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*," starring Florence Pugh and in theaters Friday, repeats familiar beats from superior "Avengers" movies, but past results prove no guarantee of future performance.

Florence Pugh leads a crew of scrappy misfits. It’s a familiar premise, “Suicide Squad” did the same thing, but here it works.