A bunch of misfit assassins must work together to stop a government conspiracy and just might have to save the world from a ginormous threat… But can they stop the bad guy before killing each other?
I will start with one complaint… There is a character in this that I was hoping they would do more with, and they do not, and I feel like it was a bit of a waste to include this character because I was hoping for more with them… But they didn’t, so that’s a bit of a bummer.
Florence Pugh is very funny, charismatic, likable, and has some fun action scenes in the movie.
My biggest concern was I hope they nailed the characters of John Walker and Bob, just because I find them the most interesting characters… Not only did they, but there are some of my new favorite MCU characters, so that’s nice and impressive.
Always good to see Sebastian Stan; he’s a good straight man to everyone else’s wildness, but he gets some good funny moments too and fits in this crew.
I was pleasantly surprised by Red Guardian. He clearly is a big “comic relief” character… both figuratively and literally lol, and while that’s fun, I worried his character would be too jokey and just be too one note… But they actually gave him some pretty good material and actually some genuine sweet moments, which is great because David Harbor is a great actor, and he’s wonderful in those scenes.
Hannah John-Kamen & Olga Kurylenko may have smaller roles in the film, but they’re still very enjoyable and make the most of the time they have on screen.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes for a fun, interesting, and humorous villain who can be both charmingly charismatic and funny at throwing shade at characters.
Geraldine Viswanathan is a fun actress who does a good job in her part. I just wish the character had been written a little stronger and had a little bit more to do within the story, and her final resolution felt a bit rushed. Despite some shortcomings, her character is fine within the context of the movie; I just wish there was a little bit more to her given how much attention she’s given.
Wendell Pierce has a fun supporting role in this; I wish there was a stronger payoff to his character, but the actor was very fun and humorous, and I look forward to seeing him in the new Superman movie this year.
I’m quite a stickler when it comes to villains in superhero movies; I just see too many missed opportunities… But the two bad guys were actually pretty interesting and enjoyable while also being distinct from one another.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the characters in this, both as individuals and as a unit. Some characters are more fleshed out than others, but every character has a moment to shine and a good emotional beat/insight to their character.
There are a few things that are references to previous MCU material, and while I think even if you haven’t kept up with every single movie and TV show in the MCU, you’d still be able to follow it, I’d be interested to see if this movie is as enjoyable to someone who goes in with a more vague knowledge of things.
I love the color grading in this; the mix of bright whites and yellows and dark blues and earth tones is really stunning.
The fights are good, all solid and enjoyable, but there was one at the beginning that involved shadows and a big “superhero type” battle towards the end that, without spoiling… I thought it was really cool. I also enjoyed how personal and character-driven the climax got for everyone. I don’t know if this is like the most memorable action movie of the year or MCU in general, but it is a solid and enjoyable one, so free action fans, you’ll get some good moments out of this.
The movie was very good, staying on its theme and having little visual and somatic clues and reoccurring dialogue that really played well into that.
I like the climax’s resolution. I mean, it does have a cliché I’m not the biggest fan of, but within the context of the story, it works well. Also, the ending set some interesting stuff up that I’m really excited for, and the biggest compliment I can give this movie is… I can’t wait to see what happens to these characters next.
This statement is not going to make any sense unless you’ve seen the movie, but I just had to mention it, so very light SPOILERS, but… Meth chicken, wow lol.
I also like the post-credit scene because it does the best of both expands on the ending and also does a good job at teasing the next film.
Thunderbolts* is like if Zack Snyder directed Guardians of the Galaxy, but James Gunn still wrote it. Throw in a little The Boys political intrigue and a dash of Doom Patrol superhero therapy, and you get Thunderbolt*, which not only balances all these different tones mostly well but is genuinely funny in parts with cool action scenes that work naturally into the themes of the film. I also appreciate the crap that went into the filmmaking and the balance between real-world and high-concept comic book ideas and visuals while still standing grounded and emotional… I really dug it.
Sure, not every character gets as well developed as I would hope, some of the pacing can be off, and this movie definitely reminds you of other superhero films, but my overall number of issues does not affect the overall piece too much; it’s mostly a lot of fun and interesting and has some of my favorite MCU moments alongside some of my new favorite MCU characters, so I tip my hat to you, Thunderbolts.* 🎩👌
I give this somewhere between a high four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and low five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
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