Thunderbolts Review | This Underdog Movie Is Surprisingly Excellent

How many times have you considered a superhero’s mental health as they face a cascade of traumatic moments, day in and day out?

In your typical superhero film, we are so accustomed to seeing superhumans take on the world’s physical dangers (villains, aliens, scientific mutations, world disasters), but rarely do we see them fight their own mental and psychological battles. 

Thunderbolts takes that concept – a superhero’s mental health – and creates a compelling narrative on the sneaky, destructive villain that is often our own minds. 

Thunderbolts has such a refreshing and eye-opening take on what it takes to fight the invisible demons within and shines a light on the silently destructive power of buried traumas, ignored soul fractures, and the deafening void that is depression.

Thunderbolts Review

An unlikely group of has-been anti-heroes converge to take on new threats - powers that have been long hidden in the darkness.

**Heads Up** There WILL NOT be spoilers in this review.

Initial Hesitations – Thunderbolts Looks Bad

The Thunderbolts trailer did not look promising at all. 

Still recovering from Marvel fatigue, I have not been anticipating Marvel’s newest releases for some time. As I involuntarily received glimpses of the Thunderbolts story through unskippable commercials, I felt no desire to delve deeper into what seemed like another sequence of the same old structure, the same old story, and some vaguely familiar faces of characters who were not focal enough for me to truly care for. 

So when the opportunity arose to watch the film, I figured that the most I’d receive from the experience is just another opportunity to hang with my family while a mediocre film plays in the background.

The first few scenes of Thunderbolts didn’t disprove my expectations as I struggled to overlook Florence Pugh’s fake Russian accent for Yelena and flat comedic attempts.

As new characters and off-brand superheroes came onto the screen I found myself on the brink of cringing at their stereotypical demeanor and mediocre one-liners.

But even through the shaky scene-setting of the beginning, I still was intrigued enough to wonder, what’s next?

Where do we go from here?

Who are these people and why are they here?

Those questions held my attention throughout the whole film and the fascination never faltered.

Before I knew it, I found myself fully invested in the narrative, no longer hyper aware of the fake accents and cringey characterization. For some reason, as I trusted the process, much like makeup, the details began to blend beautifully and all the random lines and shadows began to carve out a vision deeper and more intentional than I expected.

Wait, Thunderbolts Is Actually Pretty Good

The first scene that piqued my interest and had me going, “Hmmm, not bad,” was when the rogue anti-heroes – Yelena Belova, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker – all ended up in an abandoned experimental facility at the same time but with conflicting missions.

The premise which unites them is the fact that they’re all employed by the wickedly cunning CIA director, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, to destroy any evidence of her controversial involvement in creating militant superhumans – an undertaking that has put her in danger of impeachment.

Unbeknownst to them, they are part of the evidence that needs to be destroyed so each one of the four different anti heroes have been assigned to eliminate another. It doesn’t take long for them to discover that they’ve all been assigned to destroy one another along with being left to burn with the evidence at the facility to ensure their termination.

Once they realize they’ve been set up for self-destruction by de Fontaine, they shift their focus and work together instead to escape their planned fate.

In the midst of this task, a very random, average, and generically packaged man, fittingly named Bob, emerges from the clutter, downed in what looks like pajamas. Obviously harmless but also very much not part of the plan, the antiheroes reluctantly choose to include him in their escape.

The introduction of Bob to the story is a strong hook and point of intrigue for the whole film.

You can’t help but wonder, who is this guy?

He seems so harmless but there is an air of mystery and hidden power to him that we just have to discover.

As the layers of Bob unravel, it’s impossible to look away from the sheer amount of power and fear that lil ol’ Bob is capable of.

When we see Bob’s power in full action, an audible gasp fills the theatre. This moment was the hook, line, and sinker for me. I couldn’t even blink in fear of missing what may come next.

Circumstance draws together the unlikely personalities of the Thunderbolts with Yelena’s dry humor and sharp instincts, Off-brand Captain America’s arrogance, Yelena’s dad (Red Guardian) with his bold presence, infectious humor and optimism, Bucky Barnes’s intelligence and bad@$$ery, and then that other girl who we really don’t learn much about at all besides the fact that she can phase through objects.

Their newfound mission brings them face to face with Bob, the mystery man, who we’re not sure is a friend or a foe.

The Thunderbolts team is rough around the edges but their imperfections quickly become endearing and you find yourself actually kinda liking their dynamic.

They give the humor of the Guardians of the Galaxy and with the potential power of the Avengers and… I’m not mad at it.

The Thunderbolts Address Mental Health

The most profound and tide-changing aspect of Thunderbolts for me was the way that it approached mental health.

As someone who has studied mental health professionally and personally, seeing the darkness of depression addressed and brought to light in a battlefield-ready genre was fitting beyond words.

We live in a world where people only care about the battles that they can see which leaves those with depression in a very, very, very lonely and misunderstood fight on their own.

It’s often not even seen as a fight but rather a weakness.

And within this lonely battle, they also struggle to believe that they’re worth fighting for and that anybody is capable or willing to fight with them.

It’s a dark and hopeless trap.

Thunderbolts address the reality of this invisible battle that the modern-day world often overlooks and it addresses it in a way that’s relatable and real.

A very compelling visual that the film uses is how our past trauma fractures our souls and leaves parts of us trapped in a cycle of guilt, shame, and pain with no hope for escape.

If there is a fracture in our bones, people sympathize with us. They sign our casts and offer to take on tasks that are not as easy for us to do ourselves anymore.

Doctors show you the physical evidence of the misaligned bones. Your boss gives you the necessary days off of work and you’re free, in fact, mandated to allow time and tender care to heal you.

But fractures of the soul – where is the evidence? Where is the x-ray? Where is the community to see your broken parts and support you? Where is the sympathy for something that no one can see besides yourself? For burdens that live in the dark recesses of your mind?

Hidden so much so that you try to pretend it doesn’t exist. You try to numb it and isolate yourself as you feel the toxicity spread.

Oftentimes, the only solution we find ourselves with is to push it down deep inside and hope it goes away. Yelena knows this feeling all too well and learns by the end of the film that this “solution” only allows more room for the wounds to fester and grow more infectious with time rather than give them the light, love, and time that it needs to heal.

As Yelena’s darkness is soothed by the unexpected love and care of her estranged father, she forwards that same support to Bob as his darkness threatens to infect the whole world.

As we see the Thunderbolts face the wrath of Bob’s mysterious powers with empathy, it makes you wonder, how many silent battles are being fought around me right now? How many people need a simple touch to know that they’re not alone? 

Like physical war, mental battles are also raw and rough and wounding but the difference is that the mental scars are left to rot in hidden places. And the darkness that these traumas leave left in is the perfect environment to create the endless void that is depression.

The visual of warring with oneself is one so raw and touching. I felt the weight of it as it graced the screen.

Bob pummeled his darkness with all his strength, yet that strength was still not enough. The bitterness just began to eat him up instead. Yeah, my spirit can relate to that. My spirit was seeing itself on the big screen for the first time, and it was truly profound for me.

Everyone experiences the darkness of mental trials differently, and I’ve read articles that say that Thunderbolts poorly portrayed depression, but I know that, like me, there are people out there who will see this and be able to resonate beyond what words can say.

So, for those people, congratulations to us. We have been seen and we’re not alone.

In Conclusion…

Thunderbolts is refreshing, profound, and layered. It measures the weight of depression with comedic levity so tastefully, addressing heavy topics yet still managing to leave viewers in good spirits as they exit the theatre.

Thunderbolts is an inspired take on Marvel films and reignites the Marvel flame. Marvel fatigue is cast aside, and I am now anxiously anticipating the next installment of Thunderbolts. They have expanded the battlefield to include the ignored battles and the ignored heroes, addressing life’s unspoken realities.

It’s impactful, compelling, and fresh while capitalizing on the humor, high-quality, and innovation that Marvel is famous for. This is a high standard of excellence indeed, and I’m looking forward to seeing more.

Rating 9.5/10

What do you think of the Thunderbolts? Let me know in the comments below!

And be sure to subscribe for the latest blog updates (form in sidebar).

Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO