Marvel Studios and the Cinematic Universe have not had the best times since Avengers: Endgame. A series of films underperforming at the box office, new characters that many didn’t care too much about, a chief villain who would be the franchise’s future that had to be dumped due to the actor’s personal activities and a complete change in direction. Let’s not forget one highly anticipated film, Blade, being put on the back burner due to the directors’ and writers’ creative differences. Even the most recent entry, Captain America: Brave New World, has not changed fans’ minds. Now we have Thunderbolts*, which could be the saving grace of the universe, and I can report that it’s definitely the best film the studio has produced in a long time.

Assassin-for-hire Yelena, the Black Widow’s younger sister, feels depressed with her life. Hired by a crooked politician, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, to enter a hidden vault to assassinate a mysterious stranger Yelena believes is out to harm Valentina’s private business, she discovers that a group of assassins have been hired to kill each other. These ragtag killers find they have to form a team to protect themselves from Valentina’s plan, which involves a man called Bob, who has more power than any superhero put together.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way. The plot is all over the place. It is a contrived story to bring together a group of previous baddies from Marvel’s movie and TV world, to show that not all superhero movies have to have heroes with incredible powers. In the process, the plot seems less important to the filmmakers. Instead, they decided to allow the audience to enjoy the company of a group of people who didn’t really like each other. This is where the film wins favour.

Unlike The Avengers, these characters aren’t out for fame and glory but the next quick buck. No one seems to like them, which they care little about, and they aren’t precisely the public face of those who can save the world. They can throw a one-liner at each other while questioning their fashion sense or how they use their particular skills. What has happened is we get a band that doesn’t look, act, or work as a team, yet they have to band together with the threat of a compelling hero/villain.

At the helm of this is Jake Schreier, a director whose previous work includes the excellent Robot & Frank, a character-driven tale of an elderly man finding friendship in a machine. Using his independent cinema upbringing, he allows the characters to do the heavy lifting, focusing less on explosive set pieces but allowing us to explore these people and who they are. They are somewhat familiar from previous outings, but never to the extent of giving them depth and understanding and not just one-dimensional villains.

Yelena is probably the most famous, having been part of Black Widow and making an appearance in the TV show, Hawkeye. Florence Pugh takes on the role with her usual level of gusto and class. Doing her own stunts (the opening sequence sees her jumping off a building. Yes, it is Ms Pugh). She is terrific in this role and is definitely the universe’s future. David Harbour, as Yelena’s father, Red Guardian, gets the best lines, and he is a blast. Wyatt Russell, who was last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as John Walker, who could have been Captain America, seems to be having a blast, as is Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost (last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp). In the villain role, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has plenty of sassiness, which she gives us in Veep, which is always of good value.

Thunderbolts* isn’t perfect, but then Marvel hasn’t produced a perfect film since the last two Avengers films. It shows that there is hope within the franchise that they are back to doing what they did best: giving the audience a fun, sometimes dark tale of interesting characters. Let’s hope this isn’t just a lucky blip and that Marvel is back in action.

4 out of 5

Director: Jake Schreier

Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, Olga Kurylenko, Geraldine Viswanathan, Wendell Pierce

Written by: Joanna Calo, (also story) Eric Pearson, (Thunderbolts created) Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley (Avengers created) Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, (Captain America created) Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, (The Sentry created) Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee

Running Time: 126 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 1st May 2025