Thunderbolts*

by Mike McGranaghan

It’s nice to get a Marvel movie that doesn’t end with the characters fighting a giant CGI villain. “Phase Five” of the MCU has been extremely hit or miss, with disappointing entries like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World. It has produced no truly exemplary entries. Part of the problem is that so many of the films, despite featuring different characters, follow the same overall template. Thunderbolts* doesn’t completely deviate from that template, although it’s absolutely more character-based and less CGI-driven than anything the studio has given us in a while.

The heroes are a ragtag group of Marvel misfits: assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), her father Red Guardian (David Harbour), a Walmart version of Captain America named John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a being who can pass through walls and other objects. They join forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to defeat CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). All of them have been targeted for elimination by Valentina, who is facing impeachment for her rumored participation in an unauthorized project to create a “superhuman.” The key to defeating her rests with Bob (Lewis Pullman), the only successful outcome from the project.

Because none of the characters can sling webs, open portals, or fly, Thunderbolts* is free to explore different types of action sequences. As Yelena puts it, they pretty much all just punch and shoot. An especially clever scene finds the gang attempting to scale an elevator shaft without such powers; the result is exciting and funny. Writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo likewise concoct a deeper than normal concept for the finale. The threat the team faces is more abstract, building upon their individual histories in a manner that gives weight to the climax a monster could never provide.

Aside from an abundance of humor, much of it coming from Harbour’s hilariously enthusiastic portrayal of Red Guardian, the film focuses on the damaged nature of the major players. To the extent that there’s a theme, it’s that people need to find ways to heal their broken pasts and inner wounds. Having a group of vulnerable heroes, as opposed to the kind whose superpowers we know will save the day, brings a more sensitive quality to this particular MCU installment. Relating to Yelena or John Walker is way easier than relating to Hulk or Thor.

Thunderbolts* is refreshingly free of what I call the “Marvel business.” There are no pointless cameos from other Marvel figures, no neon sign-lit Easter eggs planted to feed the fanbase. Consequently, the actors have room to include various shades in their performances. Pugh and Pullman inject real emotionality, digging meaningfully into the personal pains of Yelena and Bob. Louis-Dreyfus gets to be a pleasingly normal sort of villain – a politician who yearns to consolidate power. She adds a delightfully wicked twist to Valentina, infusing her with undeniable malice that rests behind a comic façade. The depth of the acting is the film’s best quality.

What you don’t get is the sort of distinctly comic booky thrills that came from the Spider-Man and Avengers pictures. We’ve had quite a lot of that already, though. A superhero movie that puts characterization on an equal level with action is a welcome change, especially when a group of actors as fine as this isn’t made to compete with an overload of computer-generated effects.

Thunderbolts* forges its own path in a genre that’s been growing stale.

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