There was a time when the MCU took risks. Not just with the superheroes they chose to focus on, but the directors and writers and even cast were all gambles on relatively unknowns or untested in the space. Since “Avengers: Endgame,” everything has been safe, more in service of the machine than telling good stories. Which is why “Thunderbolts*” is a refreshing experience due to its risk taking and harkening back to a better time but also a frustrating watch because this is what we should have been getting the whole time. On the larger scale, it is a pre “Endgame” mid-tier Marvel film, and a post “Endgame” best, operating outside of the MCU and best when taken on its own terms. It’s thematically rich and emotionally deep, opting to focus more on the characters than any big, cosmic, mulitiverse saga mumbo jumbo that has plagued nearly every film since it was introduced.
Smaller in scale and scope and nearly stake-less in the larger scheme of things, “Thunderbolts*” prioritizes character and theme over standard team up fodder, making it the darkest Marvel movie to date. It’s a tale of two films, the first being that the very same standard team up fodder we would expect from its premise and the second being a deep dive into mental health – namely depression, lonliness, and anxiety that come from the massive weight of heroism. This film has a lot on its mind, and once it’s given the green light to expand upon its more meaningful ideas, transforms into a flawed but meaningful and memorable movie experience. It’s a film you’ll want to talk about, something the MCU hasn’t done in nearly 5 years. It’s too small to start the tired discourse of “Marvel is so back, baby!” vs “Marvel is dead, ya’ll,” and too singular and unique to be weighed against its peers and/or predecessors. But even when bringing back forgotten misfits from films you definitely don’t remember, “Thunderbolts*” is the first MCU film in a long time that doesn’t feel like a homework assignment.
It rests squarely on Florence Pugh’s shoulders, returning as Yelena to explore trauma and other mental health discussions this film is very interested in discussing. Yelena is working as a secret ops agent for Valentina de Fontaine (an abysmal Julia Louis-Dreyfus) doing her dirty work and becoming increasingly bored and filled with regret. She is unable to confront the life she’s lived and the loss she’s experience, a broken person searching for her purpose and weighed down by her choices and tragedy. When Valentina seeks to tie up loose ends, she sends all of her rogue agents to the same place with the assignment to take each other out. This includes other misfits like Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and after a scuffle they find Bob (Lewis Pullman) a shy, unsure mystery man without a memory but turns out to be the kind of indestructible hero Valentina wants to use to gain more power.
Realizing it’s better to work together to stop Valentina and clear their names, they are joined by Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Red Guardian (David Harbour) to take her down. Of course, she has a few tricks up her sleeve, one of which is turning Bob into The Sentry, a god like superhero with severe mental instability. Nothing goes to plan for anyone, and what is unleashed will require more than fisty cuffs and big guns. It will require everyone to confront their past and take their trauma head on, processing their own regrets to be become true heroes together. “Thunderbolts*” also stars Wendell Pierce, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Chris Bauer. It is directed by Jake Schreier (“Paper Towns“) and written by Eric Pearson (“Thor: Ragnorok,” “Black Widow“) and Joanna Calo (“Hacks,” “Beef“).
This movie belongs to Pugh and Pullman, both of whom bring a well of emotion to otherwise standard roles and help the core narrative explore its themes in much more meaningful ways. Most of the cast is up for it, but if you’re looking for more character development thrown Bucky’s way, the most you get is a pretty cool “Terminator 2” action moment. Harbour is the comic relief but is better when paired with Pugh, their family dynamic being some of the most emotionally resonate interactions of anything we’ve seen in films like this. Most of the other characters (including Russell’s US Agent who he goes out of his way to channel his father in the early 80s with every line delivery) like Ghost and Taskmaster are pushed to the side, rounding out the team but not given nearly as much to do. The weak link is once again Louise-Dreyfus, who’s Valentina continues to be the worst part of everything she’s in. “Thunderbolts*” is at its worst when it’s trying to cram her into the story as a viable antagonist, and like most of her other appearances feels as if they don’t know what to do with her but need her because the comics say so.
Thankfully she’s all but abandoned in the second half where “Thunderbolts*” really hits its stride once The Void shows up and the characters are forced to use different, more purposeful tactics to save the city and themselves. It’s here where the villain is quite literally the physical manifestation of depression and all of the other debilitating emotions that come with that. Unprocessed grief, trauma, regret, loneliness, existential crises, anxiety, meaninglessness, helplessness, self loathing and more become the thematic crux; fueling all confrontations and resolutions once it moves away from the standard framework of superhero fights. It’s a big risk and even bigger reward, and doesn’t require you to have seen everything prior in order to care about them. It’s the most human the MCU has been in a very long time, oozing with raw emotion that feels right on the cusp of greatness with a few tweaks and some connective tissue shedding.
It also helps that it looks great, the hues of grays and blacks robbing the world of its vibrance and mimicking the doom and gloom of our protagonists’ mental state. “Thunderbolts*” is also on location for most of its set pieces, with characters actually in frame together having conversations with their actual counterparts. Who knew you could still make movies with actors interacting in front of each other instead of green screen markers? Yes, I’m looking at you “Captain America: Brave New World.” It’s frustrating calling this out and complimenting “Thunderbolts*” for doing the most basic foundations of filmmaking, but it’s proof that the marvel machine CAN still do good things, they’ve just chosen not to. We should be demanding that they do better so we get more films like this- a movie we used to get all the time but now get so rarely we have to celebrate small wins when we do get them.
For all its flaws (and there are many still) “Thunderbolts*” is a breath of fresh air, a film that sports a terrific cast and something on its mind. It’s visually competent and smartly executed, and what does work overshadows the few things that don’t. If for nothing else, it leaves you with something to talk about. You’ll want unpack the mental heft and have open and honest discussions about depression. You’ll want to talk about Pugh’s incredible performance and the complexities of Pullman’s Bob/Sentry/Void characterizations. You’ll be satisfied by the well crafted action but also left with something to chew on in the end. It reminds us that heroes struggle too, and underneath the veneer of savior complexes and incorruptible do-gooders, no one escapes humanity and the struggle of being alive.
We’ve only ever seen glimpses of the human experience in the superhero genre, and it’s nice to see a film willing to take it head on, and examine a different side of heroism. Superhero movies can still say something, and “Thunderbolts*” reminds us that when they do, when they’re able to operate outside the machine and not be forced to keep the cogs moving, something special happens: we actually get a good movie.
And yes, we should all book that next therapy appointment. No, “Thunderbolts*” does not count as a session.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Thunderbolts*” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
