Review: Thunderbolts*

Official synopsis: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

Thunderbolts is the Marvel film I've been anticipating the most post Endgame. (While I enjoyed Black Panther 2, part of me still dreaded having to face that film without Chadwick Boseman) I had high hopes, and I was not disappointed. If anything, I was surprised at just what kind of film this ended up being.

You see, I expected this to lean goofy. More Guardians than Avengers, and while there were some great laughs, mostly thanks to David Harbour's hilarious Red Guardian, I was not prepared for how this film would tackle mental illness. We all know Yelena (Florence Pugh) is suffering after Natasha's death, but we haven't really seen her address her feelings, and once she and her rag tag team meet Bob (Lewis Pullman) they are all faced with some pretty emotions. The film even foregoes a "big bad" fight in the 3rd act and instead asks everyone to look inside, so to speak.

Florence Pugh gives one of the best performances in a Marvel movie to date, and her chemistry with David Harbour is just so good. I loved seeing them together, and they played well against the returning Wyatt Russell and Hannah John-Kamen. I still feel like we missed a significant portion of Bucky's (Sebastian Stan) story. I don't fully understand WHY he'd go the senator route, and I'm a little more perplexed at something he mentions in the film's second end credits scene. 

Over all, I liked this film just as much as I hoped I would, even though it ended up being very different from what I expected. I think it got that sweet spot of telling a good story, while still building to the larger MCU. 

I'm still bitter there is no Wanda though...

Grade: B