It's almost May, and once again the flowers are beginning to bloom, the weather is getting warmer, and Marvel Studios is gearing up for what has almost become an annual ritual with a new MCU film. This year's entry is the highly anticipated Thunderbolts*. Made up of the misfit toys of the MCU, it might make money, but it isn't going to do anything to bring Marvel back to its former glory of 10 years ago. While a fairly enjoyable movie, Marvel fans probably will be disappointed with the end result, and I can't see it breaking any box office records anytime soon.
The movie starts with Yelena (Florence Pugh; ) waxing poetically about her life choices and the death of her sister while breaking into a highly secured lab in Malaysia. Afterwards, she goes to see her "Russian" dad, Alexei (David Harbour; Stranger Things), before accepting another assignment from Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus; VEEP). Once she takes on the assignment, Yelena follows Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen; Ready Player One) into an underground bunker where she is confronted by Captain America - John Walker (Wyatt Russell; 22 Jump Street) and a random guy named Bob (Lewis Pullman; Top Gun: Maverick). After putting the pieces of the puzzle together, they all realize they have been sent to kill each other as Valentina is trying to tie up all her loose ends. Seeing no other way out, they team up - along with Alexei and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan; The Apprentice) - to take Valentina down once and for all.
The film offers some good, some bad, and some simply annoying components. For diehard Marvel fans, there definitely won't be nearly enough action scenes, though Sentry (Pullman) gives audiences some great fight moments, as one-sided as they may be. There is plenty of drama, which will also turn off some MCU audience, while others may applaud this new tone of the worn and weary franchise.
As for the cast, Pugh is incredible as Yelena and is a personal favorite of mine since she was introduced. Her deadpan delivery of snarky and sarcastic comments is spot on, while she also handles the physical and more dramatic components of her character with ease. Harbour's Alexei is good for comic relief and Stan's portrayal of the Winter Soldier has certainly evolved over the number of films he has been included in the MCU. Valentina may be the first MCU villain with absolutely no redeeming qualities (and that is saying a lot considering Thanos tried to wipe out half the world's population).
The special effects are very well done with no discernible green screen evident, nor any characters that come across as looking cartoonish or fake. The falling debris is realistic, and the "shadows" left by Sentry leave an indelible mark both figuratively and literally on the audience's brains. But that is the whole point of Thunderbolts* really...brains.
Writers Eric Pearson (Transformers One) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) and director Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) took this movie in a completely different and unique direction from what came before, but the question is, will it pay off? Perhaps critics will really like the change, but purists may not - and they tend to be rather vocal when they are displeased.
It isn't that Thunderbolts* is a bad film because it isn't. It can even be entertaining at times, but the overall theme deals with serious topics that cater to the "woke" population. Honestly, let's face it, there isn't a whole lot of room for "wokeness" in the MCU.
In a nutshell, Thunderbolts* is entertaining, has some good action, and tries to be the PC version of Marvel, but at the end of the day... Thunderbolts* is a bunch of wannabe Avengers in a 2-hour PSA for mental health.
Grade: B
