The latest in the superhero franchise “is scrappy, scruffy-looking, down-to-earth fun”, with a “charismatic” Florence Pugh at its centre, writes Nicholas Barber.

Ever since Avengers: Endgame came out in 2019, the subtitle has felt a lot more appropriate than the studio might have liked. It’s not that Marvel hasn’t had any hits in the 2020s, but it is no longer releasing an unbroken chain of talked-about blockbusters, nor is it keeping audiences invested in a story that threads through all of them. That particular game has come to an end.

The Marvel films that have worked best since Endgame are the ones that have moved furthest away from the pattern set by the so-called “Infinity Saga” – the first 22 instalments in the franchise, which pivoted around a fight against uber-villain Thanos. Last year’s R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine used almost no characters from the main Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU); the postmodern Spider-Man: No Way Home paid tribute to the Spider-Man films which weren’t made by Marvel Studios; and the latest Marvel film, Thunderbolts*, has its own distinct identity, too. That’s not to suggest that it isn’t a part of the MCU. In fact, one of its clever touches is that it specifically addresses how gloomy people feel in a world where Iron Man, Thor and Captain America are no longer around. But the director, Jake Shreier, and the screenwriters, Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, have come up with an unruly take on the superhero genre which makes it the most refreshing MCU offering in years.