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Over the past 20 years, Marvel movies became “Marvel Movies” thanks to the company’s incredible ability to weave together multiple stories and characters in meaningful, fun, and emotional ways. The movies rewarded you for watching them by enriching characters you already knew, introducing new ones you didn’t, and constantly teasing the future. In the past few years, however, the company has gotten away from that with several movies and shows that never quite struck the right balance. Never quite perfected that famous Marvel alchemy. That changes with Thunderbolts.
Thunderbolts is Marvel once again doing what Marvel does best. It mixes together characters from previous shows and movies, tells a story of actual substance, and is filled with excellent performances tackling surprisingly dark material. It has its own voice and tone, but still manages to make the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel cohesive. The film may not reach the highest highs of the franchise’s past, but it’s light years away from the lowest lows.
Directed by Jake Schreier (Beef, Robot & Frank), Thunderbolts uses characters from Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Falcon and Winter Soldier, and others, to tell a story about underdogs. A story about redemption. A story about choosing to be your best self even when the world is against you. All of which starts with Yelena (Florence Pugh) who, since we last saw her on Hawkeye, has been doing covert ops for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Yelena doesn’t feel great about it, though. The missions are monotonous. She’s bored, sad, lonely, and feels both unfulfilled and aimless. She yearns for something more, and that’s exactly what she’s about to get, just not in the way she expects.
Like Yelena, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) have also been working for Valentina. They’re also all second-fiddle heroes: Yelena to her sister, Walker to Captain America, Ghost to Ant-Man, Taskmaster to everyone etc. But, when Valentina needs to cover up one of her projects that went sideways, she aims to have all of them killed simultaneously. This, and their shared experiences as pseudo-villainous underdogs, bonds them. Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) join in the struggle against Valentina too, and the Thunderbolts are formed. Sort of. They don’t want to be a team. They shouldn’t be a team. But at least they have each other.
Which is exactly the point. Huge sections of Thunderbolts are focused on explaining why the characters need the team. Yelena, Walker, Ghost, and the rest are all struggling with what they were, what they want to be, and what they can be. And so, to varying degrees, each character gets moments of self-exploration, self-doubt, and ultimately self-discovery. That’s driven by a very wordy screenplay, written by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, which often feels more like an indie film than a big, Marvel, summer blockbuster. There are long dialogue scenes throughout, most of which are funny and charming, while others are a little too driven by exposition. But that focus on character and relationships gives Thunderbolts a tone that feels oddly understated.
With one or two exceptions, almost everything in Thunderbolts is impacted by that restraint. The action scenes are not all that elaborate. The story is relatively straightforward and compact, taking place over just a few days. Most of the entertainment is driven by the hilarious banter shared between everyone. Which, in the MCU, takes some getting used to. But the actors are all so good that they create undeniable chemistry in virtually every relationship. Eventually, that more understated tone becomes the film’s biggest strength. It sets it apart and keeps us guessing throughout.
Watching these characters interact in fun, funny, and fascinating ways is the beating heart of Thunderbolts. The characters have real conversations about their pasts, their feelings, loss, abuse, pain, everything. As a result, at times, the film can get a little dark and uncomfortable. But that’s good because it allows the movie to go places you really won’t expect, especially in the film’s powerful, unforgettable final act.
Pugh is a showstopper throughout, giving us a Yelena we’ve never seen before. The old one is in there, complete with MMA takedowns, expert sharpshooting, and dry humor, but this Yelena is also incredibly raw and vulnerable. The deep dive allows her to, eventually, blossom into the latest top-tier Marvel Studios character. Harbour is having the time of his life as Red Guardian, delivering all manner of high-energy humor and parental emotion. Russell and John-Kamen seem incredibly game and excited to add more meat to each of their characters too, while Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is, well, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and all the excellence that brings with it.
One odd addition to the team, though, is Stan as Bucky. Bucky is a beloved, legacy Marvel character that’s never been part of the A-team, and struggles to find that role here. He gets some amazing moments, but his story is the least interesting of the bunch because we’ve already seen it across several movies and a full TV show. Bucky already found his calling. He found his purpose and joining up with this crew only adds to, but never enhances, his mystique.
Bucky’s lack of depth is contrasted by a vast depth in a new character named Bob, played by Lewis Pullman (who, yes, also played a character named Bob in Top Gun: Maverick.) Yelena, Walker, Ghost and Taskmaster find Bob in the bunker Valentina tries to kill them all in and it’s quickly revealed he has incredible powers. How he fits in with the Thunderbolts, and his personal struggles, add another crucial piece to the film’s puzzle, giving the story some big, MCU stakes in an otherwise more grounded tale.
And yet, even with that character at the forefront, Thunderbolts never betrays its indie vibe. That’s especially prevalent in the film’s third act set piece, which is kind of out of left field but also perfectly earned by the story before it. The scene is action-packed and emotional, but not at all what you are expecting. Which, in a way, also describes the movie itself.
When Marvel brings characters from multiple projects together on the big screen, it has an earned reputation and expectation to deliver massive spectacle. Thunderbolts isn’t that. It’s a film that has action, excitement and one of the best end credit scenes in recent years, all while never losing its smaller, indie soul. The characters, like the movie, are underdogs. But ones that, a few tiny blips aside, ends up a winner.
Thunderbolts opens in theaters Friday.
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