Thunderbolts movie review

The MCU Umbrella, once a seemingly full-proof money printing machine, now hopes to play How Stella Got her Groove Back for Marvel and Disney both with the Florence Pugh (Little Women) lead Thunderbolts. Either with nothing to lose, or simply seeing which noodles stick to the wall when thrown, Jake Schreier was chosen to helm direction, a man relatively fresh to the big screen. Kevin Feige producing again serves to anchor all. A thrown together crew off misfits serving as ‘antiheros” are now the best chance for hope, a recipe that has worked well for many a superhero flick before. After a string of poorly received and disappointing releases, why not go with something that’s proven fruitful before. 

Star Pugh pushes through

Have Julia Louise-Dreyfuss reprise her villainous role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and develop a too powerful super being that endangers all? Sound about right. This entity forces Pugh & co. to face the darkest depths of their experiences, spinning a psychological twist helping separate this film from the pack a bit more. It’s unclear if Pugh going full Tom Cruise (doing her own stunt) will do much to help fill theatre seats, but it may not need to. As elite assassin/spy Yelena Belova, she holds her own, controlling most of the screen time, proving more than suitable for the task.

One thing that stands out is a pleasant level of visual depth, which is saying a lot for a comic-book movie. Not bursting at the seams with overused CGI, the film possesses more tangibility than its’ contemporaries. After his impressive Oscar Nominated turn in The Apprentice, it feels almost insulting how Sebastian Stan is underused as Bucky the Winter Soldier in this installment. Not that Stan need command all the camera time, but the writing for his character doesn’t tap into what he could bring, and now what we know he has to offer, it makes this aspect all the more noticeable. 

Executed action-sequences

It’s no mystery the spark hasn’t been there since Endgame put a period on things. For casual audiences and stans alike, nothing seems to have moved the needle (Deadpool & Wolverine being the obvious exception). The picture’s pace is just right, never letting a lull relinquish your attention. When the poor Russian-accented, humorous dialogue fails, good old fashioned heroic action scenes carry the weight just fine. The film is simply good. Not great, not very good, but just good, and that makes it work for merely the fact that it trumps what has been attempted in recent memory. And, where other films buckled under bulky ambitions or mis stepped with casting and writing, this offering’s understated nature may be its’ greatest weapon.

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