At this stage in the game, what Marvel Cinematic Universe fans really need from the latest blockbuster is a reminder of what made them fall in love with the franchise to begin with: a fun adventure, engaging and charismatic heroes,

“Thunderbolts,” about a group of MCU rejects who band together after CIA director Valentine Allegra de Fontaine ( Julia Louis-Dreyfus ) tries to erase them and their covert program, is both a return to form for Marvel and something a little different. While there’s plenty of franchise building going on, “Thunderbolts” is pleasantly standalone.

T he characters in Thunderbolts* (asterisk theirs) are all minor foes and disreputable allies who’ve turned up over the last few years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If U.S.