Time: 126 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence
Cast:
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent
Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster
Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds
Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel
Chris Bauer as Holt
Wendell Pierce as Gary
David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian
Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
Director: Jake Schreier

I have been somewhat sceptical of the recent MCU movies, I even skipped out on seeing the newest Captain America at the cinemas, and that’s the first time in 11 years I haven’t watched an MCU movie in the cinemas. That said, I was somewhat curious about Thunderbolts, it looked like it had some potential. For what it’s worth, it is definitely one of the better recent MCU movies, I’d even call it a breath of fresh air.

First of all, I do appreciate that the story itself is fairly self-contained, even when it’s clearly connected to the MCU and with the main cast consisting of characters returning from previous movies and shows. I found myself largely engaged with the story and characters. The comedy is largely funny, most of it involving the back and forth between the main cast. Importantly though, in contrast to most other MCU movies, it knows when to stop joking around and makes sure it isn’t undercutting the actual serious parts. Speaking of which, Thunderbolts* does actually deal with some serious topics and darker subject matter, including mental health, grief, substance abuse and depression. Yes, it is straightforward and simplistic in its handling of the themes and you could easily call it baby’s first mental illness/depression movie, but what it does, it does well. In the third act, it manages to sidestep having yet another typical superhero climax. It gets creative and inventive with the conclusion and is fulfilling to the overall story. That’s not to say Thunderbolts* doesn’t have its issues. In its second act, it slows down particularly and can feel like a slog in parts. Some characters definitely get more chances to shine than others. On one hand, the characters played by Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman get a lot of focus and attention with their characters, whereas Hannah John-Kamen doesn’t get a lot to shine character-wise (despite being present throughout). It almost feels like a number of scenes were cut down so that the movie could meet a roughly 2 hour runtime. There’s also a choice regarding a particular character earlier on which was odd, and I honestly don’t think it added much to the movie. For those interested, there are two scenes during the credits. 

Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and Lewis Pullman are great as the main cast. They share good chemistry together and it helps that each character has their own distinct personality and character from each other. Pugh and Pullman were the standouts for me.

Jake Schreier’s direction is strong. The cinematography does have the typical gray colour palette that you see in a lot of other MCU movies, but is actually well shot regardless and avoids being visually ugly. The CGI effects are also pretty good, I particularly liked how they presented antagonist The Void. The action is good and entertaining, and I liked that they utilised a lot of practical effects and stunt work whenever possible. I also really like the score from Son Lux and found that it added a lot to the movie.

Thunderbolts* is entertaining, refreshing, and surprisingly good, with a great cast, solid direction and action, and actual emotional stakes. As far as the MCU goes, it’s a step in the right direction. However, we’ll have to see if that momentum is maintained when we reach the next Avengers movie, as I can easily see it going back to business as usual by then.