirational. It’s exciting. It’s better than the last eight Marvel movies.
Captain America: Brave New World stumbled with multiple plot holes. Deadpool & Wolverine was barely a movie, sacrificing conflict and character development for pop culture references and hit-or-miss one-liners. Love and Thunder was a smug parade of undercooked situational humor. Quantumania was a Temu-CGI nightmare. Meanwhile, Thunderbolts* is just a no-frills classic piece of entertainment with solidly choreographed action and grim, realistic undertones. It’s craft, not content.
Bob/Sentry/The Void may be the MCU’s best villain since Namor. I would mention Kang, but the actor who played him — Jonathan Majors — is kind of a touchy subject. What makes Bob so memorable is that he’s not perfectly good or evil. He’s a complex human being with insecurities and a rocky past just like anyone else. The problem is when he gives into his dark side. That’s when the Void comes out. With pinprick eyes like the vampires in Sinners, the Void listlessly floats through the sky and indiscriminately traps people within their most distressing thoughts for eternity. That’s not just terrifying, but a great metaphor for depression.
But all the rest of the time, he’s just Bob, which is so fun! Bob does the dishes. Bob has floppy hair. Bob won’t confine you within a soul-destroying pit of your own despair.
We love Bob!
And now for the one thing that doesn’t work…
If you’re the type to look up spoilers (and if you’ve read this far and haven’t seen Thunderbolts*, then you are), then you already know that the asterisk in that title actually corresponds to the label “The New Avengers.” At the end of Thunderbolts*, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) unveils the Thunderbolts in front of the media and wider public, declaring them “the New Avengers.”
This is, of course, a departure from the comics. In Marvel’s New Avengers series, the first iteration of the New Avengers consisted of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, and Sentry. But that’s not why this is a bad move.
By platforming the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers, the MCU is trying to replace the original Avengers in a way, recapturing some of that Infinity Saga magic and drumming up excitement for its next tentpole blockbusters, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. But the Thunderbolts will never replace the Avengers. Their whole shtick is that they’re very not the Avengers, given their sardonic mopiness and laughable dysfunction. So, why can’t the Thunderbolts just be the Thunderbolts, sans asterisk? This movie spends two hours doing the work to make us view the Thunderbolts as a loveable group with their own refreshing characteristics. Why erase all of that in one stroke? After all, I would still watch Doomsday if it were called Thunderbolts: Doomsday.
But that’s just me, talking into the Void. Will I still be there in the theater when Doomsday comes out? Duh!
Now they make headlines if they get more than $70K. People just don’t get excited about watching celebrities punch things like they used to. That said, MCU hasn’t exactly lost its touch, despite straying ever so slightly with critically besmudged yawnfests like The Eternals and Quantumania. The proof is in the Thunderbolts*, MCU’s latest entry into the ongoing Infinity Phase 7 Saga Wars. (I’ve lost track of the timeline.)
If Deadpool & Wolverine was Marvel’s return to commercial success, then Thunderbolts* is the studio’s critical redemption. It currently holds an 88% critical score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, far surpassing Captain America: Brave New World (48%), its most recent output. Why don’t we break down why the movie is working so well? While we’re at it, we can suggest one area for improvement.
*spoilers ahead*
1. Characters you can root for
Walt Disney
For a Marvel flick, Thunderbolts* is surprisingly light on distended CGI-heavy action scenes. The most memorable set pieces take place within the confines of Valentina’s vault and in the alternate reality of the Void. These claustrophobic spaces force the characters (Winter Soldier, Yelena Belova/Black Widow, US Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Bob) to connect, bond, and collaborate. We get to see their strengths and flaws in equal measure, quickly learning to root for them. Their underdog status makes this even easier. Compared to The Avengers, the Thunderbolts are losers. Can relate!
2. Straightforward storytelling
Thunderbolts* is technically setting up the final chapter of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, but it doesn’t devote much of its plot to this. Instead, Thunderbolts* is the story of a ragtag group of heroes overcoming their insecurities and interpersonal conflicts to coalesce and become their best selves. It’s inspirational. It’s exciting. It’s better than the last eight Marvel movies.
Captain America: Brave New World stumbled with multiple plot holes. Deadpool & Wolverine was barely a movie, sacrificing conflict and character development for pop culture references and hit-or-miss one-liners. Love and Thunder was a smug parade of undercooked situational humor. Quantumania was a Temu-CGI nightmare. Meanwhile, Thunderbolts* is just a no-frills classic piece of entertainment with solidly choreographed action and grim, realistic undertones. It’s craft, not content.
3. A memorable villain
Bob/Sentry/The Void may be the MCU’s best villain since Namor. I would mention Kang, but the actor who played him — Jonathan Majors — is kind of a touchy subject. What makes Bob so memorable is that he’s not perfectly good or evil. He’s a complex human being with insecurities and a rocky past just like anyone else. The problem is when he gives into his dark side. That’s when the Void comes out. With pinprick eyes like the vampires in Sinners, the Void listlessly floats through the sky and indiscriminately traps people within their most distressing thoughts for eternity. That’s not just terrifying, but a great metaphor for depression.
But all the rest of the time, he’s just Bob, which is so fun! Bob does the dishes. Bob has floppy hair. Bob won’t confine you within a soul-destroying pit of your own despair.
We love Bob!
And now for the one thing that doesn’t work…
What doesn’t work: That asterisk
If you’re the type to look up spoilers (and if you’ve read this far and haven’t seen Thunderbolts*, then you are), then you already know that the asterisk in that title actually corresponds to the label “The New Avengers.” At the end of Thunderbolts*, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) unveils the Thunderbolts in front of the media and wider public, declaring them “the New Avengers.”
This is, of course, a departure from the comics. In Marvel’s New Avengers series, the first iteration of the New Avengers consisted of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, and Sentry. But that’s not why this is a bad move.
By platforming the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers, the MCU is trying to replace the original Avengers in a way, recapturing some of that Infinity Saga magic and drumming up excitement for its next tentpole blockbusters, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. But the Thunderbolts will never replace the Avengers. Their whole shtick is that they’re very not the Avengers, given their sardonic mopiness and laughable dysfunction. So, why can’t the Thunderbolts just be the Thunderbolts, sans asterisk? This movie spends two hours doing the work to make us view the Thunderbolts as a loveable group with their own refreshing characteristics. Why erase all of that in one stroke? After all, I would still watch Doomsday if it were called Thunderbolts: Doomsday.
But that’s just me, talking into the Void. Will I still be there in the theater when Doomsday comes out? Duh!