Jeri Jacquin
Currently on Digital and coming to 4K, Bluray and DVD from director Jake Schreier and Marvel Studios comes a team that call themselves THUNDERBOLTS*.
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is starting to wonder about her career choices thinking about her time being trained as a Black Widow and now employed by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). It comes at a perfect time as de Fontaine (don’t forget the “de”) is up against it as an investigation trying to impeach her looms large. Trying to stay one step ahead, de Fontaine begins to cover up her work at O.X.E. Group. Belova is told this will be her last mission by going to O.X.E. Group and find out who is stealing from the company.
Well, when Belova arrives, she is met by John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) and Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) and after an all-out brawl, they begin to realize what has happened. The woman who sent them on a ‘mission’, was actually hoping them would take each other out. During their discussion, a man falls out of nowhere and tells the group his name is Bob (Lewis Pullman). Their now ex-boss is upset that the group has decided to come together as a team – with Bob. Managing to capture Bob, de Fontaine works her charm when she discovers he has abilities given to him by the Sentry trials.
Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) is Belova’s dad and after hearing a plot against his daughter, decides to help the group he calls “Thunderbolts”. Another person watching all of this closely is Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who wants the group to testify against de Fontaine. The problem is Bob when de Fontaine brings out all his superpowers that the Thunderbolts can’t handle, especially with the spread of The Void. That isn’t going to stop the misfit heroes from doing the right thing!
Pugh as Yelena Belova is a disillusioned assassin who is having trouble dealing with her issues. When de Fontaine convinces her to do one more job, Pugh’s character goes with the flow. That is until she realizes that no one can be trusted! I enjoyed Pugh’s performance as a woman who doesn’t really take much guff from anyone and yet, shows a soft side towards Bob. She is strong and smart, if only Belova can get out of her own way. Well done!
Louis-Dreyfus as de Fontaine is absolute fantastic. She is a woman who attempts to stay one step ahead of the guillotine with her plotting, planning and fancy footwork. This character is not easily jarred while others panic around her. Louis-Dreyfus gives this villain all that is necessary to make us love and hate her at the same time. Harbour as Shostakov is a dad who wants to make things right with his daughter. Continually being on her side, no matter how it looks or sounds, Harbour gives us the complexities of their relationship and the silliness from time to time of an embarrassing dad and I am here for it all.
Russell as Walker is a man who wants to keep the title of Captain and the suit that looks familiar in the Avenger world. He starts out letting everyone know he can handle anything that happens but finds himself having to adjust his thinking to be part of a team. He has his moments that totally made me laugh, well done sir. John-Kamen as Starr has her own gifts and, like Belova, patience isn’t one of them. She fits in perfectly with the band of mercenaries. Kurylenko as Dreykov is all about the mission and that is what gets complicated until what is happening becomes clear.
Shout out to Stan as Buckey Barnes who knows that de Fontaine needs to be stopped quickly. Realizing it may be the band of misfits that can help him get the job done, he ends up realizing there is more to their story and he can relate from his own past. Always glad to see Stan back in Buckey boots and he does so without missing a step.
Other cast include Chris Bauer as Holt, Wendell Pierce as Gary, Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel, and Gabrielle Byndloss as Olivia.
Marvel Studios has released sixteen films since 2008 in what is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel is built on a library of over eight thousand characters featured in a variety of media content for over seventy years. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.marvel.com.
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Bonus Features on 4K, Bluray and DVD include Deleted Scenes with Door is Unliftable and Gary Announcement, Assembling a Team, Around the World and Back Again, All About Bob, Sentry & The Voice, Gag Reel, and Director’s Audio Commentary.
THUNDERBOLTS* is a fast-paced, superhero film that fights its way through twists, turns and an amazing cast to make that all happen. Led by Pugh, I just love how each has their story to tell and we all get a chance to experience that. The fight begins between two government factions and, as always, it ropes in others to help keep their powers in place. The problem is, you can’t ask those to help you that you’ve tries to eliminate right? That’s when the fun begins.
The film is fun, funny and dark which is hard to pull of as director Schreier managed to do quite well. Marvel brings something pretty cool with these ragtag would-be heroes dealing with their own issues in the middle of a city destructing crisis. Mixed in is humor, charm and villainy in all the right places. As always, stay tuned after the credits.
In the end – not super, not heroes and not giving up!
