Thunderbolts* Movie Review: MCU returns to form with a grounded approach and well-written characters

With Florence Pugh’s magnetic presence, Thunderbolts* exploits all of MCU's signature strengths, while being character-driven throughout

The Hero’s Journey is the most common narrative structure used in films, and there is no dearth of it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with Thunderbolts*, we see the MCU starting to go for a grounded approach. While it continues to stick to The Hero’s Journey, it focuses on the hero rather than the journey. The main characters aren’t heroes, in the classic sense, they are delinquents. Thunderbolts* follows a group of down-on-their-luck characters who try to ascertain their sense of purpose, and in their journeys find valour.

Director: Jake Schreier

Cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Florence Pugh shines in portraying vulnerability while not compromising on her stoic Black Widow personality. Thunderbolts* explores the trauma faced by Yelena. Whether it is her hardline training phase at the Red Room, her incomplete childhood, or even her being untethered, after her elder sister’s passing, she acts out every scene with intense emotions that encompass all of her experiences. In what can be described as a yang to Yelena’s yin, we see Lewis Pullman’s Bob, struggling to stick to one personality, and like Yelena, trying to find something to make him whole. His mind is tempestuous as a result of a rough childhood. So, when absolute power is out to corrupt him, we wonder if there is any redemption for him.

Even with characters who are poles apart, we somehow relate to their struggles. In different phases of our lives, we would have found ourselves in pursuit of a sense of purpose. The rest of the characters represent character flaws that represent the missing piece which completes the puzzle of purpose. John Walker is a man who is trying to regain the glory earned by his previous title as Captain America. Being someone who has been marred by imposter syndrome and constantly trying to prove himself, he becomes deeply untrusting and is prone to misjudgement. Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian constantly searches for the glory he experienced in his younger days, and in that process neglects an important part of his life, Yelena. Ava Starr, a fugitive without a place to call home, is constantly fighting her identity as Ghost, with a mindset of survival at all costs.

However, even with the age-old themes of human struggle, Thunderbolts* still manages to stand out in its portrayal of them. Instead of playing out as a drama with dialogues that exaggerate the human experience, it plays out as a procedural and focuses only on the basics and manages to hit almost all of those marks right. Its deviation from overloading fan service moments that can suffocate the audience, is welcome as it spends more time with the characters for us to be more curious about them. Instead of otherworldly threats for our delinquents to face, they face the sum of all their fears. The MCU isn’t experimenting audaciously with Thunderbolts*, but they are definitely breaking out of the mould.

Thunderbolts* may not be a fan vehicle, but it is certainly a film that treats the fans well. It plays to its strength by being self-aware of how the fans see the MCU, how the ensemble of character actors can play deeply emotional characters, and where the right balance is between writing an original story and continuing the story of its characters. The film, with all its gritty action and a grounded world, still manages to leave us with a warm feeling, and that is the realisation that perhaps going through tough times with people you care about can help you become a better person.