FILM REVIEW: THUNDERBOLTS* / *THE NEW AVENGERS (12A) ESP RATING: 3/5

By the time you read this the name of Marvel’s latest offering could have been changed to its alternate New Avengers title – because after this, that is essentially what they are.

Whether the ‘clever’ marketing with adding the ‘asterisk’ to the title in anticipation was actually necessary is open to debate – but it’s at least somewhat of a return to form for the recently-disjointed Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This takes a slightly darker tone as a rag-tag ensemble of anti-heroes – who have appeared across various MCU movies and TV series – are brought together for this big-screen collaboration.

In Malaysia, Red Room-trained assassin – and Black Widow’s sister – Yelena (Florence Pugh), destroys a laboratory on behalf of ruthless CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (legendary Seinfeld alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus), to conceal her involvement with the underground ‘Sentry’ superhuman project.

Fontaine then dispatches Yelena, and three other mercenaries-for-hire – former Captain America John ‘US Agent’ Walker (Wyatt Russell), molecular-shifting Ava ‘Ghost Starr' (Hannah John-Kamen) and photographically-reflexed Antonio ‘Taskmaster’ Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) – to a facility under the guise of an important mission. But instead she sent them to assassinate each other in an attempt to tie up her ‘loose ends’. Which obviously fails as the group begrudgingly team-up and pick up a mysterious man, only known as Bob (Lewis Pullman), along the way.

Bob is in fact the only surviving member of the Sentry trials, and despite his low-esteem and mental health issues, is actually a ‘Superman’ in the making. And Fontaine needs him back to showcase this project has succeeded, to help prevent a government impeachment on her.

In the meantime, Yelena’s father, ex-Russian super soldier Alexei ‘Red Guardian’ Shostakov (Strangers Things star David Harbour) comes to the group’s aid, and they combine forces with the only previous ‘proper’ Avenger in the form of Bucky ‘The Winter Soldier’ Barnes (in the process becoming their de facto leader), who has been tinkering with politics in an attempt to get the impeachment of Fontaine through.

Unfortunately in the process, while the self-monikered Thunderbolts – based on Yelena’s childhood soccer team – evade Fontaine’s agents, Bob is retrieved for further experimentation.

And in the process turns into the superpowered Sentry, and under his dark, morally-conflicted guise known as ‘Void’ (a bit like the movie Brightburn) is invincible, spreading darkness to New York city and its inhabitants by turning them into shadows –  and transporting them into a permanent state of purgatory.

But with the previous Avengers currently disbanded, it’s up to the ‘New Avengers’ – which they are tagged as by the movie’s climax – to save the world from this new villainous menace, by separating the sweet-and-innocent Bob, from his alter-ego.

This leads to a solid actioner that deserves plenty of plaudits by not being the squeaky-clean ‘fan service’ that some recent Marvel films have been guilty of.

But despite some humorous interludes and compelling characters – particularly Pugh’s Yelena and Pullman’s Bob – it can be somewhat disjointed and unnecessarily dark. Not dark as in its overly adult-orientated, but dark as in it literally carries a very dark palette throughout.

With references to things like suicide and manic depression – which is welcomed to be highlighted in a superhero movie – it does sometimes inadvertently yo-yo with the tone.

But despite it not quite coming together into one coherent piece, there’s still much to enjoy here that deserves immense credit for at least trying something evolutionary with a bit more ingenuity.

This evolution brings us the New Avengers, to hopefully provide the welcomed ‘bounce’ before Fantastic Four and Avengers: Doomsday.

And to prove the naysayers wrong that the MCU is far from its own ‘doomsday’ after several lacklustre years.

ESP Rating: 3/5

Gavin Miller

Odeon Luxe Peterborough & Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Geraldine Viswanathan, Wendell Pierce & Olga Kurylenko

Running Time: 2 Hrs 6 Mins

Director: Jake Schreier

Film Review Venue: Odeon Luxe Imax Peterborough

For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Odeon Luxe & Showcase Cinema De Lux Cinemas go to and www.odeon.co.uk and www.showcasecinemas.co.uk