Film Review: ‘Thunderbolts*’ is a Marvel Antihero Adventure with Humor But Also Some Emotional Weight

The Marvel Cinematic Universe needed this. The MCU has never been seen as less important or essential to film culture than currently, with a lot of that being self-inflicted wounds. Their upcoming Fantastic Four movie is somewhat make or break for Marvel, so the initial thought might be to dismiss Thunderbolts* as an also-ran. That would be a mistake, since this flick is one of Marvel’s more successful efforts or late.

Thunderbolts* comes at a crucial time for the MCU. As such, having a rock-solid film, one that does much more right than it does wrong, and points the needle towards a Marvel future that audiences are actually curious about, is truly a clutch maneuver. Plus, it’s just on its own a fun antihero adventure, one that mixes action, comedy, and even some emotional exploration.

We pick things up here with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in a rut of sorts. She’s doing jobs for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), though is planning to make a change. Something just isn’t right for her. A meeting with her fake father Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour) leads to her suggesting to Valentina that she’d like to do something more front-facing. Valentina, currently the CIA Director and ensnared in impeachment proceedings, offers her one last clean up job before a promotion. Of course, nothing is that easy, as Yelena soon finds out. Arriving at a location to prevent a robbery, she encounters three other antiheroes in John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), each of which thinks they’re there to stop the other. Soon, they realize that Valentina has set them up, hoping to eliminate loose ends.

They also come across Bob (Lewis Pullman), a mysterious man that’s been experimented on. Forced to work together, they escape, aided by Red Guardian, before being picked up Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who is trying to figure out what Valentina is up to. Together, they all embark on what becomes a very dangerous mission, one that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts when Bob’s experiments turn him into The Void. To defeat him, or even save him, Yelena and company will have to deal with their depression, their traumas, and become a true team.

Florence Pugh leads the ensemble and does some of the better work we’ve seen from an actress in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Pugh is excellent, especially when she’s confronting the demons of her past. David Harbour gets to lean into the comedy and be the comic relief, which is occasionally needed. Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman, and Wyatt Russell are fine, if slightly underserved, while Olga Kurylenko has very little to do. Supporting players include Wendell Pierce, Geraldine Viswanathan, and more. It’s an overall solid ensemble, though one easily led by Pugh.

Director Jake Schreier gives this flick a slightly different look and feel from most Marvel works. Working off of a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, Schreier leans into some darker elements, while never eschewing the comedy he starts out putting front and center. Cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo and a score from Son Lux suggest the more independent roots at the core of a project that does merge the blockbuster with the indie at times. The pacing could be tighter, especially in the first two acts, where there isn’t a ton of forward momentum, though the third act does make up for it. The attempt to explore emotions and psychological damage is something that Calo, Pearson, and Schreier deserve a lot of credit for.

Something of note to me is how this is maybe the first time that Marvel has made the villain an overt metaphor. The closest would be Killmonger in Black Panther, which is one of their most effective villains. Here, we have The Void representing depression and trauma, which is more than the MCU usually gives us. So, I can appreciate that.

Thunderbolts* is fun, which is huge, with the added bonus of having a little emotional weight in the back half. Does the film cure all that ails Marvel? No. Is it a movie that gets the MCU back on track? Not quite. That being said, it’s a necessary success that could change momentum if the next few efforts are up to snuff. We shall see…

SCORE: ★★★