THE STORY – Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker — embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
THE CAST – Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen & Julia Louis-Dreyfus
THE TEAM – Jake Schreier (Director), Eric Pearson & Joanna Calo (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 126 Minutes
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has needed a new team for a long time now. Ever since the culmination of the Infinity Saga with “Avengers: Endgame” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” the world of Marvel has been a bit defenseless, so much so that the last few years were dedicated to introducing audiences to new potential members across Phase 4. From “Eternals” and “Shang-Chi” to “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” there have been both introductions and revivals of old faces we haven’t seen in a long time. But none of these films have signified a team to rival the popularity of the original “Avengers.”
In comes Jake Schreier’s (Co-director of the award-winning Netflix series “Beef“) “Thunderbolts*” as a potential answer as Phase Five of the MCU comes to a close. As promised from a post-credit sequence in 2020’s “Black Widow,” fan favorite Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is now a freelance assassin for Valentina de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). As a Red Room-trained Widow, Yelena does an exceptional job, but she feels empty, unsatisfied with her work, and lacking clear purpose since her sister’s death. She carries a heavy emptiness inside her and is simply going through the motions, desperately needing a renewed sense of meaning and community. De Fontaine is under impeachment from the U.S. government and has ordered her assistant, Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan), to send all of her remaining assets from OXE Group to her stronghold fortress in the mountains of Malaysia to be destroyed. This includes her mercenaries, Yelena, Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), a disgraced John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who have all been gathered in the same place. The group quickly discovers that they are all sent to kill each other and must work together to survive. But then, there’s the mentally unstable but seemingly harmless civilian Bob (Lewis Pullman). No one really knows why Bob is there alongside everyone else, and neither does he remember. Nevertheless, the group reluctantly figures out that if they want to live and get back at Valentina, they have to work together.
Like other ensemble MCU films, the film rides on its characters and actors’ chemistry. Thankfully, Schreier and his writers make the Thunderbolts* (named after Yelena’s pee-wee soccer team) a wonderful group of misfits worth rooting for despite all of the bad things they’ve previously done. Instantly, the group works in ways that the original core members of The Avengers did, mostly because their survival depends on it. They are just as funny and heroic as they are argumentative, resulting in some entertaining banter we haven’t seen since the original “Guardians Of The Galaxy.” Each actor receives their chance to shine, which is fantastic for actors like Russell and John-Kamen, who get another shot as their respective characters and receive far more material than in their previous MCU projects, “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Here, John Walker and Ghost have action-packed, comedic, and dramatic moments that strengthen their characters. Additionally, a returning David Harbour provides a ton of comedic relief and unwanted Dad advice to Yelena as Alexei (aka. the Red Guardian), while Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes is trying to mature in his new role as Congressman and take de Fontaine down using the system but don’t worry, he still whips out the Winter Soldier arm and gets to kick some ass and become more of a guiding mentor to this new ragtag crew of antiheroes. However, it’s Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman who anchor this strong ensemble. Yelena is no longer an eager and enthusiastic woman. When we meet up with her, she’s in a similar place to Natasha at the beginning of the MCU, where she’s having difficulty coming to terms with living with the horrors she engaged with in her past, providing Pugh with a lot of emotional ground to cover and she does so beautifully. This makes Yelena vulnerable and empathic to Bob, whose depression is seeping through his skin from the moment we meet him. Pullman is brilliant in a tricky part where he must balance the character’s broken mind, showcasing the dangers of untreated mental illness in a way that can be both menacing and deeply sympathetic. It’s quite a dark character and motif for Marvel and Disney Studios to play with for a brand that primarily markets itself to kids, but it’s also tamed in its mature themes and serves as a good entry point on the topic for its growing audience.
While “Thunderbolts*” is a good introduction to subjects such as mental illness, the effect of not speaking about one’s emotions, and depression, this is still a Marvel and Disney film. The theme of being stronger together instead of alone is always prevalent in superhero movies, but “Thunderbolts*” explicitly states it several times in a manner some may find refreshing for the MCU, and others may find it incredibly simplistic. Any film centered around a character based in Black Widow’s world will naturally reverberate with themes such as mental health and grappling with one’s past traumas, especially when you add several characters who were considered villains in their first MCU projects. However, screenwriters Pearson and Calo only scratch the surface with these themes instead of stating anything particularly meaningful. It may be developmentally appropriate for the MCU’s younger audience, but there could have been more dissection and discussion on these darker topics, in addition to just being stronger together and facing your past with a support system.
Speaking of other elements that enhance the story, the score by Academy Award-nominee Son Lux (“Everything Everywhere All At Once“) is exceptional, providing pronounced themes that accompany both action-packed sequences and moving moments. The production design has some fun set pieces, especially in the film’s psychological third act, and is supported by Heidi Moneymaker’s stunt choreography, which pays homage to the characters’ previous films but also builds upon each Thunderbolts’ physical and fighting identities. It helps too that much of the action is captured in-camera, with practical effects and well-choreographed stunts, sometimes shot in long takes. Yes, of course, this being a Marvel film, there’s CGI everywhere you turn, but “Thunderbolts*” feels more grounded in its approach to action than many of the franchise’s other entries as of late.
“Thunderbolts*” is a solid antihero entry within the MCU and under the Walt Disney Company, certainly one of their strongest offerings lately considering how low audience enthusiasm has sunk for the franchise post-“Avengers: Endgame.” They seem to be finally allowing their films to mature with their audience despite the PG-13 rating and broad appeal they must maintain. It’s about time the creatives at Marvel Studios tackle the toll it takes to be an (anti)hero, as it certainly allows “Thunderbolts*” to explore some of its darkest material to date. Those themes, although simple, are still effective and will likely resonate with audiences, thus establishing a strong emotional bond with these characters. After all, people really just need other people to hear and support them, and it’s our interconnected relationships that make us strong and heroic. This is shown incredibly well throughout “Thunderbolts*” and will make audiences not only quickly root for them but eagerly anticipate their return.
