Marvel Tells a Darker Story But Coats It in Comedy

            Honestly, as of recent, I have been pretty out on Marvel movies. None of them have been that good. They have felt like more of a slog and a cinematic obligation than viewing for enjoyment. Some how I did keep buying in for whatever reason, like Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness movie being a “horror” (disappointment), Deadpool and Wolverine had the return of Hugh Jackman (2 hours of fan service slop), Brave New World tried to give Anthony Mackie the lead, and he could not handle it, and The Marvels had Kamal Khan, who I loved in the TV show, but it lost its charm in the movie. The Thunderbolts got me pulled in with Florence Pugh. She is one of, if not, my favorite actress working, and I would see her in anything. She did give me some faith that this would be good too, because she was hilarious in Black Widow, and she pulled through in Thunderbolts as well!

            Thunderbolts starts with a group of lower level “heroes” being intentionally trapped together to allow for Valentina to get rid of some loose ends, despite them all working for her, they were all supposed to eliminate each other, and once they figured this out and realized they were trapped, they worked together to find a way out. In this process, they also found an unexpected guest, Bob, who no one knows, but he was apparently a test subject, and he was given powers, which he did not understand the extent of. The whole group ends up breaking out, except for Bob, who sacrifices himself so everyone else can escape, and he ends up in Valentina’s hands.

            Once the Thunderbolts realize where Bob has been taken, the Avengers tower, which Valentina bought, they make the trek to New York together to try and free him, but it was too late, Valentina had already brain washed him into thinking that he was her super soldier, pun intended, so he beat up all of the Thunderbolts without breaking a sweat. Then Bob, now named Sentury, turned on Valentina, but she had a kill switch, so he was shut down, or so they thought. When the clean up crew came to take him away, his body was gone, and now there was a shadowy black figure in the sky. The kill switch gave Sentury the ability to turn people into shadows and suck them into their most traumatic memory. So before the Thunderbolts can face Sentury, they must first face their own trauma.

            So is Marvel back? I would not go that far, but it was the most fun I have had watching a Marvel movie in a couple years, and they did it all with heroes that have pretty minimal powers. It honestly felt closer to a Mission Impossible movie than a superhero movie, the only thing that gave it the Marvel feel were the costumes that some of the characters had and when Sentury showed up, and he had typical hero powers and was basically Superman. The whole first half of the film though was breaking into places and blowing them up and eliminating targets of the state, so it felt much more like a spy movie. This was definitely a step in the right directions for Marvel, but it still does not make me feel invested in the larger story to come.

            What really makes this movie is the cast. The characters might not have any super impressive powers, but they do have incredible personalities, and they play off each other so well. Chemistry is what makes for a good team up movie, and the original Avengers had it, and so do these new Avengers. Florence Pugh as mentioned, is one of my favorite actors, and her dryness in this roll is perfect. She has a hard façade, and she is constantly spitting out sarcastic jabs. This is contrasted greatly with David Harbour. He has zero level of seriousness, and he just goofs around the whole time. Wyatt Russell is almost always a self-important jerk, and although it is very easy to hate him, he does it well, and it seems to fit in perfectly with the group. Sebastian Stan is also just a great actor, so he just fits in where he needs to, and of the crew of them, he gives off the most actual hero vibes. Finally, Hannah John-Camen blends in with the group as well, she has a touch of all these traits, and her character literally can blend in anywhere, so it makes sense.

            A fun anecdote that I learned from a behind the scenes on Instagram is that Florence Pugh actually did some of her own stunts during the filming process. In the video, they specifically showed her jumping off the second tallest building in the world. She said that she was influenced by Tom Cruise, who is basically the actor that is out here touting the power of cinema the most. So it was cool to see and hear that not only is he inspiring people to go to the movies, but he is also inspiring actors to step out of their comfort zone to make a better movie.

            The aspect of this movie that I appreciated the most is that it carried a theme. Many hero movies and action movies will just be violence, or a typical theme given the genre like working together or persevering. This movie, however, dove into some darker themes. The villain had a darkness to him, that is why he volunteered to be a part of the trial, and when he captures people into his realm, they have to experience their worst memory and live it over and over again. So the movie talks about the struggle of fixating on negative thoughts and depression. One line that stuck with me from the shadow realm was that the pain of the memories was real, but that it could not kill you. The climax of the movie is the Thunderbolts getting to Bob and giving him a hug to help him fight off the darkness, to battle it with love, instead of sinking further into it with hate. It was a little cheesy of an ending, like I kept expecting something to happen after the darkness vanished, but that was it.

            The next major Marvel release will be the Fantastic 4 this summer, and based off of the post-credit stinger, it seems like the Thunderbolts might be involved. I do not really care about the Fantastic 4, but I do love Pedro Pascal, so I am excited to see him in another property. He has apparently become an acting IP god, he has been in Game of Thrones, a Star Wars show, The Last of Us, and now Marvel. He is all over the place!

            Overall, this was a solid entry into the Marvel universe, but I do not really know what it means for the future. There were some great performances, but can these lesser characters carry the mantle? I do not think so. I am also confused about the direction they are going. It feels like they could have another Civil War, but I would not care too much about either side. To be honest, I would rather see Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan in an A24 movie instead of another Marvel movie, so I hope they are happy enough with the big bag of money they rake in from this and go back to more artistic cinema like We Live in Time or A Different Man. This was a fun time at the movies though, and I would recommend it. 3.5 Stars.