Whenever Marvel has a project slated to come out on the first weekend of May, everybody knows immediately that the summer movie season has officially begun. But there may be confidence to be had with the MCU’s latest film, Thunderbolts*. But this antihero team-up wasn’t one I had expectations for when this was first announced. Maybe because I wasn’t familiar with the comics or how underwhelming Captain America: Brave New World was a few months ago, what I saw from the marketing made it appear to be another forgettable superhero flick that didn’t freshen things up for the franchise. But whether it was those low expectations or something else, Thunderbolts* is by no means a game-changer for the subgenre, but it’s a genuine surprise at how fun and serious this turned out.

What’s the Story: As Black Widow assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) continues to work freelance for CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), she’s very skilled at her job to the point where she begins to feel unsatisfied. With De Fontaine under impeachment from the U.S. government, she’s willing to give Yelena one more mission before taking on a public job: sneak into this O.X.E. facility in the mountains to retrieve information. But she’s not alone; John Walker, U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/ Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) are also there to take each other out, along with a mysterious man named Bob (Lewis Pullman). Learning that De Fontaine sent them to be incarcerated along with all traces of her illegal operation, they managed to escape, realizing they must work to survive and take out a threat that could harm the world.

The immediate thought of watching the trailers for Thunderbolts* and having an idea of where the premise is going is believing this is Marvel’s equivalent of Suicide Squad. You have a group of misfits who are best described as “anti-heroes. ” If you’ve watched previous projects with these characters, put their differences aside and hope for the best for them all. For the audience, the thing is, not all of them are what anyone calls “superheroes.” Unlike the bad version of Suicide Squad (2016), where the dozens of characters made connecting to them difficult, director Jake Schreier (Paper Towns, Netflix’s Beef) and writers Eric Pearson (Black Widow) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) managed to focus on our leads, rather than the typical showcase of what many MCU fans come to expect. Thunderbolts* had the feel of a small-budget blockbuster out of Phase 1 that does come with some action, but carries an old-fashioned vibe most weren’t expecting for a film with more to offer than fists flying and explosions.

Any good MCU film works in its favor when it has a solid ensemble to latch onto for those two hours, and this gives the audience a chance to like them more or come to terms with how they were when first introduced. As the lead through and through, Pugh continues to be amazing as Yelena, a character who remains intriguing despite her pain after the death of her sister Natasha and her dark childhood. Trained to be a killer, she is a complex character, the most layered among those we’ve come to know since Phase 4, and her role in this phase is of significant importance, leaving us eager to see where her journey takes her. It’s always cool to see Sebastian Stan back as Bucky Barnes, who’s now a Freshman Congressman and the one who’s been in the franchise since the start. Bucky’s role isn’t as huge as I thought, but this does have him help out when he notices if Valentina is doing shady work without anyone noticing. David Harbour’s Alexi Shostakov/ Red Guardian was the much-needed levity I thought would be a bit grating, yet I loved it when he came back on-screen. He’s the one who gets most of the jokes. Not all of them landed (though I’m not gonna bitch about the MCU’s overreliance on humor), but the ones that did benefit from Harbour’s performance, along with the best dynamic shared between him and Pugh. This gave Russell’s John Walker more to do after the downfall of his term as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where he tries to be the leader, only to be an a-hole than before.

The development for Ghost was about the same as when she appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and this could’ve fleshed her out more, given her cool phasing ability. But besides Pugh, the other standout has to be Lewis Pullman. Bob’s the only character from the comics that went over my head, This steadily develops him since he has amnesia once he’s awakened inside this trap, only to discover that more about himself isn’t what he expected. Not everything about him was shown in the marketing, but I figured out where the story would take him, and it made me excited about what they’ll have him do next.

The action had a more grounded approach that we haven’t seen in the MCU for quite a while. From the looks of it, much of the work on-screen had to be practical in terms of the stunt choreography, having almost this gritty feel with throwing fits and explosions without turning into a loud third act. Even the visual style from cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo gives a grayer color palette that works here more than anything else. But surprisingly, the biggest takeaway that Thunderbolts* has in its favor is the implementation of its theme of mental health, trauma, and the effects of loneliness. It’s a movie where you’re rooting for the underdogs to achieve this mission they’re on, and yet these are flawed people dealing with the pains of their past. Yelena, especially, is more or less depressed with this mercenary life, or what we learn about the backstory of Bob, which will hit close to home for many viewers needing a purpose in life, some redemption. The balance of action and humor is here. But it’s one of the movies with more downtime that can give each misfit a moment that gives them more. And it’s different, which I appreciate from Scheier.

With one viewing, this isn’t one of Marvel’s most excellent outings since it had a few hiccups that kept it from reaching 20 in my ranking. The second half slowed down a bit, where the brief absence of action might hinder some pacing. Secondly, who didn’t make it out alive was very predictable, and it made me question why they had them here. And it ended rather anticlimactic, where I was almost caught off guard by wrapping some arcs up, but it could’ve used another seven minutes. However, the post-credits scene leaves us excited about what’s setting up for the team next.

Thunderbolts*, with good word of mouth surrounding it, will be another film that will have people say, “Marvel is back.” The question is, is that true? We’re still in a pattern in the movies that’s either “really good” or “disappointing.” But since this is the last film part of a very divisive Phase 5, I walked away finding it enjoyable alongside Deadpool & Wolverine and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 worth revisiting.

In the end, Thunderbolts* stands out as one of the MCU’s better entries that delivers on a fun and deeply emotional level. With a charming cast and exploring unexpected themes, it gives you the energy most have been craving for a while, making the film a safe win for those wanting a memorable superhero film.

Grade: B