Thunderbolts* Review

Marvel’s misfits are given a chance to shine in a post-Avengers MCU World.

The director of the CIA, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), is being investigated by Congress for her black ops. She plans to get rid of the evidence, including four of her operatives, so she tricks those individuals into a hidden facility for a mission. This ragtag team of rogues must work together to stop de Fontaine and her attempt to reactivate ‘Project Sentry.’

Since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has yo-yoed in quality. A meme has shown text saying ‘The MCU is Dead’ and ‘The MCU is back’ next to each project. Post-Endgame, the MCU suffered from a lack of direction. The franchise spread itself too thin since it had many projects on Disney+ as well as being in cinemas, and plans to make Kang the Destroyer the big villain were scuttled due to the allegations against Jonathan Majors. Avengers: Doomsday seems like a desperate attempt to reverse course since it brought back the Russo Brothers to direct and has an extraordinarily large cast list.

Other criticisms levelled at post-Endgame films have been the over-reliance on comedy, visual effects, and many of the films being made to promote the next Marvel project rather than being a standalone project. Thunderbolts* aimed to counter these issues. Thunderbolts* was tonally one of the darkest MCU films. it was set in a post-Avengers world where most of the major heroes were gone, leaving a hero void. Most of the characters suffered from trauma and tragic backstories, and the film was about the characters needing to face their trauma and mental health issues. It meant the Thunderbolts couldn’t just punch and shoot their way out of a situation.

This darkness made Thunderbolts* a deeper film than other recent Marvel projects. It was closer to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 since that film was also dark and had themes about trauma and animal testing. There was a really shocking scene when Yelena was forced to relive one of her worst memories. Thunderbolts* did explore ideas of human experimentation and the government that wanted to make their own superheroes, as they can be controlled.

The cinematography in Thunderbolts* had a darker tint and a greenish filter. It was not bright and colourful like other Marvel films. This was fitting when The Void appeared.

The filmmakers made a point that they used more practical effects. Marvel developed a reputation for being too dependent on VFX, and there have been horror stories that VFX artists were working to breaking point. Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Secret Invasion were notorious for their computer effects. Thunderbolts* had more physicality since there was location shooting in Utah and Kuala Lumpur, as well as filming in studios in Atlanta. The film opened with a statement by having Yelana BASE jump off the Merdeka 118 skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, like it was a stunt in a Bond or Mission: Impossible movie, and there was a lot of hand-to-hand combat, and a truck was driven through a building. One action scene was referencing Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Being a superhero film, Thunderbolts* computer effects were required. Thunderbolts* effects were fine, and looked better than some recent blockbusters that tried to rush VFX. One of the best fights in the film was during the midpoint, when a powerful character appeared.

Thunderbolts* still had a lot of humour. It was a buddy comedy since it had different personalities being forced to work together, although Thunderbolts* had more buddies to work with. Thunderbolts* did seem like it was going to be Marvel’s version of The Suicide Squad since a band of misfits were forced to work together, although the reasoning why was different, and the style of humour between the two films was different.

Marvel knows they have a star in Florence Pugh. Yelena was the lead character, and she was given the most development. Yelena was sad and listless after her sister’s death and was looking for a purpose beyond assassinating. Yelena was given more attention regarding her past, and she made a connection with the mysterious Bob (Lewis Pullman), who played an important part in the story. Pugh was also the comedy MVP in the film, like she was in Black Widow and Hawkeye, and she worked brilliantly with her on-screen dad, who also did a lot of comedy heavy-lifting.

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker was also given an arc because he was an alpha type who was trying to take control of the group, and acted as an asshole. Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost was made to be more comedic than she was in her first appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Olga Kurylenko has been one of the most wasted actors in the MCU.

Thunderbolts* was a film that manages to be a fun superhero movie with some action sequences, and it was elevated by its emotional and psychological themes.