Thunderbolts* – Redemption in the face of darkness

It’s been a bumpy road since Endgame but this is a fantastic addition to the Marvel universe because it’s actually able to stand on its own as a good film. 

This is by far one of the best character driven stories the MCU has delivered us. Yelena’s opening monologue beautifully sets the tone and lets us know that this is a movie about finding purpose away from all that you’ve previously known and done. Every character in this film has a dark past, forced to be something they didn’t ever want to be but having no idea how to be anything else. Yes, it’s slightly depressing but there’s hope by the end of the movie. 

Despite the slightly bleak thesis the film starts out on, there is a lot of comedy. As most Marvel movies, there are some quips that could have been left on the cutting room floor, but I would argue (outside of the Guardians films) this is one of the funniest. Maybe not side-splittingly funny, it’s more intellectual(?) in the sense that the characters point out things you as an audience member are noticing. My favourite line was probably ‘so no one on our team flies?’ –a great deadpan delivery that acknowledged this new team’s flaws. 

Florence Pugh is a phenomenal actress and holds the movie on the shoulders of her ability to be charismatic in the most unenthusiastic way. Another comical highlight is her reaction to her ‘dad’, the Red Guardian, picking her and her new teammates up in his limo – Yelena is like a grumpy teenager in all the best ways.

If we could all be as enthusiastic at the Red Guardian about supporting one another, I think young people would feel a lot less lonely

The rest of the cast are great too. Particular mentions go to Lewis Pullman as Bob, who plays every single dimension of his character to great effect, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the cold-blooded manipulator Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. 

It’s just nice to have good storytelling back on the big screen (I’m looking at you Minecraft) , one that feels nuanced and believable – even if there are superpowers involved…