Summary
Thunderbolts is one of the best movies fromMarvelCinematic Universe’s Phase Five, being very compelling in telling its story of an unlikely group of broken characters who come together and form a bond. It’s distinct in the superhero genre with its unique depiction of mental health, but also pretty funny at times.
It’s also the first MCU movie in a very long time to have some heavy color grading with saturated colors that give it a very bold look. If you’re looking for some similar things to watch, besides the relevant MCU stuff like Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, here are some projects where characters learn to work together, or sometimes even fall apart.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90 Percent
Although the Thunderbolts are completely different from the Suicide Squad in the comics, it’s still hard not to compare them, as different as they might be.
The difference is that the Suicide Squad is forced to work together, rather than the Thunderbolts choosing to work together, but the end results are still very much the same. James Gunnuses his familiar formulaof conflicted people learning to care about each other, and it’s executed extremely well here, along with his successful habit of taking lowly popular comic characters and turning them into fan favorites.
7Watchmen (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 65 Percent
If you want the grittier, more serious side of superhero stories, Watchmen goes all in. Zack Snyder adaptedthe classic graphic novelin a way that stayed (almost) completely true to the original.
From the dark and heavy atmosphere to the brutal action to the complicated characters, it’s all directed as faithfully as it could have been. Just like in Thunderbolts, these aren’t traditional heroes, but here, everything feels more personal and way more tragic. It’s a very powerful movie and still stands out today as one of the boldest in its genre.
6Chronicle (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85 Percent
Chronicle is a completely different kind of superhero movie. Besides the superpowers, it’s extremely grounded and realistic. It follows three high school students who randomly get powers after stumbling upon something weird underground.
The whole movie is shot very uniquely, in the style of a found-footage documentary, and its depiction of superpowered people is also one of the most realistic in the medium. The characters change fast, especially when these powers start messing with them. It taps into that same idea of flawed people and unchecked control and shows its consequences really well.
5Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82 Percent
Seven Psychopaths is probably Martin McDonagh’s most underrated movie, from the four that he has directed so far. Before he got into more dramatic stuff like The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards, he made this wild and weird crime comedy.
The story follows a struggling writer who gets pulled into a mess involving gangsters, and, well, seven psychopaths. Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Walken all give amazing leading performances. Rockwell especially steals the show with how completely unpredictable his character is. There’s no superhero stuff here, but the tone and energy are genuinely funny with a lot of heartfelt character moments.
4Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83 Percent
Ocean’s Eleven definitely captures the feel of building a strange, charming crew to pull off a risky mission. It focuses on bringing together a team of different personalities and watching them bounce off each other. The movie’s narrative hook lies in robbing a Las Vegas casino, which is still a deadly task, but in a different way.
Steven Soderbergh keeps things light, stylish, and smooth, with one of the most realized examples of his specific directorial flair, and every character gets their moment. Its two sequels go in interesting directions, but the first one still remains a classic.
3Peacemaker (2022-Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93 Percent
The first season of Peacemaker really digs deeper into what The Suicide Squad only had a limited two-hour runtime to touch on, not to mention the focus on several main characters instead of just one. This is where this spinoff series really shines, as it gives this one character a full-blown arc and manages to make him very likable, even with all of his flaws.
This is probably John Cena’s defining role, showing all the parts of Peacemaker that are both ridiculous and kind of sad. The show also adds contrasting but somewhat similar characters like Vigilante, and they both end up having a real bond with Amanda Waller’s team, and you get that found-family trope that once again works really well here.
2Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Reservoir Dogs is like the flip side of Thunderbolts. Instead of a bunch of unlikely allies slowly becoming friends, this is about what happens when a team-up goes completely wrong. The movie follows a group of criminals who get thrown together for a heist, but once it goes bad, they start turning on each other.
The friendships take a downward spiral, with loyalty and trust fading away. The whole movie mostly takes place in a warehouse with plenty of flashbacks, but the tension never lets up. The dialogue is sharp, the pacing is tight, and every character feels realthanks to Tarantino’s writing.
1Doom Patrol (2019–2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98 Percent
Doom Patrol remains one of the weirdest, most underrated superhero adaptations out there. The four seasons of the show perfectly capture the essence of the comic and its weird protagonists. It’s messy, emotional, and just straight-up bizarre at times in the best possible way.
The show mixes dark humor and personal issues in a way that feels very human, with both mental and physical trauma playing a big role in shaping these unusual heroes. The characters aren’t always tasked with saving the world, but more so with helping each other survive and grow.
