Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*” is quite perfect. It’s an A24-style love letter about the values of grief and impostor syndrome through the lens of those deemed worthless, offering the shot in the arm Marvel desperately required but didn’t know they possessed.
‘Thunderbolts*’ isn’t afraid to be human
The film finds its voice of pain from scribes Joanao Caro (“The Bear”), Eric Pearson (“Black Widow”), and Lee Sung Jin (“Beef”), as they weave an embodiment of emptiness and understanding life is worth exploring under the signature MCU coat of paint, with a tighter focus akin in direction to an indie film. All writers have penned and brought to reality stories of pain and triumph. If you allow yourself to dive in, despite the weighty themes, it’s a rewarding yet harrowing achievement to grasp onto as “Thunderbolts*” bursts from the seams of each frame with heart and value.
From the very first moments, one could almost feel that the this latest Marvel experiment is vastly different, it’s organic in presentation boasts gorgeous and insane stunts, heavily reliant on practical effects that move with kinetic freedom from director Jake Schreier to a corridor hallway shot, that foreshadows the element of shadows going to be symbolic of the isolation and lucid fear, our team of protagonists will encounter. To the prospect of an engaging battle royale brawl featuring all of the characters being put to the test, to moments of an intense and poignant third act, that will leave you speechless, while tears pour down the canvas of your face, lunging for the relief of tissues.
With that noted I do feel it was wise to have the film be told from the perspective of Yelena Belova (Pugh) because Pugh not only commands the screen each frame she steps into but her emotional devastation still reeling from the death of Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is given depth and allowed ample time to hone in on the tragedy of living with grief. We see her tired and drowning in a depressing reality, slowly looking for purpose. That, in turn, allows you to empathize with the character while you question if her actions are justified in wanting to extend a hand of support when she breaks down.
Yelena longs for trust, and we are shown more of what transpired within the lucid lies of the Red Room, as the opening of Black Widow rawly displayed. It works as the child soldier forever locked behind the cold quip of pain, unravels and comes to terms with the confession she buries forever forced to push down her guilt and broken innocence with every life she takes, acting as her placebo serotonin while staring in the mirror, staving off the monster she sees, ready to consume her the second she slips.
David Harbour’s Red Guardian(Alexei Shostakov) once again personifies the loveable uncle trope that is given a majority of the patent MCU one liners, however I feel Harbour was allowed to take the character into a point of heartbreak, since his first appearance in “Black Widow” (2020) and it shows from his on-screen chemistry with Pugh to the realization being humbled by the presence of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as actual super-soldiers, Shostakov buries himself in the hubris and cowl of the Red Guardian as he clings to the victories of the past. Shostakov has for years held on to the false perception of being a “hero,” not realizing he was just an icon of propaganda and a disconnect. The film goes out of its way to pass along the truth that his serum wasn’t as refined and strong as the batch Bucky and Walker took.
Building to where he resides in during his emergence in the film, he is struggling to wake up as he resides in currents of shame, stuck at a crossroads of longing to be the surrogate father of a forced family, that is falling apart at the seams, his wife is gone, first daughter and Yelena is shattered beyond repair, and the only salvation he can bear to hold onto are childhood photos of Yelana, as the only piece of refuge. At the same time, his armor, which has deteriorated, is hung on a hanger in the distance, buried in a home cluttered with unnecessary junk. And this push and pull of wants and desires, love and disconnect tether these two together. When Yelena sees her world crumble, she confesses all she ever wanted was a father, uttering the words “daddy,” which leads to one of the best scenes in the film, where the walls of pain and anger are shattered. Confessions are spoken, all while an apocalyptic calamity is unfolding.
In addition, Walker and Barnes’ running parallels are exceptionally well crafted, and both are presented at a point of running away. Bucky is now a first-time congressman, and he’s frozen, essentially lost without Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and empty without Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Bucky’s dialogue is stilted, rigid, and even freezes up occasionally. He’s finally on his own, having his man-out-of-time moment, eventually coming full circle to where he can stand in the light as a hero instead of returning and skulking to the shadows as the Winter Soldier. He’s finally the good man Steve saw and fought for, allowing Barnes to travel to a new chapter.
Compared to the U.S. Agent Walker, who is written with such disregard positively and is purely a colossal jerk, attributed with an ample injection of impostor syndrome, as the film does a simplistic yet pivotal job of summarizing the events of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) illustrating his downfall from the highest point to his lowest, due to his hubris and pride has deitoriated and left him a broken and hollow vessel looking for a comeback, but no matter how much tries he can’t escape the war torn and soaked past, clinging to his subconscious.
And it’s through various and well shot vignettes that never overstay thier welcome which build a doorway into the therapeutic confessions of furthering offering a prism of extended variety to a group of ‘undesirables’ that many deem are left to wander the wasteland of the broken promises, due to being misvalued or stricken with the blood of the innocent stained to their hands, which the film does mention quite a bit, and how the concept of heroes and villains is unjustified and the cold reality is we all live in the confines of the morally grey. Perfectly meshed and built in tandem from a haunting and poignant yet lifting score from composer Son Lux (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), which keeps elevating each moment, from the inclusion of distressed and retooled themes various callbacks of Marvel lore, along with helping to allow the film to show and never tell the journey of each character as we navigate the point of conscience through each theme attributed to them, in their prisons of shame only can they rise.
A post-Avengers landscape
The story starts a bit slow; however, I felt the pacing was justified because various arcs were presented and worked in cohesion quite well. Each arc reinforced along with crystal clear motivation of the film establishing the philosophy of creating the next ‘hero’ similar to how Steve Rodgers(Captain America) was the dangling carrot during the days of WWII, when world quivered in fear of the axis powers, as these rejections of humanity are longing for stability, safety, and step up to lead despite the hypocrisy being spewed, in a reality where heroes are outlawed in a war-torn and under martial law NYC led by Kingpin as Mayor, to the term ‘Avenger’ being considered a relic and extinct.
As items once considered weapons of mass destruction that were paraded around and used like toys from a god throwing a temper tantrum are now on display at a museum, for the first tier of society to marvel at. The iconic ‘A’ that hung as a beacon of hope, for many to pray to while the gods inside, heroes looked down like the pantheon from Mt. Olympus, peering onto the world below, hung as a charade bearing stories of saviors long past. In contrast, many like Bucky look to the symbol as a cold reminder that heroes must remain.
It’s a fascinating dichotomy for the audience to understand, and is executed similarly to various cape-flick projects outside of the Marvel license, have done this before, and for an extent the familiar retreads arise especially when the film digs down and builds a foundation of uncertainty from the pure disdain of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) trying to cover her tracks, akin and written to the emulate the character of Amanda Waller from DC Comics with her Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Sqaud, while fooling the public and casting a cloud of mirage under the element of branding familiar notion to “The Boys” incorporated with Vought and the restrictive control of artificial and pre-manufactured gods, and the similiaries continue from the color paellte and even some portions with Lewis Pullman’s “Bob” feeling like a toned down Homelander for a bit and I think it also harkens back to how power can corrupt along with magnifying the inner battles we all embark on and negotiate with daily.
Humans aren’t Gods
This brings me to how “Bob” is quite an enigma. I commend Marvel and their marketing division for not unveiling major spoilers throughout the trailers because Pullman does an incredible job of pulling off the trifecta performance, and he astonishes in the third act.
Especially with the scenes depicting Sentry and even, to a further extent, the “Void,” both are given ample time to shine. The costumes and practical effects work wonders while spotlighting the internal conflict bubbling to the surface from most heroes, representing growth, change, and achieving closure.
Juxtaposed to the embodiment and collection of anguish and pain hovering in the sky, pleading I can relieve you of this ‘hurt’, like the rapture is occurring, an allegory of succumbing to your fears, as the world crumbles and negativity seeps all around consuming the light, only for ash laded shadows to remain. This adds to the prior confession from Schreier that the void shadows are based on the remnants from the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombings, are thematically brilliant, and leave a haunting taste in the viewer’s mouth about the danger of pushing past the confines and restrictions of humanity. The entire crew and cast flawlessly executed it, as it’s evident everyone committed and poured every ounce of their spirit into the final cut, creating something full of splendor and regaining that Phase 1 MCU passion, which has fizzled away.
The final verdict
This film works due to how deeply and maturely themes and concepts such as grief are explored and executed precisely—loss of siblings, identity, trying to mask and cope with the pain. There are allegories and triggers of suicide, while illustrating pathways to escape from reality are all shown just as well, with the question of who saves us when no heroes are around is propelled to the center.
In the end “Thunderbolts*” is a miracle not only because of genius practical effects or the ability to stand out and with an oddly familiar Amazon prime color palette ripped from “The Boys,” that shows the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, within an ever changing landscape within the MCU, but it challenges the notion to discuss rational confessions that strength lies in numbers. Our heroes experience emotion just like us, and the only way to live is to move forward, while not being afraid to wear their heart on their metaphorical sleeve, while remembering what made Marvel Studios shine and soar above the rest of Hollywood before falling into a creative slump.
Also, don’t forget to stay for the credits, as I can confirm there are two post-credit scenes, and the second is vast, to say the least.
All about ‘Thunderbolts*’
A synopsis for the film reads In ‘Thunderbolts*‘, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear itself apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
The cast of “Thunderbolts*” will be led by Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and Lewis Pullman as “Bob.”
Written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and directed by Jake Schreier.
Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*” is currently available in theaters.
