I went into Thunderbolts* not expecting much. Mostly a fun, middle-of-the road Marvel movie. But I was pleasantly surprised to be met with a movie that was fun with a great message. I think it's accessible enough if you aren't fully familiar with the Marvel canon, but knowing it certainly helps you connect to the characters. What's most important is knowing that you have people who have made a lot of decisions they're not proud of.
What I loved most is the frank, maybe somewhat on-the-nose, discussion had about mental health. We're dealing with characters who have a lot of past trauma of a wide variety. My favorite, Bucky, isn't featured quite as much as the others, but he is also a lot further on his healing journey than the rest. Going in, I was confused how he got to the position of Congressman (mostly *why* would he do that?), but the story has a plausible and reasonable reason for it.
It mostly follows Florence Pugh's Yelena and introduces you to Lewis Pullman's Bob. Yelena, if you're not familiar, is Natasha (The Black Widow)'s sister. She underwent the same Black Widow program as her sister and is dealing withe the shame of what she had to do under the program. She's also dealing with the loss of her sister and feeling isolated from everyone she knows.
We learn bits and pieces about Bob and how he ended up where we find him at the beginning of the movie throughout. Mainly we learn he is a young man with a tragic past dealing with untreated and unhealed mental health issues. These problems lead him to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who as director of the CIA, is leading superhuman experiments. Bob is one of those experiments. This unleashes the superpowered alter ego of Bob.
I'm always impressed by Florence Pugh in anything I see her in. She is one of the best newer actors on the scene. As Yelena, she is funny and vulnerable. But this was my first time seeing Lewis Pullman on screen. If he looks familiar, he is the son of Bill Pullman of Casper and Space Balls fame. As Bob, he tackled the seriousness of what the character had experienced really well. There was was a certain understated quality to his performance that I loved.
The movie does a great job at balancing fun superhero action, the quips we expect from Marvel, and a beautiful story of working through mental health episodes. It speaks to the power of looking to others and having connections. That you're not alone and there will be someone that will understand what you've been through.
I've had quite a few Marvel movies I've enjoyed in recent years, but haven't impressed me like this one. For a movie I expected to be just sort of enjoyable, it jumped quickly up with the likes of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for me.
Definitely a must-see for comic book movie fans (especially if you've gotten some fatigue from recent Marvel media). But, it's also a great drama outside of the superhero thing.