Thunderbolts* is the latest effort from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it marks somewhat of a return to form for this juggernaut franchise. It offers what fans have come to expect: Entertaining characters, high-octane action, moments of sly humor, but it also has a story with some emotionally resonant scenes that hold it together very effectively.
The movie title contains an asterisk signaling that the Avengers are not available to save the world, so now the CIA, led by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Drefyus) who faces being impeached, enlists a series of individuals under the guise of a special mission.
Florence Pugh returns as Yelena Belova. Wyatt Russell is John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent, but he’s also referred to as the “dime store Captain America.” Other characters include Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster who has the gift of mimicry. Hannah John-Kamen is Ghost who can go through any object, and then there’s Lewis Pullman’s Bob. He is this movie’s equivalent of Peter from the Deadpool movies. However, there may be more to him than meets the eye.
David Harbour reprises his role as Yelena’s father, the Red Guardian, who is desperately trying to reconcile with her when he’s not busy running his limo service. Sebastian Shaw is back as Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier who may be on the side of the Thunderbolts*…or maybe not.
The movie has a lot of fun with its premise of a disorganized team putting their differences aside to achieve their mission. This is punctuated by action sequences, such as a car chase in which multiple vehicles are flipped over, similar to the 18-wheeler in The Dark Knight.
All these actors embrace their roles with the right amount of spunk and attitude. Pugh’s Yelena is very cynical toward life and desires to know if there’s something more for her than her duties. She does it with a winning incredulity that makes her likable.
The other characters follow suit but for different reasons, especially Pullman’s Bob, who thinks his life is devoid of purpose without the Thunderbolts*. These scenes work well because the characters are given time to establish themselves, instead of just being used as a clothesline for special effects.
The humor also works, including a physical comedy scene where the heroes first meet and have to escape from a facility.
The movie’s biggest weakness is its climax, when characters have to go into each other’s consciousness and extract whatever information they can to save the world. It’s a little Inception-esque and tends to drag.
Of course, with this being an MCU movie, there are two post-credit scenes. One has the capacity to lead to something fantastic in the future.
Thunderbolts* somewhat revitalizes the MCU from some of its mediocre offerings and could restore faith for Phase Six.
Grade: A-
(Rated PG-13 for strong violence, language, thematic elements, and some suggestive and drug references.)
