In kind of a cruel twist of fate for a film that's establishing a new set of characters, Thunderbolts* arguably became the most important MCU movie in ages as it was forced to serve as a crucial litmus test of whether or not Marvel Studios was going to change the way they do business after their longstanding practice of rewriting movies on the fly and openly meddling with their director's vision through a variety of channels (reshoots, execs taking control of the edit, VFX changes that go down to the wire) has really started to screw with their bottom line over the last couple of years. This film that brings together a collection of misfits with checkered pasts (Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, David Harbour's Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster) to do battle with a mysterious new threat (Lewis Pullman's Bob/Sentry/The Void) was notably the first MCU project to go into production after the conclusion of the WGA/SGA strikes in the fall of 2023. Whether it was merely a coincidence or a targeted response to the MCU having just put out their biggest bomb to date in The Marvels and having Brave New World's principal photography thrown into chaos as a result of the WGA strikes beginning mid-shoot is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that Marvel took the unprecedented step of further delaying the start of production on Thunderbolts* by a few months after the conclusions of the strikes so that another pass on the script could be completed before cameras began to roll. If how Thunderbolts* turned out is any indication, Marvel's major shift in the way they conduct their business could lead to a stabilization in quality that has long alluded superhero juggernaut at a time where they needed it most.
Let me make this clear from the jump, I feel that Marvel's practice of haphazardly assembling their films on the fly extends well beyond the post-Endgame films that have earned most of the vitriol directed towards them of late. This has been their calling card from day 1 (go and look up Jeff Bridges' comments about working on Iron Man) and the prevalence of this practice has led to a catalogue that has been consistently inconsistent. The only difference between now and then is that all of the audience goodwill they earned during The Infinity Saga (aka all of the films they released from May 2008-April 2019) has evaporated. Unless it's an untouchable character like Spider-Man or Wolverine, people are absolutely going to think twice about sitting through prospective future installments of the franchise if the current movie sucks shit. The only antidote to the bitter yet inevitable end of the MCU's consistent cash cow days is them putting more effort into their movies before they see the light of the day and that's exactly what Thunderbolts* delivers.
After the latest round of soulless, messy and/or obnoxiously nostalgic MCU affairs that have followed their most recent triumph (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) prior to this, it was just nice to watch something made by people who clearly give a shit about the material they're working with. They care about the characters, their struggles with facing the sins of their past and start of their unlikely journey down a redemptive path. They care about building a team dynamic from the ground up and earning the viewer's faith that they can become a crucial part of this machine moving forward. They care about crafting action sequences driven by practical stuntwork and fight choreography that isn't obscured by an array of quick cuts. They care about delivering a crisp, detailed sound mix that immerses the viewer in the world. They care about visual effects (the design of The Void is the most inspired, inherently cool CG creation Marvel has put together in a minute) that actually look like they were created in more than 30 seconds by a team of overworked, underpaid artists. They care about shepherding in a new era of Marvel without making an entire movie that's solely exists to set up the next Avengers movie. All people really want out of these movies is characters and stakes that they can get invested in. It's a simple, timeless formula that execs regularly lose sight of for whatever reason and Thunderbolts* is a reminder of just how far delivering on those things can take you. Please allow your projects to be made by passionate, talented people like director Jake Schreier, writer Joanna Calo (best known as the co-showrunner of The Bear)-who handled the final draft of the script and this entire cast (Pullman going full rising movie star God mode with his powerhouse take on a really emotionally difficult character to portray is enough for him to edge out the pretty great work from his peers) Mr. Feige. The survival of your brand may very well depend on it.
Grade: B+
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