The latest film set in the Marvel universe is out in cinemas today (2nd May).
The Guardian: *** “Thunderbolts can be messy, sure. Pugh is the kind of star who can thrive in such mess.”
BBC.co.uk: **** “At both ends of the spectrum, Pugh delivers a performance which would win her awards if it weren’t in a superhero film. She delivers her punchlines with expert timing, especially when she is bickering and bantering with Red Guardian. But she can also radiate raw emotion – and all while maintaining a decent Russian accent and cartwheeling through her acrobatic fight scenes. When it comes down to it, that’s why Thunderbolts* is so much better than most of Marvel’s post-Endgame films. It’s not just because it’s a rough-edged, big-hearted spy thriller about lovably clueless anti-heroes. It’s because it has an actor as charismatic as Pugh at its centre.”
The Independent: **** “This James Gunn-style team-up movie – starring Florence Pugh and David Harbour – won’t single-handedly save the beleaguered MCU, but it boasts enough surface pleasures that future Marvel filmmakers should sit up and take note.”
IGN.com: “Thunderbolts* is the most solid the sacred timeline has felt in a little while, providing an adventure befitting its overlooked title characters. While it very capably dabbles in a darker tone – touching on the mental health of heroes and villains alike – the filmmakers struggle to balance that dabbling with a snappy, comedic energy.”
Den of Geek.com: “Without giving too much away, a third act twist offers a surprisingly potent and all-ages accessible metaphor for depression as Pugh’s Yelena and the other also-rans are forced to face their own demons due to vague comic book superpower mechanics dipping Marvel’s toes into the surreal. We’d hesitate to say it is anywhere nearly as sophisticated as Pugh’s previous explorations of grief and trauma in, say, Midsommar (despite the star dubiously suggesting Thunderbolts plays like “an A24 movie”), but the sheer oddness of Thunderbolts’ climactic swerve reveals a gameness to try new things. Marvel is at last willing to stare into the darkness, if never long enough to unsettle anyone but the absolute youngest of audiences. (There is, though, one mildly freaky moment that might trouble parents with children under the age of 10.)”
Roger Ebert.com: *** 1/2 “But “Thunderbolts*” reminded this former comic book reader and fan of much of the early films in the MCU and what these blockbusters could do before they got too reliant on multiverses: Remind you of the humanity in the heroism. Maybe these second-rate Avengers really are the heroes that 2025 needs.”
The Telegraph: ** “The latest Marvel title is just dollop upon dollop of dourness, leaving its stars no space to show us what they might bring to the franchise.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “While a handful of the characters and the actors playing them have appeared in previous entries, there’s a disarming freshness to this first-time assembly, not to mention something even more unexpected: heart. That’s due to an appealing ensemble cast but also to the new blood of a creative team with a distinctive take on the genre.”
Variety: “As with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, what works here is the uneasy tension within a team that comes together out of necessity, rather than any natural sense of affinity.”
Digital Spy: **** “However, the movie is more interested in its flawed characters and their mental states in particular. Thunderbolts* might not be the deepest exploration of depression you’ll ever see, but it’s impressive that writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo have managed it at all in a mainstream summer blockbuster.”