Early reviews for Marvel's Thunderbolts* are in, and -- to quote our reviewer Lisa Laman -- it's "a charming hangout feature" that reminds us why Florence Pugh turns every Marvel Cinematic Universe project she touches into theatrical gold.
There's plenty going on besides the Pugh Effect, of course -- Marvel has been doing a much better job lately in its efforts to create interesting, dynamic characters you actually want to see in five other movies and possibly a TV show crossover or two. But if its current Rotten Tomatoes score is any indication, this newest film is slated to match -- and in some cases even exceed -- the overall scores of previous films in the MCU.
On April 29 -- the day the review embargo officially lifted for critics -- Thunderbolts* had an overall score of 88%. Not the best of any MCU film yet; that honor goes to 2018's Black Panther at 96%. But hey, it's currently higher than both Avengers: Infinity War (85%) and Captain America: The First Avenger (80%). And there's plenty of time for the score to change. Still being in the top 15 (of soon to be 36) movies isn't bad, all things considered.
This is the second MCU film we're getting in the first half of the year, and that feels like a lot considering Marvel has significantly slowed down the number of films and shows it's releasing per year. But slowdowns from both the pandemic and most recent writer's strike mean we're getting a lot of big franchise films this year -- if your mind immediately went to Mission Impossible, you're not alone.
Now that fans can't complain quite as much about "MCU burnout," we're already starting to see much more fair criticisms (and praise) for movies like Thunderbolts*. Perhaps it falls prey to the same faults the MCU often does. But at the same time, certain qualities might almost override those cracks in an otherwise fun, fast-paced superhero adventure. We can't expect even big-studio, mega-franchise films to be perfect -- what's the fun in that? But we can honestly point out when the shortcomings are too much to salvage a release ... and when they're, almost, just part of the delightful chaos.
Thunderbolts* hits theaters this Thursday.