Marvel Gets its Mojo Back with Witty, Fun ‘Thunderbolts*’

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was pretty untouchable in the years leading up to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame but, unfortunately, the fervor over the franchise has cooled a bit in the years since. Save for pop-culture highlights like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool & Wolverine, the films have felt obligatory. “We go to Marvel movies because they’re Marvel movies” has been the overall vibe.

Thunderbolts* kicked off this year’s summer movie season in earnest this weekend, and I would be lying if I said my expectations were exceedingly high. And yet, the same could have been said about a certain 2014 film about C-list misfits coming together to form a surprisingly effective superteam – the first Guardians of the Galaxy – and that wound up being one of my favorite MCU films to this day. Thunderbolts* doesn’t quite hit the highs of James Gunn’s first Guardians, but it delivers a charming, funny, action-packed and surprisingly heartwarming story with characters I can’t wait to spend more time with.

Directed by Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank, Paper Towns), Thunderbolts* features a group of broken heroes brought together by fate (and the machinations of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) in a mission that forces them to confront their dark sides and find a path forward together. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova gives the film its emotional core, and her incredible performance provides some of the film’s most heart-wrenching moments – a story about her decision to become the goalie for her childhood soccer team in particular – but everyone gets a chance to shine here. David Harbour ably balances comedy and tragedy as has-been hero Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker hides familial and professional pain behind a tough exterior, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes finds his footing as a leader and Ghost, who’s been absent from the MCU since Ant-Man & The Wasp seven years ago, shows off new sides of her personality that we didn’t see in her last outing.

The film’s biggest surprise is Lewis Pullman as the enigmatic Bob, whose unexpected emergence as Valentina’s cast-aside test subject presents some unique challenges for our heroes and villains alike. His struggle with The Void – metaphorical emptiness that becomes terrifyingly literal – presents the film’s primary conflict, and I’m interested to see how Bob plays into Avengers: Doomsday, since he’s very much a game changer in the MCU.

Speaking of game changers, I’ll come out and say it: If you’re tired of MCU’s quippy humor, Thunderbolts* might not be for you. The punchlines are nearly constant – especially whenever Red Guardian is around – so if you’re of the mind that Marvel movies should be more serious, you probably won’t have as much fun with Thunderbolts* as I did. Speaking for myself, though, I had a blast. This is exactly the type of escapist entertainment I look for in my superhero movies, and I left the theater with a big, stupid grin on my face.

There is a mid-credit sequence as well as a post-credit scene, but I would advise you to avoid reading the credits too closely. There’s a song credit that spoils the surprise of the post-credit scene, which hints at something major for Avengers: Doomsday. Consider yourself warned.