Marvel Studios may have just gotten back on track with the movie Thunderbolts. It’s one of the best movies we’ve seen in the Marvel universe since Endgame. That may not be saying a lot, but it’s nice to have a good, fun Marvel movie worth seeing in the theater. While I do count Spider-Man: No Way Home as a Marvel movie, technically it was Sony property when it was released and I do consider it the best Marvel movie over the last 6 years, Thunderbolts comes in second in my opinion. And it proves one thing, the best Marvel movies are always with an ensemble cast and not the origin stories. Yes, there are some great origin stories, especially since starting with Iron Man back in 2008, but let’s face it the best Marvel movies have always been the Avengers movies or the Guardians of the Galaxy films and I’ll make plenty of comparisons to prove why Thunderbolts is a good Marvel movie that we’ve definitely been lacking since Endgame came out in 2019. Even if the cast for the Thunderbolts isn’t as good as the first Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, it doesn’t matter because you do get a great ensemble and a new team that’s easy to root for especially since and Warning, this is a spoiler… they essentially become the new Avengers!
The story of the Thunderbolts is about the secret agents and villains who have been working for Valentina De Fontain and who is head of the CIA. She is the Nick Fury-like character who is trying to stave off impeachment so she is getting rid of all evidence of her illegal activities which means she sends, John Walker, the Ghost, and Yelena Belova to kill each other. But in the process, while discovering a science experiment that could threaten the world so to speak, they become a team along with the Red Guardian and the Winter soldier the strict intent on bringing down Valentina. Just like the Avengers, you have characters with their own agendas and priorities who have to learn to work together for the greater good. This is what makes the movie work. Marvel took a template that had worked before with the first Avengers movie and recreated it for the new Avengers. Sure, you can complain that all they’re doing is copying what they’ve done before, but at this point at least they’re copying something successful and that’s all we really wanted to begin with. I’ve complained about this before, after 17 years we have superhero fatigue! Yes, it’s a real thing and it makes it worse when we get shitty Marvel movies with terrible writing. And I’m not saying anything will ever match the Infinity Wars movies. I still maintain that that is the peak of the Marvel universe, Marvel studios had to do something to try and recapture that magic and that’s the Thunderbolts movie. They succeed! You have a great ensemble cast, great action, likable characters, and a lot of fun comedy that makes this movie worth watching. I also love the fact that they’re willing to make fun of the fact that we know this is not going to be the same old Avengers. It’s like getting the B squad, but in the comics, The Avengers were always evolving as a team anyway. Sam becomes the new Captain America, Yelena becomes the new Black Widow. So as far as an origin story goes, this one works even if we’re not as fond of these characters compared to the original Avengers.
But here’s what doesn’t work! While I do compliment Marvel for finally getting back on track by copying a successful template that worked before, it’s also what brings the movie down. We know that this is an origin story for the new Avengers and unfortunately, it just makes the audience yearn for the original Avengers. I hate to say it, but it does. And while the Thunderbolts can be this kooky, unconventional superhero group, we already have one of those with Guardians of the Galaxy. I applaud Marvel Studios for getting some semblance of that magic back, but it can’t replace what we’ve already had. The other thing about the Thunderbolts is it takes a little too much time setting up how they’re going to work together whereas as if you look at the first Avengers movie, yes they argued for a little bit in the first quarter of the movie and then they were off to the races working together. Maybe it’s not so simple with Thunderbolts because technically they’re not heroes, but it is fun to watch them become the heroes we need in the Marvel universe. I like the fact they will become the new Avengers, but I almost prefer them to just be the Thunderbolts who will come in as a secondary squad to fight the big bad guy like Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s a joke in the movie when they refer to John Walker as the “dime store Captain America.” It’s a funny line, but it’s also very true. He’s not Steve Rogers. Actually, Bucky Barnes would have been a better secondary version of Steve Rogers and Captain America. I almost preferred him to become Captain America. But despite the flaws, this is a fun cast that makes the movie entertaining. And David Harbour steals the show as the Red Guardian. I miss Natasha, the first Black Widow, but Yelena does a fine job and this movie also makes the Black Widow movie a lot better.
There is certainly more to like in Thunderbolts compared to previous movies over the last 6 years. As I said, it’s a fun movie and definitely worth the price of a movie ticket. Thunderbolts clearly makes way for the new Avengers and reminds us that our favorite characters are gone. This is a new generation. Thor may show up and I doubt we’ve seen the last of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Plus, we know the new Fantastic Four will be introduced and eventually Deadpool will make his way into this universe. Thunderbolts is the origin story that we have been waiting for as we say goodbye to what we commonly refer to as the Legacy Characters now. They are the new heroes who are here to shine as we start marching towards Avengers Doomsday. So my verdict on Thunderbolts… I certainly enjoyed the movie. It’s a good movie, but still doesn’t compare to when we saw the first Avengers assemble. The film proves as I said before that Marvel movies are always better with a team of superheroes and I don’t know if the individual origin story movies for these characters would have been as good. Sure, Black Widow is an origin story for Yelena. Captain America and the Winter Soldier is an origin story for the new Captain America and Bucky transitioning into a new role as well as John Walker But none of this stands up to the first origin stories we got with Iron Man, Thor, and Steve Rogers’ Captain America. That’s why this movie can’t be as good as past Marvel Avengers movies, however, it does give us a really good origin story for the new Avengers. Phase 5 ends on a good note and Phase 6 is off to a good start with Thunderbolts. And Thunderbolts does a great job of introducing the Marvel character, Bob Reynolds AKA Sentry who also has a great connection to the Fantastic Four which is the next origin movie. I give the film an 8 for bringing the best part of Marvel movies back when superhero teams were assembled. And even though this is not the first Avengers, it certainly gave me a nostalgia that I haven’t felt in a long time with Marvel movies but how I felt in 2012 seeing the Avengers and then 2 years later seeing the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. And these days when it comes to Marvel movies, that’s good enough! That’s a victory!
