The recovery of Marvel comic book movies, after a period of not entirely convincing releases and the first signs of improvement marked by the impressive box office results of “Deadpool & Wolverine”, paves the way for the next “Thunderbolts*”: the 36th film made by the studio and directed by Jack Schreier, which will close the fifth phase of the MCU by introducing for the first time a group of heroes with extraordinary powers, but which we will struggle to define as “super”.

Expected in theaters on April 30, the title takes inspiration from the original comics created by writer Kurt Busien in 1997, centered on a team of vigilantes composed of Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. Differently from the more famous "Avengers", in this case they will be former supervillains hired by the state in order to engage in high-risk missions, with the exchange the opportunity to redeem themselves. Appearing from the beginning as a different project compared to the latest Marvel productions, many of the details on the plot have not yet been made known; however, we know that the driving force of the events will be a trap set by Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, a lethal secret agent of SHIELD played by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Among the dangers that the unlikely group of convicts will have to deal with, the most fearsome will be that of the Sentry: a superhero considered among the most powerful in the comic book universe with abilities a thousand times greater than those of Captain America. Introduced just recently in the latest official trailer, we discover his alter ego known as The Void, an evil entity that threatens to jeopardize the city by exploiting its destructive powers.

With an official running time of about two hours, “Thunderbolts*” is aiming to reach, according to the latest forecasts, a collection between 65 and 85 million dollars in its debut weekend alone. If the estimates were to be confirmed, it would be a satisfactory result for the title, considering the modest budget - for a title of the category - of about 180 million. Among the most famous personalities involved in the film are Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Hannah John-Kamen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus; among the new talents we will instead find Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer and Wendell Edward Pierce.

With the memory of the less than enthusiastic test screenings that preceded the release of “Captain America: Brave New World”, the impressions following the test screenings of “Thunderbolts*” instead seemed decidedly more optimistic, so much so that we could be facing one of the best Marvel Studios titles in recent years. On this point, a Reddit user expressed some praiseworthy considerations after the preview behind closed doors, declaring the following: “I attended a test screening of this film near Burbank about 6 weeks ago. I won't say much, but I think if you feel tired of this genre, because lately they all look the same, I recommend you give it a watch. The story of these characters is really interesting, the team dynamic is fantastic (not unlike that of Guardians of the Galaxy) and the way in which Sentry/Void is inserted into the story is really fascinating”

And taking a guesstimate on review site Rotten Tomatoes, he added: “I expect this film to do well in the weeks following its release. I’m predicting a Tomatometer score of over 90% for critics and audiences (obviously I could be wrong), but the audience I was with seemed to love it and couldn’t stop talking about it after the screening.”

Considerations that leave us with hope, and that, aligning with the recent positive feedback after the previews of “The Fantastic Four: The Beginnings”, would clearly indicate a reversal of the trend for the productions of the franchise. We will see to what extent “Thunderbolts*” will be able to capture the attention of viewers, and to what extent it will prove, behind its alternative style, to deserve the right attention.

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