Thunderbolts* Review: Marvel Gets Some Of Its Mojo Back On The Road To Avengers: Doomsday

The proverbial crunch time has arrived for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In almost exactly one year, the franchise is hoping to absolutely dominate all other subject matter in pop culture with the release of the latest chapter in the Avengers series, mirroring what we saw with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame… but that doesn’t happen without building massive blockbuster hype in the months leading up to that. Released back in February, Captain America: Brave New World didn’t do anything to particularly help the cause – unfurling a mediocre thriller plot with little exciting to show off beyond what had already been previewed in the marketing – and fair or not, that has put a hell of a lot of pressure on director Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*.

At this stage in the game, what Marvel Cinematic Universe fans really need from the latest blockbuster is a reminder of what made them fall in love with the franchise to begin with: a fun adventure, engaging and charismatic heroes, complex antagonists, and exciting action that highlights the specials abilities of the characters. Fortunately, the new movie checks those boxes… mostly.

There is a failure to properly incorporate all of the main players, and the plotting is paper thin at a number of key points, but its shortcomings are made up in part by both its charms and the fact that it actually has something to say with its themes, which has been in short supply in MCU titles in the last few years. Thunderbolts* isn’t a film that is going to definitively convince fans that the grandiose canon is fully back on track and running on all cylinders again, but it is successfully satisfying in ways that movies like Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and the aforementioned Captain America: Brave New World haven’t been.

Finally paying off teases that have awaited conclusion since 2021 and the releases of Black Widow and the Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, the film begins with CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in serious hot water. Impeachment proceedings have begun along with investigations into some of her sketchier business dealings – with newly elected Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) one of the parties aiming to take her down – and this means that she has to do some evidence torching before the shit hits the fan. This very much includes the hiring of independent agents and mercenaries to carry out wet work missions around the globe.

Hoping to eliminate all of her loose ends in one swift move, Valentina organizes missions for Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr a.k.a. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Antonia Dreykov a.k.a. Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and has them all meet at a remote location with the intention of having them all kill each other. She doesn’t count on two things, however: 1) that these societal rejects will somehow manage to collaborate and work together, and 2) that they will come across Bob (Lewis Pullman), one of the subjects of a radical experiment who is very much supposed to be dead.

While billed as an ensemble film, the focus of Thunderbolts* is ultimately pretty narrow.

Thunderbolts* being a team story, the natural expectation is that the movie will find specific and entertaining ways to utilize its full ensemble, but instead, the Marvel blockbuster most definitely plays favorites, and it’s mildly disappointing. Those of you who are hoping that the film will be a time for Ghost and Taskmaster to shine should really start modifying their anticipation now, as neither character is given anything memorable to do and are basically additional bodies/notable faces in the cast. Only a half-step above them in this light is what the blockbuster does with U.S. Agent, as a mini-backstory incorporated and an attitude is firmly established (he’s a total asshole), but there is no arc to speak of or big payoff moment for the wannabe hero.

On this level also are Bucky Barnes and David Harbour's Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. Red Guardian. The former gets some cool action moments, and it’s interesting to see how far the character has come since his big screen introduction nearly a decade-and-a-half ago, but there isn’t any specific new growth to observe. As for the latter, “big, boisterous Russian” is once again used for little more than comedic relief, which wears out its welcome but doesn’t lose steam.

A far more accurate title for the movie would be Yelena Belova & Friends, as there is no questioning that the graduate from the Black Widow program is the standout presence in the feature – but it’s hardly a bad horse to bet on, both because of Florence Pugh’s immense talent and because there is a lot that is engaging about what the character is going through. Having spent years as a solo killer for hire, she is the victim of extreme ennui, as all of her days blend together and she struggles to keep her darker emotions at bay. She is in desperate need of fulfillment and raison d’etre, and she finally starts to find it via meeting the mysterious Bob.

Thunderbolts* has a strong emotional core with an effective message about living in the modern world.

It’s in the dynamic between Yelena and Bob that Thunderbolts* gets at the core of what it actually wants to say, and the socially relevant theme that the movie unfurls is extremely refreshing amid a dearth of them in MCU titles since Spider-Man: Far From Home (with some exception, the standout being Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). Saying too much about Bob would venture a bit too far into spoiler territory for this non-spoiler venue, but he has his own dark past to parallel Yelena’s, and their stories harmonize well. Amid what are extremely dark times in the real world, the blockbuster is ultimately about not letting the darkness become so consuming that you can no longer see the light of life. Principally via its third act, the film preaches finding purpose, healthy emotional expression, and forging communal bonds, and it’s vital depth that gives the work personality in the ever-broadening canon.

Stylish cinematography and choreography come together for a number of exciting set pieces in Thunderbolts*.

Pairing well with the emotional resonance of the movie is plenty of compelling action that obfuscates the fact that Jake Schreier is a first-time blockbuster director. Collaborations with cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo and stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker shine from the very start – the opening sequence including a badass bird’s eye view tracking shot full of long shadows as Yelena battles her way through a hallway full of armed security guards – and there is a solid flow of fun set pieces. The film is somewhat hampered by lacking diversity in power sets among the main characters (it’s specifically acknowledged that the heroes are all of the “punch and shoot” variety), but that is supplemented by settings, stakes, and exciting choreography.

Thunderbolts* doesn’t quite reach highs that fans fondly remember from the Marvel Cinematic Universe salad days of Phase Two and Phase Three, but it does at the very least have a leg up on other recent titles in its lacking of slapdash “we’ll find it in post” energy. The movie is uneven in a number of notable ways and not fully a return-to-form title, but it effectively crafts its own identity and puts the franchise back on the right foot on the road to the next Avengers adventure (and hopefully director Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four: First Steps can keep that trend going later this summer).