1 day Ago By Firstpost
Star cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus Director: Jake Schreier MCU has been going through a rough patch regarding its theatrical releases for quite some time. Amid this, the final film of Phase Five and 36th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titled Thunderbolts* is arriving at the box office. While the movie has shined in the test screenings as many critics called it a huge comeback of the MCU, let’s see whether it manages to impress the moviegoers.
.. The movie starts with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, the troubled sister to Scarlett Johansson’s late Black Widow and a freelance assassin, talking about how she feels the death of her sister has brought a huge void in her life and later contradicting it by saying or it might be just boredom.
As she completes a cleanup assignment given by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) through the scientific research company OXE, by eliminating both material and human evidence in a Malaysian lab that can lead de Fontaine in trouble, Yelena, who feels her life is purposeless, requests Valentina to reassign her to a “more public-facing” position. While she agrees to her condition, de Fontaine asks Yelena to first destroy one last OXE facility, embedded in a mountain, which turns out to be a death trap for the latter along with other high-level operatives — John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen). Freshman Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), former Winter Soldier is going all out to expose Valentina sees potential asset in Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan), Valentina’s smart assistant.
As Valentina is under the Congressional investigation for the CIA’s secretive and illegal human experimentation, she designs this trap as these people are last human evidences, which she wants to eliminate. In the facility, Bob (Lewis Pullman) a confused and dull person lands mysteriously only to make the situation messy. Now, if they want to survive and escape the trap, they must work together as a team or die in the facility.
Marvel has finally made a comeback after a dull phase with a soulful adventurous affair in the form of Thunderbolts*, which resonates mainly because it has taken mental health as its central theme by showcasing the traumatic backstories of the characters and sharing how connection and bringing people together can heal depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. It hits the right chord with a subtle yet impactful message that sometimes all we need to know and understand is that there are some people who care about us and that we are not alone. In this battle of emotions, where characters want to find healing, David Harbour’s over-the-top portrayal of Yelena’s dad, Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian, provides comic relief.
Talking about the performances, Florence shines like a bright star as she makes her character’s emotional arc relatable and believable. Lewis Pullman’s Bob represents the majority of the individuals of today’s world who are dealing with anxieties and depression and think that they are good for nothing. Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko and Sebastian Stan’s portrayals perfectly fit the bill while David Harbour is simply loveable and adorable.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ humour sometimes comes across as uni-dimensional, Geraldine Viswanathan impresses with her sharp acting skills. On the whole, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* is a delightful and impactful affair despite being happy, which perfectly showcases complex human emotions and says it is important to vent out if you want to feel lighter and happy. Rating: 3.
5 (out of 5 stars) Thunderbolts* is releasing on 1st May.
