Thunderbolts* Review: How Marvel Got Their Groove Back?
Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic
Thunderbolts* is the last movie in Marvel’s uneven Phase Five of the MCU. Even though Marvel has been hit or miss in the post-Endgame era, there is a general sense that things are gearing up for Phase Six, which will kick off later this summer with Fantastic Four: First Steps and lead into Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. Thunderbolts* is a chance to build momentum and end on a high note.
In the wake of President Ross turning into a red Hulk, Senate hearings are commencing on an impeachment of CIA director Valentina Allegre de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and trying to cover her tracks of extra-curricular activity around the globe. This includes tying up loose ends in the form of several mercenaries and assassins: Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), disgraced Captain America replacement John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Newly elected Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Yelena’s dad, Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) also find themselves in Valentina’s crosshairs, as does Bob (Lewis Pullman), an unassuming but mysterious figure the group stumbles across that Valentina has grand designs for.
The Thunderbolts* (it’s quite entertaining how the group gets their name) come together similarly to other team-ups that have happened in the MCU, but still in a unique way. They’re a ragtag team of highly individualistic mercs that have to work together when circumstances force them together. You could argue they’re the Earth version of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Everything post-Endgame, even the better movies, has felt adrift, with no consistency or real sense of overall purpose. This is also how you can describe many of the characters in Thunderbolts*. Yelena, the de facto main character of the movie, is a Black Widow assassin, struggling with the loss of Scarlett Johannson’s Natasha, her sister, and not finding satisfaction or purpose in her work, which she has thrown herself into. As a fan of dry, dark humor, I quite enjoy Florence Pugh’s Yelena.
Likewise, Bucky finds being a congressman ill-fitting and struggles with working within the constraints of the position. Red Guardian is also in a bit of a funk, reliving his glory days on VHS while driving a limo for Washington D.C. VIPs. After washing out as Captain America, John Walker lost his way in his work and personal life.
All of these characters, in one way or another, are also broken, either by their choices or what life has thrown at them, and their becoming a team affords them all a chance at redemption in a way they never would have expected. It’s easy to label them antiheroes, especially since antiheroes have become more appealing to general audiences, but I think there is a difference between being broken and flawed individuals instead of just antiheroes. I like that they’re messy and human. This helps them be relatable to viewers. The film does a good job of having these characters have some personal stakes and backstories that humanize them instead of just being superheroes.
Maybe the most impressive aspect of the movie is how it illustrates battling depression, grief, or any mental illness. Bob is a character who struggles with darkness in his past and a very low and unhealthy view of his self-worth. That darkness becomes an actual, very powerful threat, and defeating it requires more than just pummeling a foe into submission. Rather, it requires facing struggles and failures as a team, going through the mess, and processing it instead of burying it deep down.
The plot takes a few shortcuts. Little details like driving from D.C. to somewhere in the desert of the Southwest overnight and knowing the exact location of a group of people or traveling back to New York City from the same desert location in near record time are little nitpicks that most people won’t care about.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a brilliant actress, but Valentina is a bit too much of a cipher, too amorphous in her importance to the overall story and the purpose she serves. She’s an amoral, unscrupulous figure, but is she an outright villain or just a corporate/government weasel trying to exploit situations? I could’ve used a bit more shading in of the character, even though she is given a flashback that helps fill in some backstory, but it is fleeting in the grand scheme of it all.
Thunderbolts* feels like a return to form for Marvel. Relatable characters, and a story that can serve as an action blockbuster but also has some universal, personal appeal and a positive message on facing real human struggles. If the aimlessness and ennui of the characters are metaphors for the state of the MCU, let’s hope Thunderbolts* is a metaphor for Marvel rediscovering its mojo.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars