Marvel triumphs with easily its most impactful outing in years since pre-endgame.
It’s been a fair few years now since I’ve actively sought out seeing a Marvel movie on opening night, in a packed room, at the earliest time no less. But when the creative team behind this film dropped and I saw it was stacked with immense A24 talent and then the rave reviews started coming in, I booked my 6pm ticket at the closest cinema.
Before we get into spoiler territory I want to explain to viewers, who much like myself before, might be hesitant to jump back into the MCU after so much new TV and films have dropped since Endgame. Yes, there is so much media surrounding Marvel it’s hard to keep up and see it all, adding on that the MCU has wavered in quality the last few years. But above all that what I absolutely adore about the Thunderbolts* is that it finally puts character over spectacle. Marvel often was falling into a pitfall of putting big cgi fest at the centre before telling a compelling story of growth that feels authentic and earned (Looking at you Ant-Man 3 & No Way Home). PLUS this is more or less a film you can watch without a week of research before hand. You can for the most part, go from Endgame to this. Sure viewing Black Widow and Falcon and Winter Soldier would help, but not critical to the narrative.
Also, don’t get me wrong when I say it’s character over spectacle, there is a plenty of spectacular moments but it’s never the sole purpose of any scene. Writers Eric Pearson (Thor Ragnarok, Black Widow) and Joanna Calo (The Bear, Beef) masterfully write a film that hits all the major Marvel checklists; heroes, villains, spandex, quips, cheer worthy post credit scene that sets up the next phase. But every single moment of the film is done in service towards a characters own story, either individually or in the larger ensembles.
I also really appreciate the tone this film goes for. If you liked Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the darker tone then you’ll love this. Thunderbolts* feels like a slower and grittier film then some loud and fast paced counterparts. The film thematically spends a lot of time dealing with the grief and depression each character has lived through and is still trying to fight embracing. It’s not all serious, there’s still a healthy dose of humour which honestly it does need considering this film is largely about mental illness and depression. David Harbour is genuinely one of the funniest parts of this film, which balances brilliantly opposite Florence Pugh’s gut wrenching performance.
Every single character in this large ensemble cast is given their time to shine and their time to grow. Apart from maybe Ghost who largely feels sidelined amongst the rest of the cast, which is a shame cause they nailed everyone else. The entire cast is immaculate, and this film successfully manages to make me care about characters I never thought I’d root for. Who’d have thought that so many years after Falcon and Winter Soldier I’d be a John Walker fan?!
This film steps away from a lot of things Marvel has grown to rely on; quip heavy no substance plots with little character growth and a large reliance on CGI which pulls the heart out from the film. It’s refreshing to see proper sets, locations and stunts done authentically than the dreaded phrase used on sets of “we’ll do it in post”.
If you’re on the fence in seeing this, please go. Give it the time. It deserves it, and even if you don’t like it this is a movie that deserves the attention due to how authentic it feels that I hope Marvel realises this is what they need to start working in being more like. A movie centred on growing its characters first and still being fun. If you’re on the side of not caring, yeah look that’s fair. Can’t win everyone, I’m honestly surprised you’re even reading this article. But I implore you give it a try one afternoon when it hits streaming, maybe put it on when you do the washing you might be surprised.
Thunderbolts* to me anyway, is the best Marvel has been since phase 3 and after sleeping on it, has made my top 5 MCU films.
Now here comes the spoiler territory. Look away now if you don’t want spoilers!!!
SPOILERS BELOW!
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SPOILERS – SPOILERS – SPOILERS
Alright? Spoiler peeps all gone? Good! Lets go!
In This House We Love Bob
Why the hell does anyone in the MCU still live in New York?!
I was quietly confident that this film was going to be great. I’m a big Captain America: Winter Soldier and seeing this film embrace its darker tones is exactly what I wanted. Plus a film that dives head first into the headspace behind flawed anti-heroes was breath of fresh air. I know I said it above but at its core this film is genuinely largely about mental illness and the everyday struggles of living with depression.
The cast and characters from shows and movies all over come together to join forces in Thunderbolts but oddly out of all the characters the one I felt the audience could most relate too was new comer Bob. Lewis Pullman beautifully presented an everyday flawed man who was ready to just throw in the towel on life, but when presented the option to be more and be better did try his best. Don’t be fooled, Yelena may have been lead, but this movie is equally just as much Bob’s. Lewis Pullman is the stand out performance of this film by playing someone we either have been or are, the struggle of feeling useless and wanting to give in to sadness is a feeling we all know far too well.
I know we’ve all come to accept that final act movies in the MCU largely need to consist of fighting the big bad in an epic showdown. But this movie, just didn’t do that and I will sing their praises for it. They assembled this cast of super soldiers and expert fighters for them to not need to fight, which yeah I’m sure will disappoint some that wanted action. But this feels like the first time in a long while where the focus wasn’t on heroes beating a bad guy, but heroes saving civilians. Why have I seen Red Guardian do more work saving everyday people more than some Avengers. I love that the final showdown was about an entire team of ‘losers’ over coming their demons (literally in Bobs case) then punching someone or something until we can arrest them or they stop moving. Finally, a final conflict overcoming emotional turmoil rather than physical turmoil.
Whilst I expressed my disappointment in Ghost feeling sidelined in the core cast I do feel just as let down by the immediate death of Taskmaster. The character felt largely uninspired in the Black Widow film so I was hopeful to see them get some more love and attention this time around, but alas, was not meant to be. Julia Louis-Dreyfus also makes a delightful return as government big bad Selina Meyers from VEEP, although in this film they call her Valentina Allegra De Fontaine which is strange. Whilst I went in expecting Valentina to be a more deliberate or evil antagonist I was still pleasantly surprised that even though she felt a bit like a passenger I still was giddy to see her on screen. Louis-Dreyfus is just such a charismatic personality that even when she’s scheming the demise of our favourite heroes I’m happy to see her.
The films edit doesn’t mess around either and deserves worthy praise. Nothing in this film is done to just fill space the film literally opens with Yelena blowing up a lab we didn’t think anything, only until it’s later revealed that’s the same lab Bob was tested on. The film ends immediately as the team is solidified as the New Avengers and all major threats are taken care of, opening and closing with every core moment required for the film and cuts all filler. The entire film takes place over two tight days and never cuts away for something not relevant to the core narrative of saving Bob and overcoming the Thunderbolts* dark past.
Oh yeah, and much like most fans suspected the asterisk in Thunderbolts* was because by the end of the film the team were no longer called the Pee-Wee Sponsored by Stans Tires Thunderbolts. For the first time since Endgame concluded the Earth finally has a set team of Avengers, it’s been six years since Endgame holy hell that took too long.
Overall, Thunderbolts* is an exceptional film deserving of praise and one that should join the vault of great MCU outings. This film very much felt like the earth version of Guardians of the Galaxy, and that’s a good thing. By the time the credits rolled I was already wanting to see more of Bob & The New Avengers. But I guess for now we’ll just have to speculate what that end credits scene means….
This also closes the book on Phase 5 of the MCU, as the next film Fantastic Four will begin Phase 6. But more importantly, the end credit scene, is the last time we see our earth (616) in film until Avengers Doomsday next year.
You can catch Thunderbolts* in cinemas now!
