Thunderbolts* just hit theaters and is already dividing Marvel fans right down the middle. Some say it's a refreshing, character-driven return to form; others say it's another hollow team-up with a forgettable villain and no real stakes. So be honest: is the MCU actually recovering, or are we just lowering our standards every year?
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Add your commentI took my 14-year-old son to see it yesterday and he turned to me in the last 20 minutes and whispered 'dad this is actually really good' and that hit me harder than I expected. He grew up on these movies. Watching him reconnect with the MCU in real time was worth every penny of the ticket.
At the end of the day if a two hour movie makes you feel something real then it did its job regardless of franchise fatigue discourse or box office numbers or reddit takes. I felt something. That counts.
Saw it opening night and I genuinely teared up at the end. Florence Pugh carries this entire movie on her back. Yelena is the most emotionally honest character Marvel has written in years. People who say the MCU is dead weren't paying attention.
i just think its funny how everyone was calling the MCU dead two weeks ago and now the same people are posting 'actually this one was great.' Marvel has trained their audience to forget every disappointment the moment the next thing releases. it's conditioning at this point.
Dropped my MCU subscription to Disney+ after Ant-Man Quantumania. Watched Thunderbolts* at a friend's place last night fully expecting to hate it and I didn't. I actually didn't hate it. Which means now I have to reconsider my life choices apparently.
The problem is simple: no real villain. Valentina is wasted, the Void or whatever they called it is just a CGI blob with no personality. Marvel still cannot write a compelling antagonist post-Thanos and until they fix that, every movie will feel half-finished.
The real question nobody's asking is whether Marvel can sustain this IF it's genuinely good. Their track record for following up one good film with another is terrible. Remember how good Ragnarok was then Love and Thunder happened.
Lewis Pullman gave me actual chills. Most people are talking about Pugh and rightly so but please let's not sleep on his performance. The scene in the void where he confronts his own mind or whatever that was — that was serious acting in a superhero film.
From a filmmaking standpoint the pacing in the second act is noticeably off — about 25 minutes could be cut without losing anything. But the script has real wit and the ensemble chemistry is there. Jake Schreier directed it competently. It's a B+. People calling it the MCU's salvation or its funeral are both being dramatic.
it was fine. like it was FINE. but fine is not good enough for a studio that once gave us Civil War and Infinity War. we deserve better than fine
The therapy session complaint is so funny because when Marvel was lighter people complained it was too shallow. When it goes deeper people complain it's too serious. Some fans just want to be unhappy.
That is factually incorrect. Avengers (2012) alone has better character work than anything in Phase 4 or 5. The shawarma scene tells you more about those characters than three seasons of Marvel Disney+ shows combined.
my mum who has never watched a single superhero movie sat through the whole thing without complaining which is literally impossible. take that as the review you want
Counterpoint — the villain WAS the characters' own trauma. That was the whole point. Not every story needs a cackling bad guy. Some of you genuinely need to watch different movies to expand your palette.
The MCU died with Tony Stark. Every conversation about any Marvel film after Endgame is just people arguing about which phase of grief they're in.
Bob Reynolds aka Sentry has been my favourite Marvel character since I was reading comics in 2005. They absolutely butchered him. He deserved a solo film with proper buildup, not a rushed introduction shoved into a team movie. Genuinely upset.
I'm so tired of Marvel movies being therapy sessions. Can we have one film where people just punch things and have fun without everyone crying about their childhood? Not every blockbuster needs to be prestige drama.
The asterisk in the title is actually explained in the film in a clever way and I don't want to spoil it but when I understood it I audibly laughed. Small detail but it shows someone at Marvel is still being creative.
I keep seeing people say the mid-credits scene changes everything. Saw the movie twice already and I think people are WAY overhyping what it sets up. It's fine. It's connective tissue. Stop letting one scene rewrite your opinion of the whole landscape.
okay hot take but Thunderbolts* is better than any of the Avengers films if you actually care about CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT over spectacle. downvote me all you want
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