Entering the thirty-sixth film in the never-ending soap opera that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) it’s understandable if one approaches the Thunderbolts* with some trepidation. Let’s face it, the MCU’s track record since Avengers: Endgame has been spotty at best. The oversaturation of the brand across theatrical and streaming releases, and Marvel Studios increasing aversion to taking risks, has led to the loss of its identity within the vastness of its multi-verse.
The idea of losing sight of oneself is not just a Marvel issue, but a societal one as well. Since the pandemic, people have become more isolated and tribal. Rather than spending time together in-person, a vital component in building fellowship and community, we now rely on social media and artificial intelligence to fill the void and provide us with a sense of self. However, for all our technological advancements, these tools are only pushing us further into the dark well of loneliness.
It is in this darkness that director Jake Schreier’s latest film Thunderbolts* finds its surprising and engaging light. Taking a well-tested formula, where a ragtag group of misfits are thrown together and learn to become a team fighting for good, that made 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2021’s The Suicide Squad hits, Schreier’s film manages to walk a delicate tightrope. It is both an entertaining odd couple style action comedy and a film that aims to say substantial things about our current times. Thunderbolts*, while messy in numerous spots, dares to explore themes of loneliness, mental health, and why it is more important now than ever to find meaningful connections.
The lifeguard ushering the audience into the deep end of this weighty pool is Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), a trained assassin who is still grieving the loss of her adoptive sister Natash Romanoff aka Black Widow. Working as a special operative for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the skilled killer finds herself searching for meaning in her life. Yelena is not the only one desperate to have some sort of purpose. Alexi Shostakov (David Harbour), whose been a father-figure to Belova, longs for the glory and missions he once had as Russia’s super soldier Red Guardian. Now running a limo service, Shostakov is hoping that Belova will put in a good word for him with director de Fontaine.
What the surrogate father-daughter duo are unaware of is the fact that de Fontaine is facing a damaging impeachment hearing and is determined to destroy any evidence of her various illegal activities. Orchestrating a plot that will eliminate Belova and other her other covert operatives, including John Walker aka U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ava Starr aka Ghost (Hannah John-Karment), the corrupt director believes she will be in the clear once she ties up these final loose strands. To de Fontaine’s surprise, the group of killers not only work together to evade her trap, but also stumble upon a former patient, Bob (Lewis Pullman), from one of the superhero clinical trials her covert company ran.
Suffering from a case of amnesia, it turns out that Bob has several powers, including invincibility, that could potentially make him one of the strongest individuals on the planet. Seeing a potential to exploit this to save her own political career, especially since the world needs heroes with the Avengers disbanded, de Fontaine sets in motion plans to turn Bob into a golden-haired hero called Sentry. However, what the CIA director fails to realize is that Bob has a dark side to him called Void.
A darkness so dangerous and sweeping that it can turn people into shadows.
For all the trademark Marvel the humour and action set pieces that come with Belova and company learning to work together, Schreier’s film is most intriguing when exploring the void within us all. Using key flashbacks in each character’s past to emphasize the traumas that never leave a person, Thunderbolts* presents a surprisingly bold, for a Marvel film at least, and nightmarish look at collective pain. A point that really hits home when New York is slowly consumed by Void’s haunting shadow.
Playing with the viewer’s expectation along the way, take a heroic Red Guardian moment that has a shocking turn for example, Schreier’s film finds interesting ways to reinforce the unexpected nature of strife. Whether individual or collective pain, pushing it down inside us only further ensures that we expand our wounds rather than heal from them. While one does not expect a Marvel film to offer an in-depth answer to the feelings of rage, embarrassment and hopelessness that isolation tends to foster, Thunderbolts makes it clear that a person cannot tackle these things by themself. We can only truly move forward with the help of others.
While promoting that people seek in-person connection may seem like a remedial solution, it is surprisingly effective within the confines of the MCU.
Considering that the limitations of the Marvel sandbox Schreier is playing within, the film manages to get its message across without ever feel condescending. Granted, to achieve this the film does take some shortcuts that does hinder other aspect of the film. Working under the assumptions that most of the audience knows the central characters from the other MCU offerings, Thunderbolts does not spend much time delving into the individuals outside of Belova and Bob. One coming into the film cold will only gets a passing understanding their motivations and general past.
As a result, the film struggles at times to weave in the threads that link to other aspects of the greater MCU world building. The most obvious example of this is the whole arc involving Bucky Barnes’ (Sebastian Stan) stint as a congressman. Feeling like an afterthought, the congressional hearing stuff fails to generate the sense of political intrigue that the film strives for. It also makes some of the comedic beats feel uneven, especially since the Thunderbolts do not get to spend as much time together as the Guardians of the Galaxy did in their initial film.
Schreier’s film may not reach the heights of Guardians of the Galaxy, but it still manages to raise above several of the recent Marvel cinematic offerings. Daring to tackle heavy themes within the framework of a blockbuster, Thunderbolts* is one of the rare MCU films that has something interesting to say. Even in its messier moments, the film is reminder of a time when Marvel films could be relied on to bringing us together, even for a brief few hours of shared joy, which is something we all need at this time.
