After two long phases filled with mostly shrugs, the MCU has its first movie this decade to recommend without reservation. I'm as surprised as you are.
Marvel finally assembles its own team of antiheroes, nearly a decade after DC's atrocious Suicide Squad, and a full four years after James Gunn's on-the-fly reworking. You may have completely forgotten which movies featured the likes of Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and entirely skipped the TV show that featured Walker (Wyatt Russell) and main antagonist Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Tying up loose ends for the most die-hard fans ultimately doomed Captain America: Brave New World, and at first it seems like it might spoil this one. But this is the first MCU movie in a long time that's felt cohesive. Whatever they did (or didn't do), it worked. This is a straightforward, back-to-basics blockbuster, and it's all the better for it.
Florence Pugh reprises her role as Yelena, the sister of the now long-dead Black Widow. Bored with her mercenary life, she yearns for purpose outside of work. When she takes "one last job" from Valentina, she finds herself in a standoff with Ghost, Walker, and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), all the remaining assassins on the payroll. As they bicker and try to find an escape route, they discover Bob (Lewis Pullman), who's not quite the mild-mannered dude he appears to be. Pullman has quietly stolen scenes in films like Bad Times at the El Royale and Top Gun: Maverick. But he gives what might be his biggest and best performance here, with an impressive physicality and emotional depth.
Thunderbolts also benefits from a healthy amount of location shooting, including Utah and Malaysia. And the difference is readily apparent compared to some of the MCU's last efforts, which relied heavily on green screens and rushed CGI. It's also got a deep bench of excellent character actors, including Geraldine Viswanathan (Drive-Away Dolls) and Chris Bauer (HBO's The Wire). And if that wasn't enough, in its third act the film becomes a surprisingly effective metaphor for depression and isolation. This might strike some viewers as tonal whiplash, or unearned after a bunch of shenanigans from Red Guardian (David Harbour). But for me it really worked, evoking an emotional response that I simply haven't gotten from any superhero movie in ages.
If you've bailed on the MCU at any point post-Endgame, I don't blame you. Most of them haven't worked. Many of them have been dreadful in retrospect. I'm not saying you need to fully buy in again. But Thunderbolts kicks off the summer in style, and is so entertaining – and even moving – that you'll be glad you gave this ragtag team a chance.
