By and large, initial social media reactions to most major studio releases tend to be more positive than the full reviews. This is just the nature of the beast, with a much wider range of journalists, critics and influencers invited to share their thoughts immediately after seeing the movie in question.

This isn't always the case, of course, and so far, the critics' verdicts on Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* are almost as glowing as those first reactions.

Though the movie sounds like it has some problems (particularly in the first act), the majority of critics seem to feel that the antihero team-up is Marvel's best effort in quite some time, and succeeds in getting the franchise "back on track."

The entire cast - Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman are mentioned quite a bit as standouts - comes in for praise, as does Marvel's effort to shake up the usual formula a...