Thunderbolts* (2025) - Is It the Rebound the MCU Desperately Needs?

As I feel the MCU has been disappointing for the better part of the 2020s,  I've been excited for this movie for a while now. It looked, well, fun. That's something the MCU needs desperately. Note: I don't count Deadpool and Wolverine as part of the MCU. Fight me, I don't care.

The movie wasn't too bad. It wasn't the huge event I feel Marvel needs, but it's a nice start. 

This ragtag group is thrown together, fight and squabble their way through two acts, then come together against a common enemy in the third act, along the way each of them finding a bit of redemption for their loser lot in life. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but hey, that's not why you're watching this, right?

I think it starts with expectations. I was hoping for fun and gritty, like the Winter Soldier movie. It's got the fun part for the most part, but it definitely didn't give me the gritty action I was looking for. You're talking about a bunch of assassins and street-level super-soldiers running around here, yet they are almost instantly swatted down in the second half of the movie. 

The cast is great - it's really Florence Pugh's movie, and she owns every scene. Her barely tolerating attitude but complete competence in her skills make her a great protagonist. The rest of the Thunderbolts are there for background filler and do a lot with their much smaller character arcs. Harbour, in particular, is a lot of fun as the comic relief.

A random stranger's opinion: It's like an appetizer at a restaurant. It might have been tasty, but you're just not satiated by it enough and are still waiting for a main course. 

Grade: B