One of the latest Marvel releases, Thunderbolts is a compellingly told superhero movie that suspends the stereotypical impression of the genre as a vapid cash grab devoid of good storytelling and dialogue.
The movie follows an unconventional team of antiheroes, dubbed the ‘new Avengers’ which include Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker.
The group becomes ensnared in a foiled political plot and in an attempt to make sense of their role in the government’s covert operations, they embark on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront their dark pasts.
Patchy Russian accent notwithstanding, Yelena (Florence Pugh) is the magnetic standout of the film and best encapsulates the spirit of the film’s ragtag motley crew of underdogs. Pugh pulls off a great performance as an antihero with a dogged past haunted by regrets and the death of her sister.
The movie goes to great pains to flesh out Yelena’s character, charting her journey through regret, depression, anger and loneliness towards self-acceptance and empathy — the latter of which becomes a vital trait for the climatic action towards the end of the film.
Her capacity to recognise the isolating pain of depression and guilt in the film’s antagonist, Sentry, is the defining force of her heroism which has earned Yelena purchase with a legion of fans initially skeptical of the film’s premise.
The genre often falls prey to bland interpretations of villains but Thunderbolts circumvents this pitfall by focusing on Sentry’s backstory to build up to a more nuanced understanding of the antagonist. The characters complex duality between Sentry and the Void epitomises the deep emotional turmoil of the character and in doing so, lends the silver screen a fictional representation of the humanised villain that audiences have been craving. As a result, Sentry’s vulnerabilities are not repellent and audiences understand and connect with him as a the representation of the dark and tortured hurts that reside in all of us.
The film strikes a good balance between the action and drama elements, bolstered by a meaningful script delivered by a talented and seasoned cast. The emotional weight of the film feeds into the intensity of the action, proving that sacrificing one for the other as done in previous Marvel projects, is evidence of lacklustre directing and production.
The action choreography is fluid and immersive without disruptive cuts between the scenes, resulting in synergy between the characters, emphasising their connection and strength as a unit.
Beleaguered with criticism for trite dialogue, mediocre writing and bland characters, Thunderbolts goes a long way towards restoring the waning faith of Marvel devotees.
The movie can be streamed on Disney+
