by James Coulter 

Once upon a time, I loved the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back then, it was a fresh prospect to have a shared cinematic universe where characters from different movies interact with each other and come together in big epic crossovers. Sadly, ever since Endgame, the MCU has been as fresh as a pair of sweaty gym shorts that got lost in the back of your closet for weeks on end. 

Every Marvel movie since Endgame has proven to be quite unremarkable and unmemorable. I even forgot Captain America: Brave New World was released this year, and I watched it a month ago. Marvel has since released its newest movie, Thunderbolts. But are the heroes in this movie worthy of becoming the New Avengers? Or are the Thunderbolts nothing more than a bunch of Thunder-dolts? 

Several years have passed since the events of Endgame. And all of the Avengers are gone. Iron Man is dead. Black Widow is dead. Captain America went back in time to marry his sweetheart. The Hulk is now a sexy green professor. And Hawkeye is…retired? With no more Avengers, the Earth is left defenseless from an Avengers-level threat. 

Fortunately, a CIA operative named Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been working behind the scenes to assemble a new group of superheroes (or rather, anti-heroes) to become the New Avengers. And that team includes the Winter Soldier and several C-list characters that nobody knows about or care about, including blonde Black Widow, the communist Captain America, the replacement for Captain America (before the Falcon assumed that role), the villian from Ant Man 2 (Anyone remember that movie?), and the villian sidekick from Black Widow. 

However, turns out these characters haven’t been assembled in this film to become the New Avengers, but rather disassembled. Turns out Valentina initially conscripted each of these characters to become the next Avengers, but because she had done so through shady means, she’s being investigated by the government and facing impeachment. And to cover up her crimes, Valentina has lured all the other characters into a trap to be eliminated. And now they must work together to escape her wicked machinations and thwart her evil scheme. 

Valentina herself certainly works as an antagonist character. She exudes corrupt female politician vibes. A real Kristi Noem type. And Valentina would certainly be the type of person to pose in front of a jail cell crammed with shirtless inmates inside an El Salvadorian prison rife with human rights violations and proudly boast about how all of this is being done to “protect American freedom.” 

I went into this movie expecting it to be as bad and forgettable as the previous Marvel movies post-Endgame. But this movie managed to pleasantly surprise me. What made it work so well was seeing these disparate characters come together to bounce their personalities off one another and quip at one another. There’s nothing more entertaining than seeing a group of misfits and anti-heroes form a ragtag group and accomplish something together. It’s why movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad work so well. 

Sure, the characters themselves, with the notable exception of Winter Soldier, aren’t the strongest or most memorable characters in the Marvel movies, but seeing their unique personalities work off of each other makes for quite the entertaining watch. When you get the audience to like and care about characters that most other people don’t usually like or care about, that’s a good movie. 

Speaking of characters, Thunderbolts also introduces a new character named Bob. Initially, this character comes across as a joke character, but…well, no spoilers, but let’s just say this character plays a much bigger role. And the mystery behind this character and his big reveal is…well, quite revealing and intriguing. Chances are, if you’re familiar with the comics, you can see the big reveal of who he is coming a mile away. Nonetheless, he proves to be a real intriguing character. 

Speaking of which, no spoilers, but this mystery character has a power where, when they get in close contact with the other characters, he makes them relive the dark, traumatic moments from their past. These scenes delve into themes of trauma and mental health, and as such, the movie has a bit of a message about how people can overcome their trauma through their bonds with other people. It’s certainly a commendable message. But my biggest nitpick is simply that Guardians of the Galaxy did a better job of tackling that same message. 

Overall, is this movie great? Not really. But it’s certainly better and more entertaining than I expected it to be going in. It’s a good popcorn action flick worth watching in the theaters. I’m just expecting the Fantastic Four movie to be better. 

Listen to an audio version of this review in the One Movie Later podcast on Chattin on the Ridge: https://shows.acast.com/chattin-on-the-ridge/episodes/one-movie-later-thunderbolts-yet-another-disney-live-action-