Thunderbolts*

As CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) faces Congressional scrutiny for sanctioning black ops and illegal research, she contrives to pit her operatives against one another in hopes that they will wipe each other out. The motley group includes Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), a depressed former Black Widow; John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a disgraced former Captain America; Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), a thief who can briefly become intangible; Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), the mercenary known as Taskmaster; and Bob (Lewis Pullman), a seemingly normal man suffering from amnesia. Instead of slaughtering each other, the group, dubbed the Thunderbolts after Yelena’s childhood soccer team, works together to escape Valentina’s clutches. In doing so, they attract the attention of Yelena’s adoptive father Alexei (David Harbour), the erstwhile Soviet hero Red Guardian; as well as that of Buck Barnes (Sebastian Stan), a former super soldier-turned-congressman hoping to use the Thunderbolts’ testimony to bring Valentina down.

 

The Thunderbolts can best be read as Marvel’s answer to DC’s Suicide Squad (particularly James Gunn’s take): a crew of government-approved (until they become a liability), morally ambiguous, empowered losers. As with the latter, the Thunderbolts’ status as lesser-known characters frees them from the burden of audience expectations and allows the film to simply be fun, which it is when it isn’t also serving as an allegory for mental illness.

 

Just as the Thunderbolts are unlikely heroes, Jake Schreier is a head-scratching choice for the director’s chair. His previous work includes a John Green adaptation and the quirky (but decidedly not action-heavy) Robot & Frank. Joanna Calo (Bojack Horseman and The Bear), who provided script rewrites during production, likewise brings an unexpected pedigree. Original screenwriter Eric Pearson, on the other hand, is a seasoned Marvel vet, and perhaps for that reason, Thunderbolts* never feels too far afield from other MCU offerings.

 

The old adage about not watching action movies for the plot applies here as the story is a threadbare excuse to throw these characters together. And yet it wouldn’t be accurate or fair to say that the movie lacks depth. While trauma often informs superhero backstories, it’s often given no more than a passing allusion between fisticuffs and wisecracks. Here, however, it is front and center. This actually puts Thunderbolts* in an unwinnable situation. The movie gives its characters enough dimensionality to make us want to know them better without giving enough time to develop them further. At just over two hours, Thunderbolts* is well-paced. Add another half-hour though, and it might feel like a slog.

 

Despite these limitations, the cast does admirable work. Plaudits especially go to Pugh, whose previously dismissive attitude is tinged with heavy doses of purposelessness and grief, and to Pullman. SPOILERS AHEAD. The latter plays what are effectively three different characters sharing one body: Bob, who suffers from mental instability and addiction, the Sentry, a godlike hero who resists being trotted out as a public relations win, and the Void, a malevolent shadow who can make people relive the worst moment of their lives again and again. That Pullman nails all three aspects is a testament to his range. The supporting cast is equally game. As Valentina, Dreyfus embodies power-hungry realpolitik, but unlike her DC equivalent Amanda Waller (all icy intimidation), she’s almost chipper in her disregard of others. Imagine Elaine Benes abusing her authority in J. Peterman’s absence, only with much higher stakes. Stan plays Bucky as perhaps the most level-headed member of the Thunderbolts, which, given his past (artificially enhanced, formerly brainwashed assassin with a bionic arm), says a lot about the team’s dysfunction.

 

Thunderbolts* is unlikely to win back anyone who has sworn off Marvel movies for good. Inasmuch as it ends in a way that sets the stage for the next MCU entry, it can feel like a link in a chain. But the movie’s themes, performances, and finely calibrated mixture of humor, excitement, and pathos all still make Thunderbolts* worth your time.