Director: Jake Schreier 
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 126 mins

Thunderbolts* is the second effort of the year in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and combines a group of rag-tag antiheroes who are caught in a deadly trap and are forced to work together – sound familiar? Part Black Widow sequel but also a continuation of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series, the film opens with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) tired of being a mercenary and contemplating her purpose. She’s given one last job by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to prove herself before a promotion to destroy a laboratory. Once there, she learns that all the operatives there have been pitted against one another as a means of concealing de Fontaine’s involvement in a superhuman project. The group includes John Walker (Wyatt Russell) from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and a mysterious man named Bob (Lewis Pullman).

The film’s directed by Jake Schreier, most famous for heartthrob romcom Paper Towns a decade ago, and he got the gig after apparently blowing away Marvel executives with his pitch. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a rocky ride lately – The Marvels and Captain America: Brave New World both received a lukewarm critical reception (although I liked elements of the latter), although Deadpool and Wolverine fared well (which I thought was a real let-down). Can Schreier inject new life into the machine?

The answer is kinda. Thunderbolts* is another mixed bag but on the plus side, it has some genuinely thoughtful and original ideas. Schreier just makes a bit of a hash of the execution. It’s easy to draw parallels with The Suicide Squad and to some extent, Thunderbolts* is Marvel’s answer but it lacks the darkness and stakes of that film. Like its DC cousin, this film assembles an unkempt team of C-list superheroes. While Pugh made a promising impression as Yelena in Black Widow, I still haven’t warmed to her character here and although he’s usually a fine actor, David Harbour is once again saddled with some poor dialogue here. Wyatt Russell fares better as Walker, although Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost is given next-to-no development. Anchoring proceedings is Sebastian Stan, who turns in his best performance in the series to date as Bucky (he’s really developed as an actor with recent films such as Fresh, A Different Man and his Oscar-nominated turn in The Apprentice). Thunderbolts* instantly feels more alive whenever he turns up on screen. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is also having fun and really chews the scenery and Lewis Pullman turns in a nuanced performance as the mysterious Bob.

I really liked that the film explores the themes of anxiety, depression and addiction – surprisingly grounded fare for a tentpole film. Unfortunately, these heavier themes aren’t satisfyingly developed and are often cheapened by the usual Marvel quips, none of which really worked for me. Captain America: Brave New World was given a bit of critical kicking but one thing it did really well was its more serious tone. As a result, Thunderbolts* is a real tonal jumble and although it’s undoubtedly coherently put together, the tone just didn’t work for me.

My other major problem with Thunderbolts* is that the stakes feel really low. and I never felt the characters were in danger. This is particularly problematic given the villain’s skillset, which I won’t spoil, but most of the action sequences and plot points just felt tired and overfamiliar. Despite the lack of stakes, there’s no denying Thunderbolts* is one of the best-looking Marvel films – it’s crisply shot by David Lowery’s preferred cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo. The opening scene in particularly stands out visually, especially the way in which Palermo uses light and shadows, and he also captures some lovely desert backdrops during one extended sequence. The score by Son Lux, the band who hit the big leagues with Everything Everywhere All At Once is also one of Marvel’s best (certainly since Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning work on Black Panther) with clear, memorable themes that are well-developed.

Despite some original concepts, I can’t say that Thunderbolts* is one of my favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe films but it’s certainly much better than Black Widow, Deadpool and Wolverine and The Marvels. That intriguing asterisk in the film’s title is revealed in the film’s closing moments which should provide some excitement for fans, who will be intrigued to see where the direction these characters go in next. But if I had to ask myself the question – “would I want to see a Thunderbolts* sequel?” – I can’t say I’d be jumping for joy at the idea of rushing to the cinema on opening night. It’s a failing of Schreier’s film that the characters aren’t particularly well developed or likeable and I’d much rather see a film in the vein of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad where life is infinitely more expendable and exciting, with real stakes.