Thunderbolts is unlike any other movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.

It's certainly not an Avengers film, as much as that designation has been debated since the film's debut. It has been compared in some discussions to the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy and DC's Suicide Squad (with or without the The in the title), but neither comparison is apt.

Thunderbolts is very much its own animal. Let's look first at the characters.

The film features Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), aka the new Black Widow (previously seen in Black Widow and Hawkeye); Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), aka the Winter Soldier, aka Congressman Barnes (previously seen in all of the Captain America and Avengers movies); John Walker (Wyatt Russell), aka US Agent, aka "Dime Store Captain America" (previously seen in Falcon & the Winter Soldier); Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), aka Red Guardian (previously seen in Black Widow); and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), aka Ghost (previously seen in Ant-Man & the Wasp).

The trailers might lead viewers to believe that Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), aka Taskmaster (previously seen in Black Widow), is a major player in the film, but she's not. Spoiler, she barely has a cameo. And then we have Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is trying to create her own superpowered team, and Robert Reynolds (Lewis Pullman), who just might be her first real success.

On the ropes because of congressional hearings into her activities, de Fontaine decides her best strategy is destroying all of the evidence of her past misdeeds. Unfortunately, that includes her various secret operatives, which includes Belova, Walker, Starr and Dreykov, so de Fontaine sends them separately on a mission to a base slated for destruction, each assigned to kill one of the others. It all goes according to plan, at first, but only one of them is actually killed (guess which one?) before Bob appears in their midst and stalls their fight long enough to realize they're about to be incinerated.

They escape the room, obviously, but now the full might of de Fontaine's forces are out to stop them before they can be used against her. Shostakov, a has-been though he might be, shows up when he realizes his daughter (Yelena) is in danger, and Barnes shows up because he wants to corral the operatives and force them to testify.

Then Bob realizes he has powers, and thinks quickly go pear-shaped.

Thunderbolts has plenty of fighting and special effects, but the movie is more about dealing with depression and past trauma, making emotional connections, coping with dark memories and finding the strength to move beyond them. It's about forging a team despite differences or, in some cases, downright animosity. There is a lot of character development and meaningful dialogue at play. As such, the big "saving the world" moment -- or "saving the city," at least -- feels a bit rushed and underdeveloped. But in the end, that didn't really feel like a loss, because maybe not every fight has to be for the fate of the planet.

This isn't the best film in the MCU's long history, but it's a strong contender among the most recent entries and -- more importantly -- it feels different from what we've been served so far. It's nice to see the studio exploring new avenues and taking some chances. It reinvigorates my desire to see what's coming next.