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.
