High-Octane
Summary
Thunderbolts* was far more interesting than expected with an intriguing villain and plenty of impressive action scenes. I love how the main theme is about overcoming depression which is something we can all empathize with these days. This is worth seeing on the big screen for some fantastic spectacle and heartfelt moments.
Plot: Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker — embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Review: I don’t think too many people have been counting the seconds until Marvel’s Thunderbolts* gets released and even I wasn’t too interested with the early trailers. It wasn’t until last week when I saw that Flornce Pugh did that incredible stunt where she jumps off the building that I thought this might be better than expected.
Everyone knows I’m not a comicbook guy, but I always thought the Thunderbolts were created by Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, but I guess I was wrong. At least in the MCU that is not the case, although he does get mentioned.
The first half is your typical MCU fare with regular wisecracks and set pieces but it’s really as the story progresses that this becomes truly intriguing. Thunderbolts is really about battling and overcoming depression and knowing you’re not alone, which feels very fitting in this divided world we live in today. It was surprisingly heartfelt with Bob, a wonderful addition to the cast.
Florence Pugh is essentially the lead as Yelena, and she has a bond with Bob (Lewis Pullman) as they both feel alone in the world. I love her character and was 100% on her side throughout. The cast are all great with Wyatt Russell returning as U.S. Agent AKA Walker who’s still a complicated character, but is more sympathetic here than he was in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Fans of Taskmaster will be disappointed at their small role and Ghost looks cool but isn’t much of a character. The focus here is really on Yelena and Bob. David Harbour provides the humour as Alexei mostly talking nonsense, but his sheer enthusiasm leaps off the screen and what could easily have been an annoying character ends up keeping the team together.
On the action front there are plenty of fight scenes, with real explosions and impressive stunts. Bucky’s rescue scene makes him one of the coolest characters in the MCU and I love seeing how he has progressed since The Winter Soldier.
There are two post credits scenes as always which I of course will not spoil but the second one is cool.
Overall, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* was far more entertaining than I expected and the idea of depression being a villain was a fresh way to take the story. It could easily have just been the usual quips and CG set-pieces, but I felt like they wanted to tell a real story here. It’s not perfect, but there are some great action scenes and stunts making this a fun one to see on the big screen.