A passionate yet restrained ending to Phase 5.

Faint echoes in the wake of the series’s previous highs, it’s both a visual and auditory sign that when they can be bothered, Marvel Studios can still conjure up some semblance of heartfelt storytelling when they aren’t scrambling to feed the ever-growing obligatory beast of box-checking. “Thunderbolts” isn’t a home run by any stretch of the fabric, nor is it even a solid base hit. Instead, it settles for a so-so executed punt; moving the players to where they need to be for the next at-bat. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing; not every entry has to swing for the fences. However, when you consider how much of its DNA feels lifted from better and more cohesive installments…

…it's hard not to be a Debbie downer over its future.