Beebom Score
Ever since the release of Endgame, Marvel has failed its fans in more ways than one can imagine. Be it with its shows or recent movies, such as Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel has lost a lot of faith among their fanbase. However, it seems that Marvel is on its way to redeem itself with what they have served with Thunderbolts.
When the movie was announced, fans across the world thought that this was going to be yet another disaster. But the tables turned, as exiting the theater after watching Thunderbolts this morning had me in surprise. This movie finally has the Marvel ethos that made fans fall in love with superheroes, even though you have a team of anti-heroes saving the world here.
Editor’s Note: This review includes minor spoilers for the Thunderbolts movie.
A Simple Yet Elegantly Put-Forward Story
While making a movie, the most important aspect is the story. Now, Marvel is known for creating complex stories and executing them in the best way possible, well, up to Endgame, they did. Since then, Marvel movies and shows have struggled to bring us a good story. Most stories have felt like patchwork, trying to tell a story with humor and heart but failing miserably.
Even though Deadpool and Wolverine worked out well, it is the cold, hard truth that they stumbled on the storytelling front as well. Continuing that streak, Marvel failed to deliver a well-knit story in future movies, too. I mean, look at what a hot mess Captain America: Brave New World was. Tony Stark could have Jarvis write better stories from within his Iron Man suit, for God’s sake.
When all hope was lost, though, Marvel’s latest project, Thunderbolts, showed up like a hopeful firefly we all needed on a dark, cold night. It’s Marvel telling the fans, no, we are not ready to give up just yet. Thunderbolts has a simple origin story, and boy oh boy does it work well. This film proves you don’t need a massive and complex story to create a good movie; it only needs to be well-knit and have an elegant execution.
Thunderbolts features Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who wants to get rid of Yelena (Florence Pugh), The Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) so that they cannot be used against her in her impeachment trial. However, when they reach the vault and fight each other, Taskmaster meets a surprising fate. As Taskmaster is killed, Bob comes out of a box, and they realise that it was a trap to kill them all.
They somehow manage to escape, and it is revealed that Bob is the only surviving participant of the Sentry project and possesses incredible powers. Following this, the Red Guardian and Bucky show up and embark on a mission to save Bob and stop Valentina. That’s it, that’s the origin story, and as simple as it is, Marvel nailed the execution and delivered a movie that gathers nothing but praise all across the globe.
Thunderbolts Presents On Point Humor, a Rarity in Marvel
One of the most disappointing factors from Marvel movies has usually been their over-the-top and unnecessary humor, which you will find in every review for Marvel movies I have written. However, Thunderbolts seems to recognise this major issue and plugs it. The movie brings forth humor that is natural and not overdone.
Be it Red Guardian’s loud and heavy Russian accent or John Walker’s unhinged behavior, where bro was ready to end the film ASAP by putting a bullet through Valentina’s head without any hesitation, everything was perfect, down to the last minute detail. I’m surprised that Marvel still knows how to make a good movie, how did they fumble with a particular movie with a flying man and a red brute?
Sometimes, I feel that Marvel is like a teenager who has that 3:00 AM burst of motivation that “I’m gonna cook so hard, I’ll be unrecognisable” and then falls into the derpressed phase of, “Is life really worth it?” Overall, if you have been weirded out by the unnecessary humor Marvel adds to its films, Thunderbolts will bring back your faith in the studio.
The Character Development Is So-So Natural
Another thing I love in Thunderbolts is the natural and systematic character development of characters, specifically, Yelena. Since the beginning of the movie, Yelena has been going through an emotional crisis. She feels all alone and hates working as an assassin. However, after she meets Bob and the others, she gradually starts developing emotionally, and we see her systematic growth past her issues. She sees herself in Bob’s loneliness and issues, which ultimately allows the team to take down The Void.
Florence Pugh might not have been able to shine as Yelena in Black Widow, but this time around, she shines and fits the shoes of the hero finding their footing. Her character is explored throughout Thunderbolts wonderfully. She kind of fixed her issues with her father, the Red Guardian, brought together a group of people who would never work with each other, and in the process, re-invented herself as a hero. I believe Florence Pugh as Yelena was the highlight of Thunderbolts.
Another thing I liked was that Marvel didn’t turn her into a brand new person in just one movie; they just put her on a path of becoming better, fixing what’s broken within her, and gave her a group of people who will support her along the way. On the surface, this review for Thunderbolts might make you feel that the movie is like just an origin story packed with action, but at its core, it’s more about emotions and overcoming things that we suffer from, which is beautiful.
Thunderbolts Might Have a Tiny Chink In Its Armor
If you have made it this far in this review, it’s crystal clear that Thunderbolts stood tall on virtually everything from story to themes to character development. However, the movie might have messed up a tiny bit in one aspect. One of the biggest attractions for Thunderbolts was the introduction of Sentry. However, Sentry did not get as much screen time as expected.
Bob or Robert Reynolds appeared in Sentry’s suit for less than 10 minutes, which I think was not enough for the hype that was created for the character’s arrival. After that, he appeared only as The Void, and their screen time was not enough.
After the dust settled down and Thunderbolts saved NYC, Bob was scared to be Sentry again since there was a very high chance that as soon as he used his powers, The Void would return, which is not a good thing considering Bob now lives with the New Avengers.
Is Thunderbolts Worth Watching?
Now the big question: should you spend your hard-earned money on Thunderbolts? The answer to that is yes, of course, and absolutely! I can understand that, as a Marvel fan, you have gone through a lot of disappointment over time, and it is only natural for skepticism to seep in.
However, if you are still reading, you are definitely interested, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed by what Marvel has brought to theaters with Thunderbolts. The movie is an absolute package of action, emotion, humor, and oh man, but a lot of russian accent. So, without any delays, grab your friends, family, boyfriend, sitationship, or anyone willing to tag along and get tickets for Thunderbolts ASAP!
