Tomas Flores
Contributing Writer
I am a big fan of a movie that can have a lot of action and also a heart-wrenching story to tell, and “Thunderbolts*” has just that. However, it also struggles with a slow beginning and a political undertone, which I had no interest in. For these reasons, I rate the film an 8.5/10.
Brief Background (non-spoiler)
“Thunderbolts*” is the most recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with its release on May 2. It marks one of the highest Rotten Tomatoes ratings for a Marvel movie in recent history.
The film follows a team of previously established anti-heroes: Winter Soldier, Yelena, Red Guardian, John Walker, Taskmaster, and Ghost, who are brought together to protect New York in the absence of the Avengers after a new threat emerges.
While the threat isn’t named in the trailers, keen Marvel fans will recognize the shadowy figure turning New York citizens into shadows on the pavement as the Void.
So the question that everyone is wondering is whether “Thunderbolts*” continues the downward trend of MCU quality, or does it finally return the MCU to a high that it hasn’t seen in a while?
Movie overview (Spoilers ahead)
The film starts quite slow as far as most Marvel movies go, setting up the political scene for what is at stake for the rest of the movie. It isn’t until you get past the boring beginning that things start to be a bit clearer on the story’s direction.
Once this was established, the film left me shocked with twists and turns that were thrown at the audience, like the reveal of villain/hero Void/Sentry. Sentry, being a new character to the MCU, brought a fresh perspective with powers never seen in the MCU before.
The film makes it clear that this team of bickering antiheroes is not going to stand a chance fighting this enemy through both hilarious MCU humor and an action sequence between the team and Sentry that had me on the edge of my seat.
Eventually, the Void takes over Sentry, a metaphor for the darkness anyone can feel or a depressive state, but taken to a whole new level because this darkness is the source of his power. To defeat the Void inside of Sentry, the Thunderbolts must go inside of Sentry’s darkness and make him see the good, leading to an emotional ending where the group embraces Sentry. The moral of the story: everyone has a dark moment, but that shouldn’t define a person as a whole.
Overall, I can safely say that the MCU is back to a high that hasn’t been seen since “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” I half expected the movie to be a fun and action-packed Marvel movie similar to that of “Deadpool and Wolverine,” with hardly any emotional impact, but I stand corrected. Thus, I rated it as an 8.5/10.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without a couple of revealing end credit scenes.
The Future of the MCU
You may have noticed that Marvel included a * after the title “Thunderbolts” — that wasn’t an accident. It is revealed right before the credits roll that the official title for this team will be the New Avengers.
After this reveal, there is a compilation of photos and newspaper clippings showcasing New York City’s reaction to this reveal, and the first end credit scene pops up showing the Red Guardian at a grocery store buying a cereal box with him and his team on the cover.
This end credit scene is there for the fun and laughs, but it is after all the credits pass that we get one of the longest after-credit scenes in the MCU. In this scene, we cut to 14 months after the events of “Thunderbolts*” where they are embracing the New Avengers name, but they also talk about changing it because Sam Wilson wants to start a real Avengers team.
The group is then interrupted by something entering their atmosphere. They pull up satellite footage and see that it is a ship. As the ship rotates, we see a logo on the side … The Fantastic Four. Cut to black with a final text revealing the New Avengers and Sentry will return.
I do have a couple of problems with this post-credit scene, though, as we know from past trailers for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Galactus, the devourer of universes, is coming. Because the post-credit scene shows that The Fantastic Four fled to this new universe, it is very likely that they lose their battle against Galactus.
So, did the post-credit scene spoil “The Fantastic Four: First Steps?” We may have to watch and find out when it releases in theaters on July 25.
In the meantime, make sure you check out “Thunderbolts*” if you haven’t. It is a great watch with great action sequences and a thought-provoking, heart-tugging story.