The most interesting thing about the present-day Marvel cinematic universe is that as long as a character doesn’t die, there’s a chance they’ll be back at some point for one scene or an entire movie (even if a character does die, they’ll find some silly way to bring them back). After 15 years we saw Tim Roth’s Abomination brought back for She-Hulk. Ben Kingsley reprised his role as the fake Mandarin in Shang-Chi. Even the most recent Captain America film is a continuation of the (17 year old) Ed Norton Hulk movie. It’s honestly a Hulk sequel without Hulk. Thunderbolts* is the culmination of all this. Outside of Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier, I didn't have any emotional investment in supporting characters from the Black Widow solo movie or the Ant Man sequel or Wyatt Russell’s unlikeable “U.S. Agent” from the Falcon & Winter Soldier show, but Thunderbolts* managed to make me care about them for two hours.
Now…this was far from perfect. Enjoyable and fun but there were a few things that bothered me. I get that the underlying theme with this movie was self-doubt, insecurity and depression, but that doesn’t mean the color palette had to convey that for the entirety of the movie. I don’t know why so many comic book-based superhero movies refuse to take on a fun & colorful aesthetic. I make a point to say this because when I saw this in the theater, they showed the very colorful trailer for James Gunn’s Superman beforehand. The visuals from that trailer were so fresh in my mind that is made Thunderbolts* looks a little drab in comparison.
Sidenote - I'm not exactly sure who James Gunn pissed off but everyone seems to suddenly dislike him and they're taking it out on his latest movie (before even seeing it). Last time I checked, between the new Suicide Squad, Peacemaker and The Guardians Of The Galaxy, I thought everyone liked him.
The drabness is also highlighted when you compare scenes from Thunderbolts* and the movies that it borrows from…
I also don’t know why so many post-End Game Marvel films refuse to commit to a full-time villain. Someone completely evil in the vein of early bad guys like Ironmonger, Red Skull or Abomination. There are some obvious exceptions but these days, Marvel always feels the need to give a sappy backstory to the villain or put in some subplot or flashback that makes them sympathetic or an anti-hero more than a full villain. Namor certainly did unforgivable things in Black Panther 2, but his reasoning sort of made sense and by the end of the movie he only ended up being kind of a villain. Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk absolutely broke the law but by the end of the movie he’s reunited with his daughter and we kind of feel bad for this pitiful old man with a weak heart. Between Age Of Ultron, Wandavision and the Doctor Strange Sequel – they can't seem to decide what side Scarlett Witch is on from one story to the next. The same applies to Loki. I understand that the source material does this with characters from time to time but I just think the movies are going a little overboard. Strangely enough, Thunderbolts* is a collection of “almost-villains” and anti-heroes from pre-existing Marvel stories that finally get to do good and/or fully redeem themselves.
Without spoiling too much, I’m not exactly sure why Olga Kurylenko was brought back if they were going to make her character so disposable. But again – this is Marvel. Maybe we’ll see her again.
This might be extra nitpicky but there’s also no excuse for the some the background inconsistencies. At the end of the movie there’s a big showdown where the Thunderbolts drive a truck through the ground floor of a building and have a shootout with a s.w.a.t. team in the middle of Manhattan. If you pay attention to the people in background – everyone is going on about their day as nothing is happening. No onlookers, no screaming no panic or anything. This becomes inconsistent because minutes later Sentry terrorizes the city and suddenly the same background players react in terror. To me, there’s no excuse for that.
Complaints and criticisms aside, this was a fun movie with a consistent tone that allows humor and wittiness at the right time in comparison to something like Thor Love & Thunder which felt like three different unrelated movies mushed together. It’s unfortunate that we’re in a lengthy period of Marvel fatigue because there are a few exceptional movies from the last few years that are good/fun/entertaining, but get lost in the shuffle (I still think Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is really good). I’m not fully sold on the Thunderbolts* ending or the way the film’s actual villain was let off the hook. But, like the final scene with Namor in Black Panther 2, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the relationship between our heroes and the “almost villain” will play out.
The drabness is also highlighted when you compare scenes from Thunderbolts* and the movies that it borrows from…
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| The Matrix / Thunderbolts* |
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| Ghost In The Shell / Thunderbolts |
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| Taskmaster (R) got the Slipknot in Suicide Squad (L) treatment |
This might be extra nitpicky but there’s also no excuse for the some the background inconsistencies. At the end of the movie there’s a big showdown where the Thunderbolts drive a truck through the ground floor of a building and have a shootout with a s.w.a.t. team in the middle of Manhattan. If you pay attention to the people in background – everyone is going on about their day as nothing is happening. No onlookers, no screaming no panic or anything. This becomes inconsistent because minutes later Sentry terrorizes the city and suddenly the same background players react in terror. To me, there’s no excuse for that.
Complaints and criticisms aside, this was a fun movie with a consistent tone that allows humor and wittiness at the right time in comparison to something like Thor Love & Thunder which felt like three different unrelated movies mushed together. It’s unfortunate that we’re in a lengthy period of Marvel fatigue because there are a few exceptional movies from the last few years that are good/fun/entertaining, but get lost in the shuffle (I still think Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is really good). I’m not fully sold on the Thunderbolts* ending or the way the film’s actual villain was let off the hook. But, like the final scene with Namor in Black Panther 2, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the relationship between our heroes and the “almost villain” will play out.
Julia Louis Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is, in my personal opinion, the perfect comic book villain performance. Unfortunately they don’t fully commit to her being completely bad (even though, according to what’s presented in the movie, she is indirectly responsible for the deaths of lots of innocent people).
While there is of course a post-credit scene that sets up a much bigger story for the future, Thunderbolts* did feel like it’s own individual movie instead of a feature length means to a 60 second post-credit scene like a handful of recent/semi-recent Marvel movies. I’m not too excited for the next big Avengers movie but I do look forward to the next Thunderbolts*/New Avengers chapter.
While there is of course a post-credit scene that sets up a much bigger story for the future, Thunderbolts* did feel like it’s own individual movie instead of a feature length means to a 60 second post-credit scene like a handful of recent/semi-recent Marvel movies. I’m not too excited for the next big Avengers movie but I do look forward to the next Thunderbolts*/New Avengers chapter.
