Thunderbolts
With the death of Tony Stark comes the death of the original Avengers. As the rest of the world turns to new comic-book franchises for their films-to-watch list, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also searching for fresh faces to herald this new generation of superhero flicks. Enter Yelena Belova: the surrogate sister of Natasha Romanoff, and the lead of this latest MCU release. Darker in tone and character-focused, Thunderbolts follows Yelena navigating life after her sister’s death. Sinking into a depressive cycle of getting drunk, crying and killing, Yelena contemplates what it means to be fulfilled in this new world without Natasha. Working as a clean-up agent for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Yelena is betrayed by her employer. Stuck with several others hired to keep Valentina’s secrets – John Walker, Taskmaster and Ghost – she meets Bob, a powerful enigma dealing with his thoughts of insecurity and loneliness. All five must work together to escape Valentina’s attempts to eliminate them.
Yelena is subtly portrayed as having a penchant for suicidal ideation. It’s showcased in her chase for the thrill and the pointless risks she takes on the job. Florence Pugh is an absolute star, carrying the heart of Thunderbolts. She gives Yelena a tired but charming quality, and she captures well the nuanced array of emotions of the character: grief, resentment, hopelessness and desperation for change. All these feelings are perfectly displayed in Pugh’s performance and will undoubtedly tug at the audience’s heartstrings. Pugh’s brilliance highlights Yelena’s psychological turmoil and is the main backbone of the feature’s third act.
The first two acts offer some entertaining bits and pieces of action with a four-way fight sequence and a low-speed chase scene in a limo. The latter is somewhat reminiscent of Logan but lacks the same style and visual flair, with too many jokes thrown in. In general, the abundance of comedy – a signature of the Marvel cinematic experience – is the most frustrating aspect of the picture. Unlike the Russo Brothers’ work on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, where the perfect balance is met, the constant barrage of one-liners and quick wit often undermines the high stakes and kills off tension through some of the darker parts of Jake Schreier’s movie. Fortunately, the third act doesn’t suffer from this, maintaining this void and dark emptiness everyone feels as the focal point. However, while one can see what they are going for with this piece and that climax, it doesn’t hit the mark. Considering Yelena and Bob are the only two to form a strong bond, there’s something very amiss about the forced togetherness everyone faces in the last leg of the film.
For anyone expecting an epic team-up like the first Avengers, that is not what Thunderbolts provides. There’s heart and emotional weight, mostly on the side of Pugh as Yelena. Other than that, no one else truly shines in the feature – not even Sebastian Stan and his quick showing as the Winter Soldier. With films like Havoc and The Amateur out last month, Thunderbolts has plenty to live up to in the space of high-energy thrills and excitement. Still, the effort to create something different and more emotionally vulnerable for this franchise cannot be dismissed. There’s something undeniably genuine and heartfelt in the journey of Thunderbolts.
Mae Trumata
Thunderbolts is released nationwide on 1st May 2025.
Watch the trailer for Thunderbolts here:
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