Thunderbolts* - 4K UHD SteelBook

Let’s face it, the Marvel brand ain’t exactly living in the shining palace of box office glory these days. From too many movies to far too many television series, the quantity-over-quality output severely diluted the brand. As the once mighty superhero studio works to regain its footing, the box office has suffered. With that waning trust in the fanbase, a genuinely great character-focused superhero film like Thunderbolts* proved to be an unfortunate underperformer. Hopefully, fans will find it on Disney+ and on disc, as it’s the first MCU flick in a while that I think is worth paying attention to. 

“Who are the Thunderbolts*?” you might ask. They’re the Misfit Toys of Marvel superheroes. You have former assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and her Super Soldier father, Alexei, AKA the Red Guardian. Then there’s Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) with his own sordid history as a WWII vet and once mind-controlled assassin, the Winter Soldier. Ava Starr, AKA Ghost (Hanna John-Kamen), and John Walker, AKA U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), round out this little band of eccentrics. Oh, then there’s Bob (Lewis Pullman). On their own, they’re nothing but little pawns for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to play with and exploit. But together, they’ll prove their worth as the greatest heroes we can hope come to the rescue - the Thunderbolts*. 

As I waited for this disc to show up, Marvel’s Kevin Feige has gone on something of a press blitz ahead of Fantastic Four: First Steps, discussing what worked and what didn’t over their last couple of box office underperformers. Blaming the lack of Chris Evans’ Steve Rodgers is a weird excuse for Brave New World when the story was undercooked and served up leftover plot from The Incredible Hulk. Pinning “too many Disney+ characters” (there was only one) for the underperformance of Thunderbolts* is an equally baffling take. The truth is, both films are the outcome of an overstuffed marketplace that had put more weight on quantity over quality, and fans stayed away rather than take a risk on a new and actually exciting product like Thunderbolts*. 

I enjoyed the hell out of this film. This was the first MCU project that felt complete from beginning to end. It didn't feel like it was originally going to be a Disney+ series, and it didn't feel cobbled together from other abandoned projects. I might have a niggling complaint about how they handled Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), but this was the first MCU project in a while that felt it was more interested in character development than spectacle. Sure, there’s plenty of great action and plenty of exciting setpieces, but that’s all secondary to the characters’ respective journeys as they work together to become a new team all their own. 

As many of these characters were introduced years ago and are only now being revisited, my lone complaint here is that the film relies heavily on the audience having done their MCU homework. You have to have watched all of Hawkeye. You need to have seen Black Widow. You need to remember Ant-Man and the Wasp from seven years ago. You have to have watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier. You might even need a refresher with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for one character. That’s a significant amount of time spent watching other content to be up to speed on the primary players, and all of that content was released years ago. The only one who didn’t have to endure that was Lewis Pullman’s Bob AKA Sentry. 

I still enjoy the Marvel brand. I eagerly buy my popcorn and plop down at the theater for IMAX 3D. When I can, I do my best to churn through the Disney+ shows at my own pace. However, the franchise as a whole needs to figure out how to deliver a product where you no longer need to watch and remember 15-20 hours of content just to enjoy the next 120-150 minutes. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Thunderbolts* smashes onto 4K UHD from Marvel/Disney by way of Sony with a two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook release. The 4K is pressed on a BD66 disc with a BD50 serving up the 1080p and the bulk of the extra features. The SteelBook is a slick piece of work, a clever design on the front giving our heroes their weapons of choice, with the back offering the explanation for the asterisk in the title.

This might sound weird, but the best way I know how to describe the 2160p Dolby Vision transfer for Thunderbolts* would be beautifully dull. It’s not that there isn’t a lot to look at or appreciate; it’s more about the color scheme. This isn’t a bright and cheery film like Guardians of the Galaxy; even the opening Marvel logo is noticeably devoid of color. However, that’s an emotional choice driven by the film's atmosphere. When color does come into the film, namely Bob’s bold yellow Sentry costume, it is more threatening than welcoming or warm. All of that is a long way to say this Marvel entry has a very unique look, and it looks terrific in 4K. Details are sharp and clean throughout, letting you observe and appreciate all of the small details in the character’s costumes. The Dolby Vision grade is nicely applied, allowing the splashes of color to pop when they appear, even in darker and more thematically grim scenes. Skin tones are healthy and human. Black levels and shadows are excellent, lending the image a nice sense of depth, especially in the final act, as some of the character arcs unfold. Whites are nice and crisp.

It appears that Disney has comfortably moved past their Atmouse past, treating Thunderbolts* with an active and nicely aggressive Dolby Atmos audio mix. Between the few quiet conversational sequences we have between our characters and the congressional hearings, I was impressed that the mix makes an effort to convey a broad sense of space through the channels without relying solely on action beats to fill the soundscape. The front/side channels carry most of the auditory load at times, but surrounds, rears, and height get their moments to shine. Of course, action sequences see their day in the sun as well. LFE has some excellent rumble, especially in the last act. 

On the bonus features front, there’s a nice selection of interesting and meaningful extras - even if they’re short. The featurettes, gag reel, and deleted scenes cover the basics, accompanied by a nice commentary from director Jake Schreier. The featurettes are slim, little more than 28 minutes of content that is at least interesting and informative. Gag reel is just that, and the 56 seconds of deleted scenes are nothing to report. Schreier does a good job keeping his solo conversation running and focused, but he also clearly has a lot to say, so a moderator or a fellow participant probably would have helped; otherwise, it’s a nice commentary. 

4K UHD Disc

Audio Commentary featuring Jake Schreier

Blu-ray Disc 

• Audio Commentary featuring Jake Schreier
• Around the World and Back Again (HD 9:13)
• Assembling a Team to Remember (HD 7:29)
• All About Bob, Sentry & The Void (HD 10:36)
• Gag Reel (HD 3:00)
• Deleted Scenes: (HD 00:56 Total)
• Door is Unliftable
• Gary Announcement

After a lot of underdeveloped and rushed-feeling films and series, Thunderbolts* was the first fresh and exciting piece of entertainment Marvel has produced in quite a while (now that I have seen Fantastic Four, it’s a welcome trend). This entry actually gave the characters their own meaningful arc and path for redemption while also blazing a path for future appearances -hopefully, we won’t have to wait four-plus years. On 4K UHD, the film boasts a strong A/V presentation, featuring a stylish Dolby Vision transfer and excellent Atmos audio. Bonus features are slim, but informative, largely thanks to the commentary. This was the first Marvel film in a while where I left the theater eager to see it again. Highly Recommended