Marvel`s new team movie of awkwardly assembled misfits, Thunderbolts*, has a secret in its title that`s revealed at the end credits to the audience; its asterisk serves as the placeholder for a supposedly better title `T he New Avengers` However, fearing that no one would be interested in the rag-tag group led by B-tier heroes the-other-Black Widow Yelena Belova, the-other-Captain America hopefuls Winter Soldier, US Agent, the Red Guardian, stealth-thief/assassins Ghost and Taskmaster, and a meek nobody named Bob (Florence Pugh, Stan Sebastian, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko being dealt with a bad hand and Lewis Pullman) the cat was let out of the bag by Marvel`s marketing team right before the release. The big reveal isn`t a shocker; in retrospect, either title works.

Thunderbolts debuted at a time when Marvel comics were in the midst of one of its big comic book events (the Onslaught Saga, back in the late 1990s), and in the series` big twist, it was revealed that the supposed heroes were, in fact, villains.

The series, running to 174 issues, was eventually re-titled Dark Avengers, until it was discontinued and re-introduced a few times, with its current roster mimicking the film`s line-up, so that today`s readers wouldn`t get confused (the `New Avengers` is a different title with a different history).

Despite the superficial similarities to the comics and at times, the utter lack thereof Thunderbolts* is not what one assumed it would be: a bad, or even a halfbad, Marvel movie that relies on corporate decisions and familiarity with prior movies and shows to nail the story which, by the way, is dead simple to begin with.

Yelena, Ghost, US Agent and Taskmaster are called to a secret hideout by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (the miscast Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the CIA director who wants to tie up her loose ends amidst pressures from the US Congress. The group, before being cooked to death in an incinerator, meet Bob a scared young man who has no idea why he`s there with them. Soon, Bob is revealed to have superpowers that far outweigh the combined might of the original Avengers.

Marvel, its confidence shaken by unsuccessful releases Eternals, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man: Quantum Mania, The Marvels, Captain America: Brave New Worldweren`t that secretive about Bob`s identity, but for the sake of this review, I`ll withhold that crucial (but publicly available) information. Suffice to say that his ability makes him a major player in the upcoming event movies.

Thunderbolts*, technically, doesn`t have a villain, but that doesn`t make it any less of a good time. Director Jake Schreier (Paper Towns, Robot and Frank), working from the screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, has unusual restraint and clarity for a tentpole helmer who, understandably, should be under immense corporate pressure to do things a certain way. He treats his characters with respect, giving as much screen space as he can to them, without compromising on the teeny bit of story he has to deal with.

Surprisingly, Schreier also shows a mature hand in pulling off action sequences. Unlike haphazard film-all you-can-from-all-angles approach to editing fighting scenes leaving one weary and disinterested from all the quick cuts the action in Thunderbolts* has fewer cuts and longer takes. The eye, therefore, acknowledges the work actors and choreographers have put in.

There isn`t a lot of action, but one doesn`t need that, especially for a film whose main intention is to lay the groundwork for bigger films in the coming months and, perhaps, sustain the characters just enough that they carry some emotional resonance when they eventually play with the big boys in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Released by HKC and Disney, Thunderbolts* is rated U and is suited for audiences of all ages, including those who have never seen a Marvel show or followed most prior film continuities