Thunderbolts*

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

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Main Cast

Florence Pugh

David Harbour

Sebastian Stan

Lewis Pullman

Main Crew

Directed by Jake Schreier

Written by Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo, Kurt Busiek

Where to Watch

In Theatres Now

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Since 'Endgame', it is safe to say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been hanging on by a thread. Between ill-conceived film ideas to half-assed TV shows, Kevin Feige and crew needed a win. And who do the powers that be entrust that win to? A bunch of B and C team comic characters that general audiences barely know, and a director in Jake Schreier who hasn't done any big-budget productions yet.

And the outcome is honestly wonderful. 

It starts with the writing. Three writers are credited with the STORY being credited to Eric Pearson, who has played in the MCU sandbox before. But it's clear, based on the film we got, that Joanna Calo's fingerprints are all over the fleshing out of the story idea. Ms. Calo is best known for being one of the showrunners of The Bear. And if you're familiar with a theme from that show, this film makes sense. Calo is great at writing about grief and loss and depression and loneliness, and it shows in the final product of this film. 

This is the first MCU to deal with such adult themes seriously, and I can only hope they do more of this. A lot of people watch these films and a lot of people need to hear about these tough topics from characters they love... to see that they aren't alone and other people are there to help, but also probably going through some of the same shit. 

Regarding the cast, these were the standouts: 

Lewis Pullman blew me away as "Bob" yet again. His mannerisms and facial emotions give his character so much backstory that we know how much he's been through without being told. That's how you know you're good at storytelling when that happens. 

Florence Pugh continues mastering her role as Yelena. But this time, Pugh gets to give her the depth her talent deserves, and it's a sight to behold as she makes jokes, digs deep into her psyche, and uses it to overcome her trauma. 

I won't say this often, but this is one film that could have been a TV series like Andor is for Star Wars. They would've simply needed a budget to do so, since this story needed more fleshing out than the already long runtime of two hours and six minutes could give it. 

And I also feel as if they spoon-fed the main themes to us instead of letting the actors tell that story. Just another case of these films trying to keep everyone on the same level when they should be striving to raise everyone up... just like the characters in this film!

Overall, I had to check myself from giving this film 5 stars. Upon rewatch, I felt as though the little quarrels I had listed above really got to me... but coming in with the knowledge of how bad the MCU has been and then seeing this good film had my brain going haywire.