James Whitehead
With the film opening in cinemas this weekend, early critic reactions and reviews are now starting to hit online, with many outlets reporting that “Thunderbolts*” is a return to form for Marvel studios, boasting great direction, a likeable cast and strong action.
Currently sitting at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film’s score has it sat amongst some of the highest entries from the MCU. For many this was a surprise, albeit a very welcome one. Public interest in Marvel has drifted over the last few years due to the inconsistencies in quality, combining that with the ‘Thunderbolts’ being a team made up of secondary and tertiary characters, expectations were lower than usual going into an MCU film.
It seems these low expectations have done the film a favour, with an overwhelming majority being pleasantly surprised by the film. Many positive reviews point out the strong direction from Jake Scheier, who manages this team of misfits into a cohesive on-screen unit. The story plays on these underwhelming heroes and explores themes of redemption and unity as they overcome their past failings in order to save the day.
From the trailers early on, you could see an entertaining and charming dynamic between some of the team, such as David Harbour’s Red Guardian fanboying over Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes character, with many citing these two standouts alongside Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova who seems to have the biggest emotional journey throughout the film.
Marvel really needed some positive word of mouth from Thunderbolts* and there will certainly be a sense of relief in the studio. But that will only last the weekend as we wait to see if these positive early reviews can turn into a strong box office. Even if the film does underperform compared to some of the studio’s more famous projects, at the very least, the positive reviews from critics certainly start to suggest there is momentum behind the MCU again, which will be fundamental for their next release which is only around the corner with “Fantastic Four: First Steps” coming on the 25th of July.
In the meantime, watch the final trailer for Thunderbolts* below and stay tuned for a review of the film once its released this weekend.
