Thunderbolts* Review: A Disastrous Team, But A Surprisingly Solid Marvel Movie

"Thunderbolts*" is a departure from everything that's come before it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, it assembles anti-heroes, including Steve Rogers' bestie Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" agent John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and "Black Widow" assassin Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in a team of sorts, the first movie in the franchise that focuses so completely on them without at least one hero to balance it out — but it's also the first MCU film to have a strong message about mental health. While there are many MCU movies that have touched on this issue in the past, this one makes it the center of attention. Or at least one of the centers of attention, what with the political intrigue around Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the big fights that any action movie, much less a superhero (or anti-hero) movie, tackles.

"Thunderbolts*" starts with Yelena confessing her general malaise about everything to a captive she has tied up at her feet. He doesn't really listen to her, but then, what does she expect? This sequence has a nice fight scene in a hallway that echoes Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)'s fight in "Iron Man 2," except Yelena isn't into her fight the way Natasha was into hers. Yelena goes to her adoptive father Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian (David Harbour), but he's as lost as she is, if more cheerful about it.

Meanwhile, Bucky is a first-term congressman who wants to get Valentina impeached, but he's having a hard time with how slow everything is in the halls of power. When Yelena, John Walker, "Black Widow's" Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and "Ant-Man and the Wasp's" Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) end up in the same facility with orders to take one another out, but manage to team up and escape instead, Bucky is there to get them to testify against Val. Except Val has already found her big score: a man named Bob (Lewis Pullman) — and she's not afraid to use him.

To say more would be to ruin the numerous surprises that come from this movie. Let's just say that the previews, as detailed as they are, don't do justice to everything "Thunderbolts*" is. Even the movie's title isn't adequately explained in those commercials, and while you can glean that there's more to the title from the asterisk at the end of it, you'll be tickled when you learn where the name really comes from.

Each member of this team has shown up in at least one MCU title before. Sebastian Stan has had the longest run in the MCU as Bucky Barnes, dating back to 2014's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." And he's still the senior member of the group, even if he's not the real star of the film. That honor goes to Florence Pugh as Yelena, who has especially great moments with Bob and Red Guardian, but is exceptional in her role in general as she manages to be both sympathetic and a badass all at once.

On the other hand, the junior partner here seems to be Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost. Ghost can phase through walls but still doesn't make much of an impression as a character. This may be by design, as she didn't make much of an impression in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" either, but it still seems odd that she's along for the ride at all. Everyone else seems like a more fully developed character — even Lewis Pullman as Bob, despite the fact that this is his first movie in the MCU.

While certain parts of the movie could have been slightly longer to flesh things out, the fact that almost all of the leads have at least one moment that stands out is impressive in a movie with this many characters. It's a testament to the charisma on display, and the expertise with which they work, that they all can take center-stage and then step back and let someone else have a turn.

It's the message of the movie that most interests me, though. I appreciated that the filmmakers decided to make "Thunderbolts*" revolve around mental health. It's not that the message is so revolutionary; many an MCU movie has touched on how much it sucks to be a superhero — or, in this case, an antihero. But this is the first time I can recall that message playing so well in conjunction with everything else the movie has going on.

Maybe antiheroes are just a good vehicle for such a message. After all, they don't get the good publicity that the heroes do, so it's easier to get right to the issue of mental health with them. But really it's Bob that drives the point home. Even though his powers may seem scary to other people, they may be scariest to him as he falls into a metaphorical black hole of his own making. This is the crux of the movie, and the final act is a battle for Bob's soul.

The other parts of the movie are also well done, with Val being the focus in many of these bits. Even though she's a vile character who has a negative view of most of humanity, you still enjoy her because Julia Louis-Dreyfus is such a pro. It's a testament to why she's had such longevity in Hollywood, and another feather in her cap.

"Thunderbolts*" is a new kind of team ... or at least it's a new kind of movie for the MCU. The best part is that this one is better than most of Phases 4 and 5, and it makes you excited for Phase 6, although you'll have to stay through the end credits to find out why. I may be overly optimistic, but with these characters in the mix, I'm even excited for "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." Go see this movie; you won't be disappointed.

"Thunderbolts*" opens in theaters on May 2.