Thunderbolts*

Most Marvel movies are about people with amazing superpowers — people who can fly, shoot energy beams, read minds, turn into green monsters — and they’re also often about people who really do everything they can to be good people. Thunderbolts* isn’t about those people; it’s about the people who failed to be superheroes, the ones who have always been overlooked, the ones who can punch and shoot — and who can come together to become something more than they are alone. With the Avengers unavailable, their understudies and former enemies have to take their place to save New York from a threat far more dangerous than they’re ready for. It’s a movie that balances action, high stakes, and humor deftly, and it’s rated 88% on the Tomatometer and 94% on the Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes.

“It is thrilling and heartfelt and best of all, it proves Marvel can still surprise us when it stops trying to please everyone and leans into the weirdness.” -Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
“Enough to make those self-declared victims of “superhero fatigue” reconsider that it might not be the genre itself that’s tapped out, but merely the focus on telling stories versus marketing future sequels and the sickly shimmer of nostalgia.” -Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)
“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 center.” -Nicholas Barber, BBC.com
“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.” -David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Even amid such familiar mayhem, Schreier finds fresh, vivid angles. The action is clear and coherent; the character dynamics strike the right balance of earnest sincerity and glib humor.” -Justin Chang, NPR
“It’s silly but still heartening, this idea that by saving each other, we might also be able to save ourselves.” Kat Sachs, Chicago Reader
“The best thing about the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Thunderbolts* is how unconcerned it is about being a story about comic book superheroes (or, in this case, antiheroes).” -Sara Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak.com
“The movie features not only some of the best actors in the MCU, but some of the funniest.” -Sam Adams, Slate
“Marvel manages to fly again thanks to a strong cast and a fresher-than-usual story.” -Rafer Guzman, Newsday
“Thunderbolts* doesn’t rush the action, but it does deliver the staples that superhero fans crave while respecting the need to create a bolder story than what the superhero genre has been delivering of late.” -Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
“Fresh and thoughtful in a way recent Marvel efforts haven’t always managed.” -John Nugent, Empire Magazine
“Fortunately, and shockingly given just how many arcs the film has to balance and serve, the whole thing works because it is so explicitly rooted in character, not twists.” -Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
“All the assembled parts here, including an especially high-quality cast (even Wendell Pierce!) work together seamlessly in a way that Marvel hasn’t in some time. Most of all, Pugh commands every bit of the movie.” -Jake Coyle, Associated Press

Thunderbolts* explodes into The Clyde on Friday, May 23, and plays Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday at 7:30 for two weeks.