Thunderbolts* with Marvel's ‘darkest material yet' debuts to giddy early reviews
Described as 'easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time', it's Thunderbolts* that will wrap up Phase 5 cinematically with Pugh in her first lead role for the franchise after debuting in 2021's Black Widow.
'Shocked how good Thunderbolts* is. Putting emphasis on the character work and practical action makes this feel like the old Marvel that has us for a decade plus. Wish we'd gotten this sooner,' posted film critic Brandon Norwood following the film's European premiere.
Matt Neglia, Editor of Next Best Picture, noted that it feels 'in many ways different from other MCU films that have come before it, and that freshness couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time'.
He also noted it contains 'some of Marvel's darkest material to date', adding: 'This may be a team-up film, but it very much belongs to Florence Pugh, who carries much of the dramatic weight of the movie on her back.'
Thunderbolts* was deemed 'easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time' thanks to its 'spark and charisma', with film writer Emily Murray sharing: 'A tear was shed. Florence Pugh in particular superb, [she] just walks away with [the movie].'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
FilmSpeak's Griffin Schiller enthused: 'I haven't felt this giddy leaving an MCU movie in YEARS! #Thunderbolts is FANTASTIC. A Phase One style character piece about finding fulfilment, embracing our demons and the support system needed to save us from the pull of the void.
'A witty, mature, singular vision from Jake Schreier. Top shelf Marvel!'
Film writer Mia Pflüger also noted that 'Sebastian Stan has an absolute scene stealing moment, yet Florence Pugh shows she is the true lead of the new generation and team'.
Thunderbolts* comes at a tricky time for Marvel Studios after Captain America: Brave New World fell short of the major success hoped for, although it managed $414.7m and is the fourth highest-grossing film of 2025 so far, worldwide.
THUNDERBOLTS* is, in many ways, different from other MCU films that have come before it, and that freshness couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time, when the franchise is in need of new blood and direction. It's some of Marvel's darkest material to date, dealing with the… pic.twitter.com/CxxejPPx77 — Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) April 22, 2025
I haven't felt this giddy leaving an MCU movie in YEARS! #Thunderbolts is FANTASTIC. A Phase One style character piece about finding fulfillment, embracing our demons and the support system needed to save us from the pull of the void. A witty, mature, singular vision from Jake… pic.twitter.com/zty4hD2sfj — Griffin Schiller (@griffschiller) April 23, 2025
Well #Thunderbolts is easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time (and maybe one of my new personal faves). Has so much spark, charisma, and tells a genuinely emotional story you connect with. A tear was shed. Florence Pugh in particular superb, just walks away with it pic.twitter.com/U7AzBgGZMl — Emily Murray (@EmilyVMurray) April 22, 2025
However, it followed in the footsteps of a very lacklustre 2023 when Marvel reached an all-time low with the release of The Marvels in 2023, which managed just $206.1m and drove suggestions of superhero fatigue – although Deadpool & Wolverine was a big boost last summer as Marvel reigned back its release schedule.
The official team of antiheroes in Thunderbolts* is Pugh's Yelena Belova, Stan's Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and Wyatt Russell as John Walker.
After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), these disillusioned cast-offs are forced to embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts as they grapple with the possibility of redemption.
Talking to Metro at the European premiere, director Schreier addressed the change of tone and style for Thunderbolts*, explaining: 'From the moment I came onto the film, the first thing Kevin [Feige] said is, 'Make it different' – and I wasn't expecting that. But Kevin knows what he's doing, and if he's telling you to do something, just try to do it.
For me #Thunderbolts worked because it peeled back layers on a subject I have long fought with. Florence Pugh continues to be a stand out. I laughed but I also cried at a story I think people will relate to. Weird in places, in the best way. I can't wait to see it again. pic.twitter.com/N2oH25vNIK — Paul Klein 👾 (@paulkleinyoo) April 22, 2025
#Thunderbolts* introduces a new era for Marvel, the most humane film filled with allowing their anti hero being flawed, broken and regretful. Sebastian Stan has an absolute scene stealing moment, yet Florence Pugh shows she is the true lead of the new generation and team. pic.twitter.com/laTDyRVCkr — Mia Pflüger (@justmiaslife) April 22, 2025
He added: 'More than anything, we just wanted to make something that felt human, and really came from a character, and had stunts that were tactile, that you could see that we really went out and did.
'I don't know that that makes it indie – or just, hopefully, it's good filmmaking, and that's what we tried to do.'
Executive producer Brian Chapek added: 'In a world where you're telling a story about these underdogs, who're all dealing with this inner darkness – but still needs to have the fun of a Marvel movie – [Schrerier] was the perfect partner to create this kind of A24 tone that everyone's been talking about.'
In terms of what fans can expect from Thunderbolts*, the producer teased: 'This is a movie that's very internal and it feels relatable to a lot of people. So I think it's just the sum of the experience that you take away at the end of it, something that can feel like a Marvel movie but also be entirely different.'
As always for a new MCU release, fans want to know how long they should stay put in their seats.
Reports have now confirmed that there are two additional scenes during the credits. More Trending
One of these is also said to reveal the importance of the asterisk in the film's title, which has generated multiple theories among fans..
Thunderbolts* is released in cinemas on Friday, May 2.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Sinners' 'horniest' scenes are just as important as the most gory
MORE: Horror fans bowled over by 'fever dream' cast for eagerly anticipated sequel film
MORE: Horror fans get 'chills' from brutal I Know What You Did Last Summer trailer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
13 hours ago
- Scotsman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: 'a blast'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Fantastic Four: First Steps (12A) ★★★★ Every Marvel movie these days seems to inspire a referendum on all Marvel movies, so with The Fantastic Four: First Steps the studio has smartly gone back to the drawing board, leaning into Jack Kirby's original iteration of the titular superhero family in a big way to eliminate the convolutions of the 36-film-deep Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Fantastic Four: First Steps | MARVEL STUDIOS In other words, it's set in a completely different timeline from the previous films, one that resembles Earth – specifically 1960s New York – but doesn't have the likes of Captain America running around forcing viewers to try to remember which bit of mythology lines up with which plot point (the timeline is actually announced as Earth 828, which comic book aficionados will know is a reference to Kirby's birthday and the name he gave this parallel universe in the comics). If that already sounds confusing, though, just know that the film stands on its own two feet as it deftly sketches out the backstory for Marvel's first superhero team and, in the process, ends up feeling like the first Fantastic Four film that actually understands the characters (there have been four previous attempts, including a never released Roger Corman cheapie). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fuelled by the optimism of the 1960s moon shot, the film's opening salvo, for instance, is a sparky bit of superhero myth-making that quickly explains the astronauts-hit-by-radiation origins of the Fantastic Four's superpowers while a montage of news-clips – beautifully rendered in the kind of fuzzy 16mm film stock style familiar from countless NASA documentaries from the time – shows how quickly Dr Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and their friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) have embraced their respective superhero alter-egos as the elastic Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the fiery Human Torch and the rock-like Thing, to become protectors of the people. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four: First Steps | MARVEL STUDIOS Like DC's recent Superman reboot, it doesn't waste time explaining every aspect of their transformation either; instead it makes sly use of the the actual 1960s Fantastic Four cartoon show to provide a neat contrast between their idealised public image and their more complicated private lives, upping the personal stakes by having Reed and Sue realise they're going to have a baby. This is the film's plot kicker. Secretly worried their unborn child will have genetic anomalies they won't be able to control, their parental anxieties are exacerbated by the arrival of classic Fantastic Four villain the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and the imminent threat posed by the planet-gobbling villain Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) when he takes an undue interest in the super-baby growing in Sue's womb.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is 'pleasant enough' but lacks tension
Despite strong performances by Pedro Pascal and others – and for all its "breezy competence and flair" – this retro vision of the future from Marvel doesn't have enough suspense. Producers make all kinds of claims about their films. But Kevin Feige, producer of the Marvel superhero franchise, was right when he called The Fantastic Four: First Steps "a no-homework-required movie". What a relief. For once, no need to scramble to Wikipedia to sort out the characters' tangled histories and multiple timelines. That's one of the strengths of this stand-alone film, which leans hard into its 1960s retro-future setting and style. And it benefits greatly from a cast that is believable in unbelievable situations, especially Pedro Pascal as the brilliant scientist Reed Richards and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as his best friend, Ben, aka The Thing, a giant man made of rocks. How much you enjoy it, though, may depend on how much you might like spending a couple of hours in a theme park, which this pleasant-enough Disney film resembles. The Fantastic Four efficiently sets up the heroes' story. Mark Gatiss plays a chipper talk-show host who introduces the team by reminding his audience of what happened four years earlier. The four were on a space mission when cosmic turbulence changed their DNA. Richards, in addition to his genius, now has an elastic body. His wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), can emit a force field from her hands and can also become invisible. Her brother, Johnny (Joseph Quinn), became The Human Torch, able to turn into a flying flame. And Ben looked just like Cousin Richie from The Bear until he became the superstrong, rocklike Thing, a permanent condition. Now they all live together, for some reason, saving the world when needs be. They also created a humanitarian foundation, and it seems that Sue used it to bring about global peace, but that detail goes by fast, part of a sleek montage. The first comic featuring these characters appeared in 1961, and the film's aesthetic is rooted in that era, down to the Fantastic Four's identical blue uniforms with 60s-style white boots. This is not a world where SpaceX or Blue Origin, today's real-life billionaires' space ventures, are a glimmer of an idea. It is a land of flying cars, a toddler-sized robot called H.E.R.B.I.E who helps out around the house, and screens with the square shapes of early televisions. For all his scientific genius – he has just discovered how to teleport objects – Reed still figures his equations on a chalkboard. If you've even glimpsed the old television shows The Jetsons or Lost in Space, from the same period as those early Fantastic Four comics, you'll recognise this cartoonish space-age vision of the future. The team's family bond is the film's main theme, even more than saving humanity. As the film starts, Sue learns she is pregnant. Nervous about being a father, Reed has H.E.R.B.I.E. baby-proof the house and lab. Johnny and Ben are at times the bickering comic relief, but always excited to be uncles. But soon Earth does need to be saved from a space monster called Galactus, a giant in armour, with glowing eyes, who survives by consuming planets. He sends a messenger, the Silver Surfer, to announce his plan to eat up Earth. In motion capture, Julia Garner plays the Surfer, a lithe, metallic figure – the film's best, most sophisticated visual effect – whom Johnny instantly has a crush on. As the plot and the action kick in, in its simplicity the film comes to feel like a children's adventure tale, although an odd one because it also includes Sue going into labour while in space, as the team chases Galactus and is chased by Surfer. The effects are mostly whirls of light along with Johnny in flames flying across the screen. As Marvel action goes, it's a pared-down look, but in line with the colourful retro aesthetic. More like this:• Superman is 'bursting with geeky weirdness'• Jurassic World Rebirth has 'few thrills'• 28 Years Later is a 'never dull' mash up Despite the team's outlandish schemes to save the world, the actors tether their characters to emotional reality. In the big final action scene, at last we see Reed stretch like rubber, while Sue tries to fend off Galactus with her force field. But mostly Pascal and Kirby bring fierce-mum-and-dad energy to their roles (Sue and Reed's son, Franklin, by the way, is the most adorable superbaby you're ever likely to see). And throughout, Moss-Bachrach, almost entirely through his voice, brings Ben to life as a person, a loyal friend and slightly lonely man who exists within that rocky surface. The director, Matt Shakman, has worked mostly in television, and directed every episode of the Marvel series WandaVision. As he did in that show, here he smoothly balances the characters' emotions and their magical actions. For all its breezy competence and flair, though, the film doesn't have enough tension or suspense to grab you the way it should. Marvel has announced that these characters will return in future films, so we know they won't die. (Plus, no one has to stay dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They have timelines to fix that.) The best superhero movies let you ignore how ludicrous the plots are, but the silliness of The Fantastic Four is always in your face. In the end, the subtitle First Steps says a lot. This film feels like a warm-up, introducing characters who will become major parts of the MCU. The end of the second post-credit sequence announces that The Fantastic Four will return in Avengers: Doomsday, the next instalment in the franchise. These characters are strong enough to stand out amidst the other superheroes, but you can already hear Wikipedia calling. ★★★☆☆ -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Herald Scotland
17 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
I tried a new Glasgow restaurant where food is priced by weight
A young couple toddles down the cobbles of Ashton Lane for what is likely a first or second date, nervously exchanging small talk while digging through their pockets in search of student discount cards to flash at the till. Before reaching the counter, they're distracted by the multi-coloured world of the pick and mix station and soon find themselves bonding over a shared love for gummy snakes as they shovel scoop after scoop of processed sugar in different shapes and sizes into their bag. That's all fine and well. Heartwarming, even, to think of them sharing a mix of all of their favourite sweets while the crashes and bangs of the latest Marvel blockbuster push our ageing speakers to their limits. The problem is, in my time here, I've weighed up hundreds of these sneaky, priced-by-KG parcels and know long before this one settles onto the scales that it's going to be costly. Cue a cold sweat as whoever's paying realises they now have to part with a tenner's worth of SAAS loan to save face in front of a new potential love interest. Pictured: Zhangliang Malatang on Sauchiehall Street (Image: Newsquest) I'm having intense flashbacks to these awkward exchanges after picking up a pair of tong and what looks like a large plastic mixing bowl at Sauchiehall Street's latest chain restaurant. Opened this summer, Zhangliang Malatang is a build-your-own soup spot where diners take charge, choosing from an impressive selection of noodles, veggies and proteins before handing the whole lot over at the till to be cooked in a broth of your choice. Whether you play it safe with chicken breast, mushrooms and leafy greens or get adventurous with bull frog, ducks' blood and fungus is up to you, and there can be as much or as little of each component as you desire. Like a savoury, grown-up version of a pic and mix. Just the same as with those jelly babies and liquorice wheels at the cinema, however, the trick here is to avoid getting carried away or face a nasty shock when your ingredients are priced up by weight at £2.95 per 100g before being whisked into the kitchen. Read more: Although this place has just arrived on Sauchiehall Street, it is not a new concept. If you're a keen TikTok user, you might be aware of a trend in which diners make a game out of guessing at the final cost of their dishes before receiving their bill at similar hotpot restaurants. This usually ends with each of the shocked participants paying at least a couple of quid over what they anticipated. Last week, a Herald colleague faced the same fate, underestimating the weight of his ingredients at Zhangliang Malatang and swiftly texting me a photo of his soup to debate whether the £17 price tag was fair. I bear that in mind while picking out a mix of tofu, enoki mushrooms and rice noodles that will form the base of my lunch, wondering if this concoction will match his total. Putting concerns over the end cost aside, the freedom of choice here is a lot of fun. I pinch at a generous bunch of coriander that would turn any herb-hater's stomach without a second thought, knowing that this meal has to please no one other than myself. The staff are also extremely helpful, walking customers through how to navigate each step of the process from first picking up a bowl to hitting up a sauce station where they can create a dip with sesame oils, peanut pastes or chopped spring onions at no extra cost. At the till, I hand over my final choices and request a spicy Tom Yam soup to top it all off before waiting for the grand total. All in? It's a total of £12.75 with £10.25 for the weighted ingredients and £2.50 for the broth. Pictured: My finished creation of fried tofu, mushrooms and vermicelli noodles (Image: Newsquest) A competitive streak means I'm thrilled to have beaten my co-worker's bill, but I would be lying if I said I had held back all that much to achieve this. When a deep orange bowl arrives at the table, there's a decent portion there, and though the broth is scalding hot, it contains a brilliant hodgepodge of some of my favourite foods like springy fried bean curd and thin vermicelli noodles. Summer might be the wrong time to indulge in piping hot soup, but I can see myself returning here when the Autumn chill begins to bite in Glasgow. Read more: A wee bit of digging back at the office later reveals that Zhangliang Malatang originated in London and now operates somewhere close to 6000 stores across the globe. A mega-chain though it may be, something in the self-service set-up and range of fresh ingredients helps to inject a sense of novelty into the experience and sets it apart from other big names in the area. And truthfully, in the current climate, any fresh sign of life on Sauchiehall Street is encouraging. Be mindful of your measurements, and this new addition to the city centre will surely rival the fun factor of any sugary pick and mix you might have had before. Zhangliang Malatang is located at 258 Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.
