Thunderbolts*

To my shock, Thunderbolts* is the best thing Marvel has put out in ages -- a well-acted piece of popcorn entertainment that balances zippy humor with actual depth. Is it a cinematic masterpiece? No. Will it restore your faith in the franchise? Maybe yes.

Credit the script for its thoughtful character development and getting deeper just when most will think it never will.

It's silly but still heartening, this idea that by saving each other, we might also be able to save ourselves.

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.

The movie features not only some of the best actors in the MCU, but some of the funniest.

I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, but it is one joke...

It's usually not a good sign when something comes with an asterisk attached, and that's the case here.

For all the time they spend dodging slabs of exploding buildings and saving hapless New Yorkers, the characters remain stubbornly convinced that they're not heroic, which is kind of refreshing, really.

It may not be the most original idea; the first Avengers entry could be boiled down in the same way. But I'll take an iteration done this competently over a new adventure featuring the Red Hulk.

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).

Instead of another messy act of brand extension, Thunderbolts* is the first Marvel project in a long time that feels like an actual movie.

Really, the whole movie feels like an asterisk. Don't expect too much of me, it says.

[Florence Pugh's Yelena] and her cohorts are practically yawning with ennui. Screenwriters Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo don't seem to grasp that yawns are contagious.

As cheeky as our MCU heroes can be, there's always an inherent earnestness at play, and that is the source of the tonal wobble that bedevils the otherwise strong "Thunderbolts*."

Marvel manages to fly again thanks to a strong cast and a fresher-than-usual story.

The Thunderbolts may not be the Avengers, but they're the heroes we need now.

The only sure thing is that Pugh deepens the material, investing Yelena with real feeling and a lightly detached ironic sensibility that's reminiscent of Downey's Stark. P

Villains matter more than the heroesin a comic book movie and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the all-time great villains as Valentina, CEO turned Director of the CIA great social smile exuding the supreme confidence and power of the .001%.

It's the best MCU film in a while, in part because it often plays like an anti-MCU film.

The quips fly a little too frequently, but it's better than the material being taken with a straight face.