Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts*
After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must go on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
rg9400 reviewedJuly 1, 2025
Thunderbolts proves that if you set the bar low enough for a franchise, a slightly above average movie can somehow feel like a masterpiece. Make no mistake, this movie has some fairly stereotypical ragtag group of rascal teamup tropes that has been done ad nauseum by now, the incessant need for the MCU to use cheesy one-liners to undercut moments of tension, and the terrible washed out look that just makes these movies visually uninteresting. For a decent chunk of the movie, I honestly couldn't see why people were praising it. However, this movie does break the mold from a lot of the recent movies by trying to hone in on the characters. Granted, most of the characters (Bucky, Ghost, Red Guardian) get no depth, and Walker's given a slight nod and not much else. However, I think this movie does a decent job exploring Yelena and another character. Yes, at the end, the movie does have heightened stakes, but the conflict remains a more personal one. It gets resolved a bit too neatly, but I did enjoy the ending quite a bit. I think, at the end of the day, this movie isn't necessarily doing anything super special. Like I said, it's slightly above average. However, it really showcases how much the MCU has failed to do the basics, getting way too caught up in franchise building instead of trying to focus on more human stories with lower stakes. In a lot of ways, I think this is a good template for them to get back on track. Hopefully, they learn from what worked in this movie and build on actual character development, stop using one-liners as a crutch, and try to make their movies actually look good.