WARNING: Spoilers Ahead

“Thunderbolts*” follows a team of antiheroes that contain past MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe’s) villains like Yelana Belova, Ghost and the Winter Soldier, who are tasked to defend New York against The Void, a villain who surrounds the world in darkness. 

I had no clue what to expect from “Thunderbolts*” and honestly thought it was going to be another cash grab by Marvel, but after watching it I can say that it is one of my favorite Marvel movies to date.

The teamwork, or lack thereof, in this movie was hilarious, with the personalities of Red Guardian, Ghost, Yelena, Bucky and U.S. Soldier melded so well together, but the star of the show was Florence Pugh.

I loved seeing Florence Pugh as Yelana in “Black Widow” and “Hawkeye” and was so excited to see what we’d get from her in this newest installment, and yet again she blew me away. The first shot of the movie is her walking off the Merdeka 118, the second tallest building in the world, and it is just a beautiful shot that foreshadows the climax of the movie where she steps into the void. Florence Pugh also showed a very sentimental and vulnerable side of Yelena. 

My only qualm with “Thunderbolts*” is how sudden the ending was. Right as the team defeats the Void it cuts to the true villain of the film, Valentina Allegra de Fantaine who created the Void, announces to the world that the Thunderbolts are now the “New Avengers.” When she announced that, my jaw was on the floor. This movie made me fall in love with these characters and I am so excited to see them in the next upcoming Avenger films as the New Avengers.

I think it’s a fun reveal and is going to create a great dynamic in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” but the ending was very rushed. 

8/10