‘Thunderbolts*’ Review: Marvel’s Attempt at Indie

It has been a while since the MCU has had anything interesting to share with the world. Coming off the heels of the incredibly lacklustre Captain America: Brave New World and following an alarming number of poorly received projects in the last two phases, Thunderbolts* had a lot of pressure on its shoulders to try and reinvigorate audiences and remind everyone that Marvel movies can be good, have heart, still include high-intensity action scenes and manage to convey a powerful message that leaves you with concepts to think about. Read our Thunderbolts* review here.

Thunderbolts* is a good film, and definitely a fun time at the cinema. It feels a lot more special when you can tell that certain members of the cast and crew are truly passionate and really giving it their all. In particular, Wyatt Russell has been vocal in interviews and press for the movie as to how much he enjoyed making this movie and was interested in making it stand out from all the other MCU projects. Director Jake Schreier has also said on multiple occasions that this did not feel like making just another Marvel movie, but making a smaller, intimate movie with your friends. 

Everyone plays their role to perfection – some a little too much. David Harbour’s Red Guardian is lovable and loud, which means that too much of him can get old very quickly. Whilst the movie generally balances its main cast well, it feels that Harbour is a bit too committed to the fake-Soviet accent that, after two movies, is still hard to get used to and the joke of him missing words from sentences continues to not be funny. 

Florence Pugh is clearly the standout. More than anything, this is her movie and she is given multiple scenes that put her at the front of the action and at the centre of all the emotion. It’s a good thing that she is an amazing actress, because she pulls it off, not that anyone was expecting any different.

Many of her scenes are with Lewis Pullman, who is excellent as the mysterious Bob and later the dubious Sentry/Void. Even though he was a last minute replacement, he played the role so well that it’s hard to imagine anyone else donning that suit. His look is perfect for the character and his ability to shift between vulnerability and dominance is what keeps him on everyone’s mind long after the film is finished. Thunderbolts* gives him so many scenes to showcase his range and he runs at it all head first – the sequence that takes place in the ‘nightmare rooms’ is particularly memorable, especially since you get to see both sides of him face off against eachother and the use of practical effects to genuinely walk between rooms and allow these character moments to happen on a real location just makes them all the more personal and easier to connect with.

Ghost is a very interesting character and her trauma had so much potential for exploration, so it’s a shame that Hannah John-Kamen isn’t allowed to really show herself off in the ways that everyone else is. She’s a fun presence and Ghost’s abilities are the most visually engaging on the team – watching her phase and blur across the screen never gets old and it makes action scenes so much more interesting when you add in a faux-teleporting element. She gets a mini arc of becoming more selfless and caring for the team, but it’s not delved into enough to be memorable. It’s a shame that the scenes people will remember most for Ghost are the ones in which she has her helmet on.

Sebastian Stan is also there. His presence on the team feels necessary – as a man who has been through a lot of trauma himself, he understands what these characters are going through and so knows how to guide them. However, he just never really feels as though he fits into the movie – all of his scenes bring a halt to the actual narrative and make you want to go back to watching the other characters attempt to escape the vault. His arc is all around him getting into politics and trying to save people through a different, non-physical avenue and whilst this is interesting, there is way too much time dedicated to it for a plot that eventually goes nowhere when he decides to return to his old ways after one conversation. As well as this, Stan also feels like he is phoning it in – he’s still good, but standing him next to the clearly way more passionate new cast just shows that maybe he is getting too old for these types of movies.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is always amazing (Veep is a must-watch) and she is no different here. There’s no real nuance there aside from one flashback scene that’s never mentioned or touched on again, but she’s clearly having fun delivering evil lines and getting to laugh in the heroes faces and she is a lot of fun to watch as she walks around barking orders and being trivial with her assistant Mel, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, who’s also good in the film, though again not given much to do.

The action sequences are great and the way that these characters interact with each other in these fights is very unique. Despite all having very similar skillsets, aside from Ghost, they bounce off of each other in a very interesting way and the fact that they are all professionals and so quick at retaliating makes their moves unpredictable and enjoyable. 

Of course, they are massively out of their depth with the villain here and instead of being a flaw, it actually brings the movie up by a lot as it encourages these characters to act in new ways, trying new fighting strategies against a foe who doesn’t care how many times it’s hit. 

The sets are great and allow for a lot of movement and change to happen to a location, the shots are varied and look very nice and unique – the movie’s look is very different from the rest of the MCU and it helps it stand out immediately.

It would be remiss not to mention the true factor that makes this film unique in the Marvel tapestry, which is the way it explores mental health and how we deal with that. It poses very difficult questions that these action blockbusters do not usually cover – how do we deal with new, dark feelings, especially ones of self-doubt?

It’s very on the nose and lite in its discussion of these issues, it plainly describes depression and anxiety and is greatly depicted through Bob’s mental shifts and eventual descent, but it is also well shown in the main cast, who have their own feelings of self-loathing and all want to do more with themselves. This makes them the best choices for a team such as this – they want to reinvent themselves and become something else, give back to people and have a sense of meaning.

It’s a great message to give to an audience that may not be used to hearing concepts such as this, especially younger teens and children who may be unfamiliar, but this is a great introduction and reminder to pick yourself back up and go to the people around you. It doesn’t get particularly dark with these ideas, only literally as a physical representation of compressed depression engulfs New York in a dark cloud with some pretty gritty and confronting imagery that is some of the best in the entire MCU. 

Still, Thunderbolts* even manages to touch on some darker sides of struggling with mental health, such as alcoholism and thoughts of worth. It explores these as much as a Marvel movie can and must be commended for that, it is clear that Jake Schreier has more of a passion for the characters that go through these grand spectacles and unimaginable situations and the impact that has on them as opposed to just smashing things together consequence free for a few minutes of mindless enjoyment. 

Thunderbolts* is the best Marvel movie in a long time, easily the best since Avengers: Endgame and could be the most confronting MCU movie of them all. 

Thunderbolts* is directed by Jake Schreier and stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Geraldine Viswanathan, Olga Kurylenko, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen. Kevin Feige is producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek, Jason Tamez, and Scarlett Johansson serve as executive producers.

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