Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 13+.
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is struggling to find purpose in her life. One day she finds herself caught in a deadly trap with a group of misfit heroes who are also searching for a path forward. Can they work together to save the world? And if so, can they save themselves?
STORY: A-
A Marvel villain like no other.
Sure, there’s a new nemesis (Lewis Pullman) with unstoppable powers. And yes, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is once again up to her devilishly selfish hi-jinks. But the true super villain in this film is mental health. Namely, depression.
At first glance, this could be seen as a shameless, intra-corporate, money grabbing piggyback off of Inside Out 2’s success. But the film addresses mental health issues with grace, respect (and dare I say poignancy?), expressing its point of view within the rock ‘em sock ‘em parameters of the MCU as deftly as Inside Out 2 did through Pixar’s own aesthetic.
PEOPLE: A-
Florence Pugh is the real superhero.
Pugh is the full package. She’s like a magician who can dazzle you with card tricks, then shift into some close up sleight of hand before wowing us with some large scale stage magic spectacle. She’s like a running back who can break ankles at will, has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and is also fully capable of plowing down defenders when necessary.
The rest of the cast is absolutely wonderful, but Pugh’s gripping performance grounds the film, which likely falls apart without it.
FILM NERD STUFF: B
The Dutch would be proud.
Once in a while, a cinematographer will use a Dutch angle (tilting the camera so the frame appears slanted) to boost a scene that for some reason isn’t producing the desired amount of energy on its own. Doing that usually has the same effect as using an obscenely large font size to make your essay look longer. It highlights the lack of substance instead of hiding it.
Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo wields the Dutch angle the way it’s intended. Every time we see it, it adds electricity to scenes already crackling with it, making them even better.
ONE BIG LESSON: A
Lean on me.
In one scene, characters lift themselves out of a literal deep, dark pit by literally leaning on each other’s backs. In another, one character has a Saturn-sized chunk of street pavement leaning on him. His teammates streak over to help bear the load.
How do we climb out of our own deep, dark pits of despair? How do we keep the weight of the world from crushing us? There are many answers, but one essential piece of that puzzle is realizing that it’s hard to do it alone.
Reach out when things feel like they’re caving in. Find friends, if you can. Find family, if you can. Find a supportive group who will get your back.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Recent Marvel films seem to have only one purpose: to prepare us for a payoff that will come months, if not years, later. They’re more concerned with world building and preparing us for events to come than making a movie worth watching.
This is one of Marvel’s best efforts in a long, long time. It does do a lot of world-building, but it does so within a well-written, fun, entertaining two hours. Here’s hoping Marvel continues giving us more films like Thunderbolts*.