Thunderbolts* Review; New Avengers Film Is About The Void Inside You, Your Demons And Darkness
Thunderbolts* are the New Avengers, we like it or not, but the world is going to shit and as we know it, the Avengers are not coming to save the day. As Valentina de Fontaine said there are bad guys and there are worse guys, so here we are on another action filled journey. The film comes with a few pleasant surprises. But for now, some bad guys decide to stand up and fill in for the missing good guys. Marvel is making big changes for the new phase and the latest film takes an up-close and personal look at the world and the darkness taking over it. But the Thunderbolts* quite literally bring the light back to New York City and a bit in our hearts.
The film begins with Yelena’s breathtaking scene of jumping off the building while in an emotional distress. She isn’t jumping into the void of her mind but to do Valentina’s bidding. After losing her sister and a bit of herself, Yelena falls into the pattern like most of us — work a job that you hate, drink to forget about it and repeat when the clock turns. It’s a bit of a sob story but it hits home as we are all the same, and so are the others, lost in their own versions of their stories.
Walker wants to be the war veteran loved by all but he knows he fucked up to the point of no return, as a dad, husband and junior varsity Captain America. Bucky has no idea who he is anymore — a congressman, a hero, a former villain? Alexei accepts he was on the wrong side (maybe) but he isn’t full or filled. Meanwhile, Ghost has a facade to keep up as the tough guy much like the suit she wears, but often fails. In the end, they are all alone, they kill a lot of people and one day they will be killed.
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But today is not that day. The trailer does release much of the story with the group coming together to save their asses after Valentina declares they are loose ends of her ‘plan gone wrong’. With the government including Bucky, trying to nail her for running human experiments, she decides all evidence must be gone including the clean-up team — AKA our New Avengers. For the rest of the runtime, the film explores how this unlikely team comes together for the sake of others, what they learn from each other and what they will hold on to here on out.
The film’s characters are tethered emotionally to each other with little connections that they make. It only takes a glance or a look of acknowledgment, but the connection of despair is instant. We have known the past of Bucky, Yelena and Walker, none of it being good. That’s what keeps the film true to itself and its characters. The film explores how to raise them beyond their identity as the darkness within them that fights to pull them back. Thunderbolts* takes a fresh look at mental health and what it can mean to the ones experiencing it, how it works and how actions/words can have power. The physical manifestation of the darkness within us and the vastness of it, is one of the best things about the film.
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Florence Pugh gives a new spin to Yelena with an emotionally charged performance. Wyatt Russell’s changed Walker is apologetic and vulnerable. We do have characters that haven’t been looked into including Geraldine Viswanathan’s Mel and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava aka Ghost, but they have reason, and their characters have good plots too. On the other hand, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky and David Harbour’s Alexei are the eye candies for the film, both are funny and both have the presence that fills the screen, without uttering a word.
Finally, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina is a delight to watch, and so is Lewis Pullman as Bob/Robert and Sentry. He gets to show off all that he has in mere minutes with great ups and downs. He is definitely a presence to look out for in the future of Marvel or otherwise. The VFX and the music is another layer of the film that truly explores the street level Marvel we miss from early Avengers, even if we do have God level powers making appearances. Meanwhile, the writing is the hero of the film as it keeps the cast together with great comic timings of the actors.
Overall, the film makes you feel seen, makes you laugh and makes you scream at the screen. It’s a good balanced blend of what fans asked for, the eye candy and a story worth telling no matter where it leads. Marvel gave a chance to a good director behind the comedy drama Beef (the insults being hurled at each other, make more sense if you have watched the Netflix show). In hindsight, Jake Schreier delivered.
Cover artwork by Patrick Gawande/Mashable India