It’s difficult to write an intro to a Marvel movie review without feeling like a broken record: Marvel has been in a slump, it’s no longer king of the Hollywood hill, fans are out, theatrical releases aren’t an event anymore, yada yada yada. To be honest, I’ve grown very tired of talking about how far Marvel has fallen, so it is an absolute delight to be able to review an MCU film that everyone else seems to like: Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*. In this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg and I rejoice in critics’ declaration that Marvel is back on track, unpack the darker themes of this anti-hero team-up story, and, because we can’t help ourselves, debate what this film tells us about the future of Marvel’s slate.

We go into SPOILER MODE around the 17:43 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to team-up with spoilers, you can listen safely until then.

Please note that we did actually record this right after Thunderbolts’ opening weekend on Monday May 5th, but had to hold the episode to make way for our very topical Guest List episode about Conclave with Karl LaClair and our Star Wars Day celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Revenge of the Sith.

Image Credit: IndieWire

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe