by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
For the lack of a better opening statement, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has unfortunately been slowly dimming since it lit up screens in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame. Culminating 10 years of movie greatness in a never-before-seen event of multicast multi-fandom spectacular action, the stories then took a swift turn into multiverses, and from there very quickly began losing steam.
They were convoluted, the journey that audiences were being taken on was unclear, and frankly, most people didn’t want to catch up on dozens of episodes of television just to have a slightly better understanding of what was happening on screen in the theater.
So when shepherd Kevin Feige and his braintrust decided to take a beat, roll back on the movie releases, and rethink their strategy — not counting a couple of properties that were already in the can, such as Deadpool & Wolverine, and Agatha All Along — having Thunderbolts* be one of the first to pave this new road of good intentions was an interesting choice
After all, who are these characters? B-grade villains, Bucky Barnes, and Black Widow’s sister. Beside a couple of the characters, you could essentially consider this to be a movie full of That Guys, where you wouldn’t know the character (or possibly the actor) by name, but vaguely remember their face from that thing you watched that you kinda liked, but forgot about. So again, the choice to have them not only headline their own movie, but also have it kind of act as the reset button for the MCU as a whole, was a ballsy move. Was it a good one, though?
Beginning with the other Romanoff, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), an unconventional team of once-upon-a-time villains, antiheroes, and in-betweens find themselves forced to undertake a dangerous mission which could result in them all losing something of themselves that they’re not quite ready to face.
With that description, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Thunderbolts* was the MCU’s version of the Suicide Squad. Antiheroes and villains kinda reformed to take down a different, even bigger bad while being semi-controlled by a dodgy government representative? Yeah, it’s somewhat similar, but the big difference in this case has to be in tone.
While the DC’s band of misfits has a much lighter, almost darkly comedic energy about it, Thunderbolts* launches viewers straight into the trenches through a navigation of some darker themes, along with some quippy humor. It’s definitely a darker film than Marvel often tangles with, evoking senses of Moon Knight more than Guardians of the Galaxy. However, this is something that actually works well. Thunderbolts* doesn’t shy away from the fact that the people at the center of the story are trained killers, most of whom don’t have too many qualms over the more “evil” or “wrong” actions they’ve done up until this point.
That is to say, that this isn’t a group of people who are actually “good,” and just misunderstood. No, these are as morally gray as a group of super-powered or super-trained people can get, and that’s kind of what the movie explores. Rather than sweeping it under the rug, it chooses to dive straight in and show you exactly who these characters are, forcing you to ask yourself if you’re okay with what you’re watching. In fact, the movie probably could have used a little more of this, rather than shying away from it, or just not exploring it all, choosing instead to focus in on a select few, and possibly save the rest for later. Still, it left a bit of a narrative gap that’s difficult to ignore.
This exploration, however, also hinges on the performances of the two characters at this plot’s center, and how much one could believe in their connection. Vague, confused, and possibly something a little deadlier than expected, Lewis Pullman’s Bob has many different tightropes he has to traverse in order for his character to be believable, and Pugh is expected to relate to that on a few different levels. Given the extremely quick — perhaps too quick — pacing of the movie, there’s a bit of a suspension of disbelief required for their relationship to be as effective as it needs to be for the movie to work, and if audiences aren’t behind it, then the whole thing falls apart.
Thankfully, it works well. Not only due to Pugh’s stellar talent at grabbing the attention of the camera and refusing to let it go, but also due to the give-take vulnerability evident on both actors’ faces throughout the runtime. It’s a quick relationship, but it’s also an intensely purposeful, vulnerable one that could easily be related to if in the right mindset.
The rest of the cast also does well, revisiting characters that were kind of pushed to the side before, and now get more of a chance in the sun, but the dynamic is a fun one that is only just beginning to be explored, with a lot of potential brimming behind the surface.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina is the only one who really leaves something to be desired. Her presence is very shallow in comparison to all the others, who are rich with interesting elements begging to be uncovered. It’s almost like she’s just there to serve a role, or fulfill a checkbox purpose, so unless she brings more in the future, Valentina is probably one for the footnoted history books.
The stunts, action, and general Daredevil-esque fight choreography also bring thrills, chills, and excitement for what this team of fighters can bring to further installments. No more is the multi-cut Marvel action scene, with more interesting explorations for violence having their time in the sun, much to a collective sigh of relief from many different audience members.
However, it should be worth noting that, again, the real standout of Thunderbolts* isn’t the performances, the action, or even its place in the wider MCU strategy. The standout is actually the film’s exploration of theme, metaphor, and human connection. More like the aforementioned Moon Knight, the reason why this movie works is due to its courage to dig deeper into what could be a sensitive topic, exploring how this can affect the characters, while also alluding to real-world consequences.
It’s shocking, worrying, and helps the overall film feel quite real, in a way that hasn’t really happened of late in the superhero genre. Achieving this, while still bringing all those elements to the fore, certainly makes it one of the most interesting entries into this wider cinematic universe than many others of late.
So, is Thunderbolts* good? Yes, it really is. It’s different, and the pacing seems to have been sacrificed in order to bring the movie closer to the two-hour mark. However, there is so much possibility and excitement left behind upon the roll of its credits — even before you get to the second after-credits scene.
With Thunderbolts*, the necessary spark for the new version of the MCU has been lit, and this reviewer is excited to see what the future has in store.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
Thunderbolts* is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Alice-Ginevra Micheli, and follow her on Instagram and Letterboxd