Thunderbolts* (2025) Review

With The MCU now into its 17th year we are getting new projects and new ideas and the newest of those is Thunderbolts* I saw the film today and here is my review. The premise of the film sees a group of dangerous operatives brought together in order to survive and potentially make themselves better. 

Main Character

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova has become a much loved character in supporting roles but here she is given the real spotlight and is easily the main character here. She is given lots of the character development and the themes of the film really go through her. Pugh is fantastic and really deserved this opportunity and Yelena is a great lead character. 

Supporting Characters

Sebastian Stan as Bucky is the most experienced MCU actor here and he does a good job. It takes a while for him to actually get involved with the group but he becomes the driving force for the group and it was cool seeing Bucky in this leadership role. 

David Harbour is back as Red Guardian and he was a true joy here. He is clearly the comic relief character but he really embraces it and has so much fun. The relationship between Yelena and him is at the forefront of the film and Harbour adds plenty to that. 

Wyatt Russell reprises his role as John Walker and he was a fun addition here. He has great chemistry with the rest of the cast and I just enjoy him in this role. They kind of try to make you care about him but it doesn't really work and he is mostly just an entertaining loudmouth. 

Lewis Pullman plays Bob and he is also great. The trailers pretty much spoiled his role in the film but the film does a mostly good job in making you care about him and the struggles that he goes through and Pullman does his best with the material. 

Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost again after her somewhat forgettable appearance in Ant-Man and The Wasp and although she does a good job, Ghost really gets put into the background as the film progresses and once again she just isn't given enough to do. 

Story

The story does a good job of bringing these dangerous and unlikeable people together and getting them to work together to bring the best out of each other. It really handles Yelena's character well and the theme of redemption being important for these characters. However, this film makes some weak creative decisions and the scenes between Val and Mel felt pointless and really drove down the overall feel of the film. Its ending also feels a bit rushed and I felt like there was more that they could have done with it. 

Script

The script is good. I laughed quite a bit throughout the film which means it is a return to form for MCU writers. I also believed in the emotional scenes and the development that the characters are going through. For a big superhero film it does an effective job at a character study and the emotional side of these people. 

Style

The film looks great, there are some great action scenes and they take advantage of having all these dangerous people who have different abilities to best effect. The film is also paced well and it kind of flew by but in a good way as I was never bored. 

Overall

Overall, Thunderbolts* is a real return to form for The Marvel Cinematic Universe. I really enjoyed this collection of characters and I think some of the more mature tones really worked and I would definitely recommend a watch. 

Rating - 9/10

The Accountant 2 (2025) Review

It took 9 years but we finally have a sequel to The Accountant. I went and watched the film today and here is my review. The premise of the film sees The Accountant team up with his brother Braxton in an attempt to uncover a conspiracy that might have a personal connection. 

Main Character

Ben Affleck reprises his role as The Accountant and he is once again great in the role. He is probably a bit less interesting as we learnt the majority about his character in the first film but he added some extra humour and humanity to the role and he was also great in the action scenes. If this franchise continues then it could end up being his John Wick. 

Supporting Characters

Jon Bernthal plays Braxton and he is given much more to do here and is great. The chemistry between him and Affleck is the best part and Bernthal really oozes charisma. There is an argument he is getting slightly type cast as The Punisher but he is just so entertaining that I didn't care. 

Cynthia Addai-Robinson is back as Marybeth Medina and she is better in this film. She gives a solid performance and it is much better seeing her actually with Affleck & Bernthal and part of the case that is going on. 

The cast definitely doesn't have the star power of the first one and it does suffer in terms of its villains. They are incredibly forgettable and a really weak part of the film. There is a female character that flutters in and out of the film who could have been really cool but I do think they fumble her. 

Story

The best part of the story is the relationship between Affleck & Bernthal and how their different personalities cause conflict but they do really care about each other and want to support each other. The clash of beliefs with Medina also works pretty well and is better then the previous film. But the actual plot is pretty dull and the motivations for our main characters feels lacklustre and it doesn't really have the interesting parts that the first film had. 

Script

The script is good. As I mentioned before this film has more comedy and though it wasn't hilarious it did enough to made me laugh a few times. It also had some decent drama between our main protagonists. But as mentioned the story wasn't that interesting and this film suffers with the exposition dump problems that the first film had. 

Style

The film really embraces its place as an action film and has way more action scenes in it then the previous film and all the action is really well filmed. It is just really enjoyable to watch and because of this choice the film just flows much better. 

Overall

Overall, The Accountant 2 is a good film with lots of action and enjoyable lead performances. It still has issues that it had in the first film that if there is a third film I hope it really improves in these areas. 

Rating - 7/10

The Accountant (2016) Review

I am going to see The Accountant 2 tomorrow but it has been a long time since I have seen the first film so I decided to re-watch it and here is my review for The Accountant. The premise of the film sees a unique accountant hired by a company to go through their books which leads to some violent consequences. 

Main Character

Ben Affleck plays The Accountant and I thought he was great in the film. His character has plenty of quirks about him and he seems to encapsulate the role really well. He is fantastic in the action scenes and though I didn't feel loads of sympathy for him I enjoyed watching his journey and performance in the film. 

Supporting Characters 

Anna Kendrick plays Dana and I really liked her performance. She is pretty high energy and the chemistry between her and Affleck is great and they really bounce off of each other well which aids both of their characters. 

JK Simmons plays Ray King and he was fantastic in this film. He really cares about his performance and he really rises this quite generic character and makes him one of the best parts of the film and that is due to the quality of the acting. 

Cynthia Addai-Robinson plays Medina and she is good in the film. I don't really care about her part in the plot but I think Robinson adds to the scenes that she is in and does a decent enough job. 

Jon Bernthal, Jeffery Tambor & John Lithgow are all in this film in smaller roles but they are all entertaining to watch. Especially Bernthal who has been doing some great work over the years. 

Story

The story of The Accountant is fascinating, as we see and find out more about him he becomes way more interesting and I really enjoyed this aspect of the film. I also really liked the dynamic between Affleck & Kendrick and I think it was a great part of the film. However, this films complete plot of the bad guys is super generic and was clearly the afterthought. Also, the investigation by Simmons & Robinson really goes nowhere and I do think if that part of the film was cut then it would be no different. 

Script

The script actually has some pretty good dialogue, even some little chuckle worthy moments that I wasn't expecting. But this film really suffers with an exposition problem and the way that it is presented is really weak and affects how the film flows. 

Style

The film has some great action to it. It rivals top action films like John Wick and seeing Affleck take down bad guys is really satisfying. However. the film has some real pacing issues and makes it feeling longer then it is. 

Overall

Overall, The Accountant is a good film that has some great performances and action scenes. It does have some issues but is a fun watch and I hope the sequel is at least as good if not better. 

Rating - 7/10

First Impressions - Andor Season 2

After 3 years, we finally have our first few episodes of Andor season 2. The First season was fantastic and really felt unique for a Star Wars show and I have high hopes for this, so here are my first impressions of Andor Season 2, spoilers lie ahead.

The Show is Highlighting The Fractured Rebellion

In other Star Wars projects it is basically made out that The Rebel Alliance was always together and worked like a well oiled machine. But, Andor does a fantastic job in showing that it wasn't the case and that there were real problems. Over the first three episodes we see Cassians issues with the Rebel Group, the group of Ferrix Survivors hiding from The Empire and Luthen and Mon Mothma arguing what is the right way forward and that has been handled really well. 

Director Krennic is back and in charge

It was reported that Ben Mendelson would be reprising his role as Krennic from Rogue One and we see him here basically starting the real build of The Death Star. He suggests manipulating poorer planets in order to fund their project and he seems to be currently getting his way. 

Mon Mothma is struggling  

In Season one we see Mon agree to help The Rebellion but she wanted to be more conservative and careful with her response. However, over these three episodes as we see her daughter forced to marry a gangsters son and her close friend threatening basically expose her. We see her really struggling and her mad dancing at the end of the episode just encapsulates this. 

Syril & Dedra are struggling with their places in The Empire

After season one, we see that Syril & Dedra are now living together and for different reasons are struggling with their roles. Syril has a job that he feels worthy of but his personal life is clearly unfulfilling. Whereas Dedra is not doing too bad in her personal life but with Krennic giving her new orders she seems to be feeling like she is not be treated appropriately by The Empire. 

We see one of the darkest scenes ever in Star Wars

When The Empire come to arrest The Ferrix survivors, we see one of the officers attempt to do terrible things to Bix. She was already mentally struggling after the events of The Season 1 Finale but it gets enhanced here. They even use the word Rape, which felt a bit weird with it being a Star Wars Show but it made things feel more real and I think it was handled carefully and respectfully. 

The Mon Mothma Storyline is taking too long

Though I was intrigued by the events on Chandrila and liked aspects of it, I don't think it needed to take place over all of the three episodes. It could have been done in half the time and I think it would have achieved the same thing. Hopefully, this storyline gets moving a bit quicker, especially as Luthen is involved and I want so see him do more. 

Cassian Andor needs to do more

For a show called Andor, I actually thought Cassian did very little over these three episodes and it doesn't really feel like his story arc has got going here. I am really hoping with the ending of episode 3 seeing him reunite with The Ferrix crew it will put him more front and centre. 

Overall

Overall, I enjoyed the first three episodes of Andor. The writing, action and characters are still top notch but it just feels like a lot of build up and not that much actually really happens across these episodes. I am sure that the show will pick up even more and really deliver a memorable show. 

Predictions - Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 

After many years, we finally got the sequel series to the original Netflix Daredevil series in Daredevil: Born Again and it was fantastic. There was plenty to talk about after the series and it is going to be interesting to see how the season finale sets up not only the next season but the wider MCU. Here are my predictions for the second season, obviously there will be spoilers from the first season here. 

Daredevil will get a new costume

This has been leaked online that Matt Murdoch will be receiving a new costume for the next season. It is going to be a black and red number which is pretty much ripped off of the pages of the comic book. I am curious as to how and why this happens but it will be cool to see. 

The Anti-Vigilante Task Force will get more violent

We see the start of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force as they start tracking down the vigilantes but after the season finale, I think they are just going to get more violent and potentially take down some more lower level vigilantes. 

Cherry Will Die

Cherry played by Clark Johnson was a fun addition to the show and we see he is part of Matt's Vigilante team at the end of the show. However, set photos from the second season has shown that Cherry is caught by The Anti-Vigilante Task Force and I reckon he will one of those lower level vigilantes who is killed in the second season. 

Matt is creating his vigilante team

At the end of the season, we see Matt creating an army of people to help him take down Wilson Fisk and his plans. Now, there is going to be lots of speculation as to who is going to be in this group and I am really hoping this sees the return of The Defenders members Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones and seeing what they have been up to. I think it is a pretty safe bet to guess that Punisher and Echo will join up with Matt. 

Will Spider-Man Appear?

The end of the season shows New York City put under Martial Law and the question is where is Spider-Man who is New York's biggest hero. We have some references here but nothing concrete. Due to contract issues I don't believe Spider-Man will appear in this show but I think it is likely that Daredevil might appear in the next Spider-Man film as this is way too big an event for Spider-Man to just ignore. 

Bullseye is back and might be forced to work with Daredevil

Again, those pesky leaked photos saw the return of Wilson Bethel in costume as Bullseye alongside Daredevil. I do believe that there is a good chance that Bullseye and Daredevil will reluctantly team up in order to get take down The Ant-Vigilante Task Force but surely this will only be temporary as they are sworn enemies. 

Heather will embrace a vigilante persona

Throughout the series we have seen Heather become more imbalanced and mistrusting of Vigilantes. She joins Fisks cabinet but I do believe that this is just a part of the road for her to become a big bad. After she killed Muse it seemed like her path was set and I think by the end of the season she will become an enemy of both Kingpin and Daredevil. 

Foggy will stay dead

At the beginning of the season we see Bullseye kill Foggy and as the show progresses we find out exactly why. There has been plenty of theories to how Foggy is alive but I just don't think he will be. I think it would take away from the emotion and drama of the moment and I hope they have the guts to keep him dead. 

Overall

Overall, Daredevil: Born Again was a fantastic first season that sets up some really exciting things and hopefully Marvel Studios manages to keep this momentum going and deliver an even better second season. 

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 (2025) Review

Ever since Daredevil was cancelled at Netflix, I think everybody has been hoping for a revival of the show. We have seen Daredevil appear in other MCU Projects but now it is his time to once again get his own show and I have watched all of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees after a life changing event, Matt Murdoch stops being Daredevil, until arch enemy Wilson Fisk becomes the new mayor of New York. 

Main Character

Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil and he is literally perfect in the role, I literally can't imagine anybody playing this role. He adds so much depth to the role, whether he is in lawyer mode in the day or violent vigilante at night it just works and Cox deserves all the credit for playing one of the best superhero characters there is. 

Supporting Characters

Vincent D'Onofrio reprises his role as Wilson Fisk and he has been one of my favourite Marvel characters for the last few years and he continues his stellar work here. There are added layers here and D'Onofrio clearly loves playing Kingpin and I also can't see anybody else playing this role. 

Margarita Levieva plays Heather Glenn and I thought she was a great addition to the cast as Matt's new girlfriend. She really links to the world well and I actually really liked her story arc as she goes through the events of the season. 

Ayelet Zurera is also back as Vanessa Fisk and this is easily the most spotlight she has ever received and I love her character arc and dynamic with Wilson. She is more confident and involved with the bad guy stuff and it is really nailed this series. 

Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Wilson Bethel as Bullseye and Jon Bernthal as Punisher all makes their returns here and though their roles aren't huge they are super impactful and I don't think the show would have been as good if they weren't in it. 

Story

It was well documented that this shows narrative went through huge changes to make it closer to the original show and that was clearly the right decision. The story is fantastic really showing the development of both Matt & Wilson and I just love how it is a continuation but also feels fresh and new. It does enough to keep me invested throughout the show and that is because the story is really engaging. 

Script

The show is fantastically well written, the balance of darkness and emotion with the slight humour really added to the grittiness and slight realism that they wanted to include here. It feels like a flashback to the best written MCU Products. 

Style

The style of the show really doesn't hold back. It has the mature feeling that the original show had and it somewhat rises even above that. The show is really well paced too with each episode being interesting. However, I will say that the overuse of CGI did hurt some of the action scenes and I don't think that element was as strong as the previous show. 

Overall

Overall, Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 is a fantastic show and it really delivers. It lives up to the hype and is basically season 4 of the Netflix show. Everyone should watch this show and give it the attention that it deserves. 

Rating - 9/10

 Avengers Doomsday Cast Revealed

It was a big day when Marvel Studios started a Live stream on social media with directors chairs that had the names of actors in The MCU. It becomes really clear that this is the cast of the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday. This stream went on for almost 6 hours and certainly took its time but announced a huge cast. So I am going to go through every actor and character that was revealed here and what might be there role in the film. 

Chris Hemsworth - Thor

The first announcement was for the only original Avenger confirmed to reprise his role as Hemsworth is back once again as Thor. After a weak solo film, I hope he can regain his mojo in this film and I do question whether events from Love and Thunder even matter and whether his new daughter will make an appearance. 

Vanessa Kirby - Sue Storm

We are yet to see Fantastic Four but the trailer looked great and I am sure that Kirby will be great as Sue Storm. With The Fantastic Four's links to Doctor Doom it was really essential that we got the group here. 

Anthony Mackie - Captain America

Even though Captain America: Brave New World wasn't a huge success I like Mackie as Captain America and it is great that he is back. The end of that film teased that he would be the new leader of The Avengers and I assume he will be the one who brings these characters back together. 

Sebastian Stan - Bucky Barnes

We know that Stan will be appearing as Bucky Barnes in Thunderbolts* and that he will get through that movie to appear here. I'm expecting him to be the leader of this version of The Thunderbolts and will probably be aligned with The Avengers. 

Letitia Wright - Black Panther

Wright took over the role of Black Panther in Wakanda Forever and I liked her in the role. It makes sense that she would be in this film and I am expecting her to play a pretty large role here as one of the leader of The Avengers. 

Paul Rudd - Ant-Man

After the restructuring of The MCU after Jonathan Majors issues it will be interesting to see how Rudd is used considering he was really tied into that story. I am actually worried that he might be a character who is sacrificed to put Doom over as a huge villain which would be a shame for Ant-Man. 

Wyatt Russell - John Walker

Another character who is now confirmed to be reprising his role after the events of Thunderbolts* I enjoy the character but I am not expecting this to be a huge role for him as he works alongside the other Thunderbolts. 

Tenoch Huerta Mejia - Namor

This is the most interesting one so far as we see the return of the villain of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. At the end of the film we saw Namor and Black Panther make an uneasy alliance so I assume Wakanda will seek his help to battle the enemy setting up Namor as a true Anti-Hero. 

Ebon-Moss Bachrach - Ben Grimm

The second member of The Fantastic Four confirmed is Ben Grimm aka The Thing. We don't know too much about the character but I am excited to seeing more of his character after his debut later this year. 

Simu Liu - Shang-Chi

It feels like an age since we have seen Shang-Chi but I am super excited to see him in this film. It seems he has a connection to whatever is going on with Doom and I hope Liu is given a big role here to really shine and expand the character. 

Florence Pugh - Yelena Belova

The next character reprising her role from Thunderbolts* is Yelena and I can actually see her given a bigger role here as the character has become super popular and Pugh is great in the role. 

Kelsey Grammar - Hank McCoy

The biggest surprise so far is Kelsey Grammar reprising his role as Beast from The X-Men Films. We did see him briefly in a post credit scene of The Marvels but this is super exciting and looks like we will be getting more time with the original X-Men. 

Lewis Pullman - BOB

The latest Thunderbolts* character is BOB or The Sentry, he seems to be the villain of that film but this casting is pretty interesting. Will he join the team at the end of the film or will he be a villain recruited by Doom to take down some of the good guys?

Danny Ramirez - Joaquin Torres

Probably the character reveal who will have the shortest screen time is Joaquin Torres/The Falcon who I reckon will be a small cameo. We saw he was injured at the end of Captain America: Brave New World so I will reckon he will just have a scene with Sam Wilson here. 

Joseph Quinn - Johnny Storm

Our third member of The Fantastic Four is here and it is The Human Torch. Again it is hard to say as we haven't seen much of him yet but I am again excited to see him here. 

David Harbour - Red Guardian

Our latest member of The Thunderbolts. Red Guardian is an entertaining character for sure but I don't see him having a huge role here just working alongside the other Thunderbolts. 

Winston Duke - M'Baku 

After being made of The King of Wakanda, M'Baku is back but I don't think it will be a huge role and will just be part of whatever happens in Wakanda in the film. 

Hannah John-Kamen - Ghost

Our last confirmed member of Thunderbolts (Which Means Taskmaster is definitely going to die in that film) Ghost is another character that I am not expecting to not have a large role and will just be around the other Thunderbolts. 

Tom Hiddleston - Loki

One of the more exciting additions to the cast is Hiddleston as Loki. We saw at the end of Loki Season 2 that Loki is basically the guardian of The Multiverse so it makes sense that he will appear here. It is interesting that a rumour came out that the characters want to find Loki to aid them here. I am just hoping for one more scene of Loki & Thor together. 

Patrick Stewart - Professor Xavier

Another huge announcement is that Professor Xavier is back and judging by other casting I am assuming that this is the same version that we saw in the original X-Men films which is exciting. I really hope this is more then a cameo and they really give Xavier and the other X-Men characters a fitting last hurrah. 

Ian McKellen - Magneto

Even more surprising is that Stewart's partner in crime Ian McKellen is reprising his role as Magneto. I love this decision and I am super excited to see him back as this iconic character and again I am really hopeful that this is more then a cameo. 

Alan Cumming - Nightcrawler

For me this is probably the biggest surprise on this list is that Alan Cumming who is known as the host of Traitors USA is reprising his role as Kurt Wagner AKA Nightcrawler which he last performed in X2 23 years ago. I really like this character and again I hope he is given a time to shine here. 

Rebecca Romijn - Mystique

This film is clearly going to give The X-Men some time here as we are also getting the original Mystique actress Rebecca Romijn. Personally, she is my favourite depiction of the character and I hope to see her get some iconic moments like she did in the older films. 

James Marsden - Cyclops

Once again another member of the original X-Men cast has been revealed with Marsden reprising his role in the original films. While he wasn't my favourite character back then, I am glad he is back and gets time to shine. 

Channing Tatum - Gambit

After a really entertaining performance in Deadpool V Wolverine we have Gambit back for this film. Tatum was great and I assuming he will be aligned with The X-Men here and we will finally get a chance to see him interact with them on the big screen. 

Pedro Pascal - Reed Richards

Our final member of The Fantastic Four is here with Mr Fantastic AKA Reed Richards played by the wonderful Pedro Pascal. I am interested to see how his relationship with Doom is handled but we will see. 

Robert Downey Jnr - Victor Von Doom

The last announcement is one we already had confirmed and that is that Robert Downey Jnr will be playing Doctor Doom. I am sure everybody has said what they think of this by now so I am just going to say I hope he really nails it. 

Who is missing?

There are some pretty big names that are missing here, probably the biggest being Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. With this film being the first of a two parter it is likely they will be more crucial in Avengers: Secret Wars. Also, I still believe that Marvel has some surprises and there is a larger cast then the one that was revealed today. 

Overall

Overall, it was a long wait to get this information but it is certainly exciting, especially with the production of the film starting. By the casting some theories have already popped up with Avengers vs X-Men which would be exciting. Now we just wait for more news or the long wait for a trailer that will surely break the internet.