The Momentum Is Turning... ("Thunderbolts *" Review)

 After 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" gave Marvel fans and moviegoers the sweetest payoff in film history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe continued on its merry way. And most fans (including myself) felt a kind of anticlimactic down after that most satisfying conclusion to the stories of Tony Stark's Iron Man and Steve Rogers' Captain America. Plus the franchise (much like many other popular franchises) got caught up in a culture war among the fans and actors claiming to be fans but were grifters turning the fandom upside down. However, the films following "Endgame" were not up to the standard of the previous Phases, and it gave the grifters cause for criticism, right or wrong. Plus the main villain in the upcoming Phase became involved in his own controversy...causing the MCU to reverse course and bring back some of those familiar faces into the new Phase in unique ways, but staying true to the classic Marvel stories.

But it's been a rough go for Marvel once the pandemic threw us into lockdown, social distancing, and a slow return to normalcy. It's been hit or miss, and not everything was 'bad.' But the momentum for the MCU was clearly going in the wrong direction. 

This year starts a new era. "Captain America: Brave New World" starring Anthony Mackie as Cap has ushered in the new age with an exciting action thriller. And at the end of the year we will see the long awaited return of The Fantastic 4. But now we continue with "Thunderbolts*."

The film centers around a group of superheroes in the MCU that were more sidekicks or secondary figures getting the call to join as a supergroup. Those characters are lead by Florence Pugh's Yelena, poised to be the new Black Widow. Joining her are the Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Bucky The Winter Soldier, Taskmaster, Ghost, and Bob, who becomes his own tortured superhero.

The film weaves its signature humor with serious plot points, in this case being trauma and mental health. In my personal opinion, this was treated better in the Scarlet Witch series "Wandavision." That show had more time to deal with it (as most shows have that advantage over feature films), and it is for me the highlight of Marvel Television. The cast in "Thunderbolts*" give there all in these fantastic performances, but it can't decide if it wants to be a fun action film or a true take on mental health. And the two don't naturally mix well. But it's still worth checking out if you're a Marvel fan.