Rob Reviews: Thunderbolts*

Last night, Kid 2 and I saw the Thunderbolts* the latest century in Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I was expecting Marvel‘s attempt at a Suicide Squad knock off, or an earthbound carbon copy of Guardians of the Galaxy But the film ultimately had a lot more heart and depth than what I anticipated.

The source material

Thunderbolts* is, of course, loosely based on the comic book team of the same name. Originally formed in in the late 1990s in the aftermath of the Onslaught storyline, the thunderbolts were team of heroes who stepped up to take the place of some of Marvel’s top-tier characters when they – Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the fantastic four – are sucked into a “pocket universe“ and thought dead by the inhabitants of “main” Marvel universe

And in the MCU, there is a similar situation that the comics had in the 1990s. The Avengers are gone, or at least Captain America Sam Wilson is taking his time reforming the team in the aftermath of Captain America: Brave New World.

The plot

In several recent MCU miniseries and movies, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s) has appeared in something of a bizarro fury role. She’s appeared briefly and in some end scenes recruiting some of marvel’s antiheroes and characters with a checkered past. now, under investigation by the United States government, Valentina is attempting to tie up her proverbial loose ends, get rid of anybody who might speak up, and distance herself from any questionable projects she was working on, except for one.

When the titular thunderbolt characters: Yelena, Red Guardian, Ghost and Taskmaster realize that they’ve all been manipulated by Valentina, they were reluctantly joined forces along with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

The first half of this movie was much too slow. It felt like there was way too much exposition; moving the proverbial chess pieces into place for the story to really begin in the movie second act. Initially, I felt like this movie would’ve been better served as a Disney+ miniseries. However, the big climatic fight scene in the film’s final act proved that Thunderbolts* had to be made for the big screen.

Where the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy showed us that the “ragtag collection is heroes uniting against a common foe” could have heart, Thunderbolts* showed us that the same formula could also have depth. The titular team members are all, in one way or another, broken. These are people who are desperately trying to move on from their sordid pasts. As the story unfolds, our protagonists Lear that sometimes, all that takes is having one good friend by your side to lead you out of darkness – burn proverbial and literal.

The “it factor” of Florence Pugh

In Hollywood, people talk about a performer having the “it factor“. The “it factor“ is something intangible. You know it’s there, but you can’t place a finger on it; be it charm, charisma, or just an overall presence on screen, Florence Pugh has the “it factor“ perhaps more than any marvel actresses, Robert Downey Jr. Elena’s story is very much like that of her sister, the late Natasha Romanoff. But there is an energy that pew brings to this character, which Scarlett Johansson could not quite capture; thus making Yelena’s story fresh. I’ve only watched Black Widow and Hawkeye once.But Pugh’s performance in Thunderbolts* is making me want to rewatch both projects. She is clearly with the lead actor, and Yelena’s story as the emotional center of Thunderbolts*.

I have seen a few complaints that Thunderbolts* did not feature The Winter Soldier prominently enough. Bucky Barnes has had, by far, more MCU appearances on any other character in this movie. while Bucky does have his moments to shine, this is not his story. He is merely there to assist with some of the proverbial heavy lifting.

Who needs the Multiverse?

Even the most loyal MCU fans must admit that several recent Marvel outings have fumbled the ball. The Multiverse Saga promised to be an adventure even bigger and more epic than the infinity Saga. Real-life, off-screen trouble Jonathan Majors, I’m looking at you) and creative misfires (take your pic from most anything post Avengers: endgame) have made The Multiverse Saga as much of a convoluted mess as the Multiverse itself is.

However, several projects, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America, brave New World, and now Thunderbolts*, have taken on a different, small scale plot thread. With the apparent end of the avengers, there is now a power vacuum in the world. Some people with bad intentions are looking to capitalize, while heroes struggle with who is going to fill the shoes of Steve Rogers and company .

In my opinion, this storyline has proven much more interesting than the Multiverse. Sure, I enjoyed seeing Toney Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that and the Easter eggs in Deadpool & Wolverine are essentially fan service. Having said that, even this “who will replace the avengers?” storyline needs to be resolved quickly.

Also, be sure to stick around for the mid credit scene, which is a throwaway bit played for gags, and the post credit scene.

FINAL TAKE

If you’re still hoping for a marvel project that will top infinity war in the game, subvert your expectations. Thunderbolts show audience is just how much depth relative antiheroes can have. While it tells its own story, Thunderbolts* does more to move the proverbial chess pieces And set up future projects in most of recent MCU efforts have. Recommended for MCU fans. The big payoff is coming, we just have to be a little bit more patient.

Thunderbolts* is now playing in theaters

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