‘Thunderbolts*’ review: Marvel in rebuild mode
MCU film turns second-string characters into flawed, fun heroes
The latest superhero offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be its most audacious. Thunderbolts* introduces a team of assassins and mercenaries who are all wrestling with troubled pasts. Though Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the Winter Soldier, is the most familiar character, the film centres on Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), along with Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell)—a low-budget Captain America. Fans will recognise each of them from the MCU, predominantly from Black Widow.
What writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, along with director Jake Schreier and producer Kevin Feige, do so well in the 36th MCU film is turn second-string characters—antiheroes, even—into flawed but fun heroes. Thunderbolts* is a bold tonal shift in the MCU, trading flashy heroics for emotional scars and moral ambiguity. There are shades of Suicide Squad here, but this is a more inward-looking movie.
Once agents of the state, these individuals are now employed by CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). This group of skilled but troubled characters finds itself swept into a perilous mission orchestrated by de Fontaine, during which they encounter Bob (Lewis Pullman), an amnesiac who was part of a super soldier experiment.
The narrative sags in the middle, with Bob’s presence and the constant bickering among the team becoming an irritant. Pugh leads this brigade with a fantastic performance as an angsty, wounded, vulnerable Eastern European killing machine. Yelena is one of the most—dare I say—relatable and affecting players to enter the MCU in years. Pugh is complemented by David Harbour’s Red Guardian, who injects much-needed humour.
As they confront their darkest secrets and establish internal power dynamics, this ragtag team begins to evolve into superheroes—just in time for the large, CGI-driven action set pieces. There’s also a twist at the end that will either elicit whistles or groans. If this is meant to be a passing of the baton, it’s a disappointing one—though Pugh’s Yelena Belova could easily carry her own film.
In the absence of Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow—charismatic characters who once held the Avengers’ universe together—Marvel is looking to rebuild its superhero roster, though arguably without any true superheroes. Pugh may well become the centrepiece of this evolving universe.
But the plots are running thin, with the franchise having overplayed the whole multiverse/alternate reality narrative. The action is scaled back, and there isn’t a single standout money shot—which is something that has eluded the franchise for some time, including in the last Captain America movie. The humour, juxtaposed with some introspection, offers just enough to make Thunderbolts* a satisfying experience, even if it falls short of building the franchise it both teases and promises.