Thunderbolts Review
/By Justin D Williams
Marvel's Thunderbolts doesn't merely break out of the typical superhero formula—it dismantles it. It's written and directed by Jake Schreier, and as a grounded, human-focused entry into the MCU, it's more concerned with imperfect individuals attempting to mend themselves from the cracks established by the former atrocities than with capes or cosmic wars.
The movie takes a cast of morally gray characters–antiheroes, misfits, and ex-villains–and recruits them by the government for a series of high-risk black-ops runs. The premise could have been taken from Marvel's version of Suicide Squad, but Thunderbolts takes a more psychological, character-driven approach. It's not saving the world—it's seeing if the characters can save themselves at all.
Florence Pugh returns as Yelena Belova, and she's the heart of the movie emotionally. Her performance is a mix of sarcasm and vulnerability as she comes to terms with loss, identity, and survivor's guilt in a world that has drained her. David Harbour's Red Guardian is a surprisingly warm and calming presence, bringing much-needed lightness to the film's darker passages.
Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes plays a secondary role in a way, doing enough not to overshadow the plot as the veteran of the MCU in the film. Lewis Pullman (making his feature film debut as Bob, a man tormented by a facet of the Void) adds an intriguing depth to the film, as the film's metaphorical and literal plunge into depression.
Thunderbolts threatens to stall and go into internal turmoil. Bob's struggle with the Void is not a plot device—the film's unapologetically genuine metaphor for mental illness and trauma. Instead of glossing over such illnesses, the film lingers in them, begrudgingly at times, making the audience suffer and struggle alongside involved in the healing process.
Granted, some critics complain the payoff to Bob's story feels just a tad too tidy, but that Thunderbolts does so at all is a huge step in the right direction for superhero movies.
Jake Schreier's direction brings grit to the MCU that it truly requires. The action is not as flashy but more realistic, but when things do blow up, they blow up. The cinematography luxuriates in de-saturated hues—representing the mental conditions of the characters. Marketed as not the most pretty Marvel movie, its tone mirrors its themes of rot, redemption, and uneasy partnerships.
Naturally, the second act drags here and there, and not everyone in the cast gets equal screen time. Ghost, especially, is wasted, and some of the tensions—like Bucky and Yelena's tension—yearn to be teased out.
Marvel's Thunderbolts is not exactly a crowd-pleaser. It's a slow-burning, heavy emotional movie that eschews spectacle in favor of substance. And while it might not be for everyone, it's an experiment that pays off more often than not.
It's not heroes. It's survivors. And in a movie world full of gods and geniuses, Thunderbolts gets power from the broken.
