These MCU anti-heroes kick some serious ass.
There’s a scene later in “Thunderbolts” when Valentina De Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tells Yelena (Florence Pugh) she looks like “Sh*t.” If I were her, I would have responded: “Well, at least I’m not desperately trying to look like Bonnie Raitt.” Last time, the CIA director went for the purple stripe like a teenager entering rebellion mode. And now, she’s going for that white stripe in her hair, and to me, changing colors in her hair doesn’t do her much justice.
Before my viewing of the latest MCU movie, I was asked by another film critic about whether or not I’m excited about the upcoming “Fantastic Four: The First Steps,” and I told him I was conflicted given the 2015 bomb. I also am getting tired of hearing the same negativity from people about the MCU of late. Yes, there have been failures and I long for the year 2008 when “Iron Man” blew our minds, but I also try to find some optimism in them. And I was one of the few critics to like “Captain America: Brave New World” for the topics it was trying to explore, such as General Ross becoming the new POTUS and the polarizing reactions he’s given.
Now, I’m actually finding some optimism in Thunderbolts,” especially when it wants to go for a “Suicide Squad” approach with some of the MCU’s anti-heroes. And while the story doesn’t rank with the MCU’s best of the best films, there’s still a lot of funny moments, some entertaining moments, and some very dark moments that make it a worthy addition.
Let me remind you readers about the characters. We all know Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is the Winter Soldier, who was presumed dead during WWII, but regenerated thanks to Hydra and became a deadly brainwashed assassin turned hero. Yelena is the Natasha Romanoff’s adoptive sister in “Black Widow.” John Walker A.K.A U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) would have become the next Captain America if he didn’t kill that Flag-Smasher in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Alexei Shostakov A.K.A. Red Guardian (David Harbour) is Yelena and Natasha’s father figure, also from “Black Widow.” And Ava Starr A.K.A Ghost (Hannah John-Kaman) had a phasing condition that S.H.I.E.L.D. had no intentions on curing, but Janet van Dyne tamed it for her in “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”
As far as I’m concerned these people are the main team, while Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), who was supposed to be a main character according to the trailers and ads, is basically treated like a cameo. And these heroes come across Bob (Lewis Pullman), who is a superhero suffering from amnesia and being a potential threat to humanity.
The plot involves Valentina being threatened with impeachment from her position because of the superhero program she has been developing, and will do anything to get rid of the evidence. Even having our heroes killed. But they know the game, and they know how to fight back. But do they know who Bob really is?
“Thunderbolts,” directed by Jake Schreier (“Robot & Frank,” “Paper Towns”), doesn’t reach the full throttle level of “Iron Man,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” or the “Avengers” movies, but it does reach a lot higher than David Ayer did with “Suicide Squad.” And James Gunn was the right guy to aim the R-rated sequel “The Suicide Squad.” Even at its PG-13 rating, there’s a strong sense of intensity once we see Bob’s potential, and there’s an emotional aspect to Yelena’s life. She’s disenchanted by how she’s stuck with dangerous missions and fighting and struggling to get over the loss of her adoptive sister. And Pugh still brings out her style and attitude when needed.
There are echos from movies like “The Emperor’s New Groove,” “The Terminator,” “Doctor Strange,” and “Escape Room,” all of which you can read between the lines. We also get wisecracks from Russell and honesty from Harbour, and both of them are very funny. And given how she took Walker under his wing and arrested her ex-husband Everett Ross, it would make absolute sense that Valentina would be an antagonist here, and Louis-Dreyfuss does a good job displaying that.
Obviously, when people ask me what good movies are currently playing in theaters and they tell me their preferred genre, I don’t assume they want to see an MCU movie. But if they do ask me about “Thunderbolts,” I’ll tell them: I had a good time.