Category: Action

Synopsis

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) feels unfulfilled, working as a lapdog for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Wanting out, Yelena agrees to one last job from Valentina: go to an abandoned research station and stop a heist. Upon arrival, she runs into Ava Starr, aka Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell). It turns out they're also working for Valentina, and she set them up to burn with everything inside the station. Along with a seemingly random civilian named Bob (Lewis Pullman), they escape, only for Valentina to recapture Bob. Thankfully, Yelena's father, Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian (David Harbour), rescues her, Ghost, and Walker before Valentina eliminates them. They're inadvertently saved by Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who reluctantly agrees to help them take out Valentina. As our team of misfits finds themselves working together, Bob soon discovers there's more to him than meets the eye.

Review

While it suffers the same flaws as other MCU movies, Thunderbolts* is a step in the right direction. The conflicting tone and out-of-place quips are still sprinkled in, but it's more dialed back and less prevalent. In a way, this is one of the most dour and sad entries in the franchise, which is strangely refreshing. You get the typical big action set pieces and whatnot, but there's more emotional depth than expected. Without going into too many spoilers, the film explores themes of depression, loneliness, self-doubt, redemption, and acceptance. Most action sequences are more grounded and small-scale, akin to the hand-to-hand scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Granted, this movie isn't as good as the second Captain America film, but it's a close call. If Captain America: Brave New World was more middle-of-the-road, this one makes an effort and mostly nails it.

Despite being marketed as an ensemble film, this is essentially a Florence Pugh vehicle, which isn't bad. She gives arguably the best performance of her career here since Midsommar, playing a very down-to-earth, broken anti-hero. While she does have the occasional snide comment, she mostly plays it dead serious and shows a more vulnerable side. Hannah John-Kamen and Wyatt Russell also work as supporting characters alongside Pugh, though their characters aren't as fleshed out. David Harbour steals every scene he's in, and his scenes with Sebastian Stan are hilarious. I could see them working as a buddy duo similar to movies like Lethal Weapon or The Last Boy Scout. Lewis Pullman has an undeniable charm that makes him likable, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is better here than in Black Widow. Sadly, despite what the marketing might say, Olga Kurylenko once again gets the shaft as Taskmaster.

Going back to The Winter Soldier, this movie has some of the same themes of political intrigue as that one. There aren't as many twists, and the politics are dialed down, but they're trying to recapture the magic. The film doesn't succeed since it has the same issues as other MCU movies: out-of-place humor and an inconsistent tone. Some jokes work in a dry, sardonic way, but some snarky one-liners don't land, though Harbour always gets a laugh. You get the sense that the filmmakers wanted something more serious and grounded, but the studio insisted on adding humor. Regardless of my issues, more of this film works than doesn't, and it's a step up in quality. There are some pacing issues at slightly over two hours, but it never feels like it's dragging to the end. Overall, much like the titular team, Thunderbolts* is flawed but still works.

Thunderbolts* is in theaters.