THUNDERBOLTS* Test Screening Report Suggests It Might Be One of Marvel's Best Movies
It’s been a rocky road for the MCU in recent years, but if early buzz is anything to go by, Thunderbolts* might actually stick the landing and be one of the best Marvel movies made.
According to a test screening report from a Redditor (who was also accurate about Captain America: Brave New World before its release), this movie is a breath of fresh air in the "capeshit" landscape.
Here's the full quote from the screening attendee:
"[I] attended a test screening of this near Burbank about 6 weeks ago. I won't say too much but I think if you're feeling jaded by the 'capeshit' genre because they're all feeling the same, I would check this one out.
“The journey it takes the characters on is actually interesting, the team dynamic is great (not unlike Guardians of the Galaxy) and the way Sentry/Void is executed into the story is really fascinating."
Comparing a Marvel team-up movie to one of the studio’s most beloved ensembles isn't something people do lightly. They also added:
"I expect this one to leg out well into the following weeks after it drops. I see the Tomatometer being above 90% for critics and audiences (of course I could be wrong) but the audience I was with seemed to love it and couldn't stop talking about it highly after the screening."
Of course, glowing test screening reactions don’t always translate to box office success, but if Thunderbolts* can deliver on character depth, a compelling team arc, and a properly executed storyline, that’s already more than some recent entries have managed.
This is going to be a different kind of MCU movie, and that’s exactly what Marvel need to keep fans interested and invested. Also, don’t expect this to be like Suicide Squad.
As soon as Thunderbolts* was announced, comparisons to Suicide Squad started flying. Director Jake Schreier, however, pushed back on that assumption.
He told Empire: "I think people are expecting another version of Suicide Squad, but the story felt different. There was a flip of what people expected it to be."
The plot summary reads: “A world without Avengers doesn't mean there's not a group of superheroes. There is a group and they're called the Thunderbolts. A group of supervillains from the MCU are recruited to go on missions for the government.”
The film centers on the characters Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell). Lewis Pullman plays “Bob” aka Sentry aka The Void.
Jake Schreier directed the action-packed adventure, with a screenplay from Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo.
With Captain America: Brave New World struggling to impress and Marvel in need of a win before The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in July, Thunderbolts* might just be the movie to get things back on track.