“Thunderbolts*” Is a Win for Marvel—If Your Standards Are in the Basement
Nothing prepared me for when “Thunderbolts*” didn't crash and burn.
The latest MCU installment is sitting at a 69 Metacritic score and a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating—a minor miracle considering the studio's recent track record of flops and forgettables. But let's be honest: that's less about “Thunderbolts” being revolutionary and more about it not being a total disaster like Eternals or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
It's Marvel's version of a C+ student suddenly turning in a B paper—and the teacher (ahem, the critics) grading on a curve because they expected a dumpster fire.
Familiar Tricks, Different Faces
Thunderbolts is marketed as Marvel's “sardonic,” antihero-fueled detour—a Suicide Squad-lite for the Disney crowd. The ragtag lineup includes Yelena Belova, U.S. Agent, Ghost, Taskmaster, and Red Guardian, all stitched together under the eye-roll-inducing oversight of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Sound familiar? That's because it is.
Director Jake Schreier tries to color outside the lines, but Kevin Feige's fingerprints are everywhere. From reluctant heroes with baggage, to villain monologues with childhood trauma, to those two (yes, two) post-credit scenes teasing yet another phase—this is still unmistakably a Marvel product.
It's like seeing a punk band sponsored by Target. Loud. Branded. Still safe.
The Real MVP? Florence Pugh—and a Tower in Malaysia
There is, however, a single, breathtaking moment that reminds you what Marvel could be. Florence Pugh's mid-film stunt, diving from Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka 118 tower, is jaw-droppingly visceral in IMAX. That scene crackles with energy—real actors in real space, no swirling CGI soup.
Pugh owns this movie. She's funny, grounded, and emotionally locked in. The same can't be said for David Harbour's Red Guardian, whose overcooked antics land with the subtlety of a kettlebell to the face.
As critic Bilge Ebiri once put it, “Marvel is what happens when talented actors are forced to LARP in front of a green screen.” Except here, in a rare twist, one of them breaks through the illusion.
Déjà Vu in the MCU
Yes, Thunderbolts is the best Marvel film since Endgame—but that's not the flex it thinks it is. Over the past six years, Marvel has churned out a depressing medley of misfires: Doctor Strange 2, Love and Thunder, The Marvels, Black Widow. Each promised reinvention. Each circled back to the same tired blueprint.
This isn't new. Back in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy was praised for “breaking the mold.” In 2018, it was Black Panther. And yet here we are in 2025, still applauding minor deviations like they're revolution. Marvel flirts with evolution, but it's always a flirtation, never a commitment.
Final Verdict? It's “Fine.” That's the Problem.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Thunderbolts isn't great. It's just not bad—and in today's MCU, that's enough to spark applause.
If Marvel wants to earn back its crown, it needs more than quippy misfits and flashy camera tricks. It needs courage. It needs weirdness. It needs to stop playing from the same dusty playbook.
But hey, enjoy the IMAX stunt and Pugh's one-woman rescue mission. Because the rest? It's Marvel-by-numbers, scribbled with slightly edgier ink.
Would you still buy a ticket if you knew the recipe? Drop your hot take in the comments.
