Man, oh, man, did I fail Thunderbolts*. It’s not like I’m alone since a lot of you failed the movie. Thunderbolts* lost millions of dollars at the box office, and it really shouldn’t have. It’s so good!
However, am I (or rather, are we) truly to blame? Disney has made a point of releasing Marvel movies on Disney+ only a few months after their theatrical releases, and I’m certain that a lot of us just waited for Thunderbolts* to come home. That said, no offense to the following movies, but Thunderbolts* isn’t Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It isn’t Captain America: Brave New World (Which I liked, by the way; it’s not top-tier Marvel).
No. Thunderbolts* is one of the best MCU movies in ages, and I (we) really failed it by not supporting it in theaters. Here’s why.
This Is The First Marvel Movie Since Eternals (Yes, Eternals) That I Actually Felt Had Something To Say
Do you know what l’appel du vide means? It basically translates to, “the call of the void,” and there’s an early scene in Thunderbolts* where Yelena Belova, aka, Black Widow (Florence Pugh), is mulling over (from a high place, mind you) if life is even worth living…or if she’s just bored.
This is a throughline throughout the entire movie, as the story is about loneliness on a micro level and depression on a macro level. Yes, dammit. Yes! Finally, a Marvel movie that’s actually about something! One thing that’s bugged me about the MCU post-Endgame is that these Marvel movies don’t feel like they’re about anything.
I mean, most of the pre-Endgame films didn’t feel like they had much subtext, either, but after Endgame, I wanted something more from my Marvel movies, and the only one that came close was Eternals. Yes, Eternals, the movie that nobody seems to like (Except for me, of course). Though I haven’t seen anybody jump on the idea, I viewed Eternals as a movie about being pro-choice, and I came to this conclusion from some of the characters fighting to prevent the Celestial, Tiamut, from being born, while others fought to make sure that it was born.
Which I thought was a really bold concept (Even if I am the only person with this interpretation). Well, Thunderbolts* is much clearer on its subtext about living with depression, and I think I failed the movie by not supporting it in theaters, as that’s a message I should have seen on the big screen.
The Action Would Have Been Much Better On A Big Screen Rather Than My Cell Phone
I know auteurs like Martin Scorsese would hate this, but I watch most movies on my phone. I know, I know. Since I have two kids, it’s substantially cut down on my movie-viewing time. Between my daughter watching KPop Demon Hunters all summer and my son playing Shadow of the Colossus for the umpteenth time, I don’t really get the TV all that often.
That’s where my cell phone comes in. I put it on my lap, and watch most movies like that. And hey, when I go to the gym, I usually watch movies on the stair machine, which is where I watched Thunderbolts* – at the gym and sweating my ass off.
However, I wish I had watched this on the big screen, since some of the action in it is incredible. Take, for instance, the fight where all of the Thunderbolts* are sent to kill each other, and they’re all confused about it. Slight spoiler alert, but the scene with Taskmaster would have been so much better if I had seen it with other people rather than just next to another gym rat.
Or, what about when Sentry, aka Void, is wiping people out of existence as he’s floating down the street? That scene was scary on my phone, but it would have been so much scarier on a big screen.
I mean, most of this film’s biggest moments are emotional, but the action scenes are nothing to sneeze at, either, and they would have been amazing at the theater. Because sometimes the small screen is just not enough.
The Acting Is Some Of The Best Ever Out Of The MCU
I know it might seem like acting shouldn’t be a big deal to miss on the big screen, but it is! Because, like I said before, I watched this movie on my phone, and Florence Pugh’s talent is too big to be minimized to a tiny screen!
That goes for all of the acting. Lewis Pullman had an amazing performance as Bob/Sentry/The Void, as he played all three roles with nuance. I know this because I had the subtitles on and could read the emotional beats. The thing is, he did a lot of acting with his facial expressions, and I had to squint to make them out, since again, I watched it on my phone.
David Harbour also did a great job as Red Guardian. His relationship with Yelena is really the heart of this movie, and I could definitely make it out – sort of – but I feel like I was missing a great deal by watching it on such a small screen. And while yes, I probably could have gotten more of this emotional heft if I had just watched it on my television, I still feel like these larger-than-life characters would have worked better on a big screen.
Alas, I failed these characters by just watching the movie at home. Especially since I’ve only seen Yelena and Red Guardian on a small screen as I watched Black Widow at home, too, since that movie came out during Covid times. So, I never got to see these characters on a big screen, and that’s a shame!
The New Avengers Thing Wasn’t Even Really That Big Of A Deal
A while back, I wrote about how I didn’t want to see Thunderbolts* after the marketing team revealed what the asterisk was for. But now that I’ve seen the movie and I know why it’s there, I feel pretty stupid.
Because honestly, the asterisk is like a throwaway gag. It’s a goof. At the end of the film, we learn just why the Thunderbolts* are called The New Avengers (In fact, throughout the film, we actually learn why they’re called the Thunderbolts, which I think is a lot more interesting), and it’s not a reason that I should have stayed home and waited.
In truth, I mostly used the revealing of that asterisk as a reason not to feel bad about missing the movie opening weekend. Because I did intend to see Thunderbolts* in theaters, but the thing is, when I miss a movie on that first weekend, the chances of me seeing it are low to nil. However, I really want to kick myself since the asterisk thing wasn’t a big thing at all, and I skipped out on seeing the movie in its second weekend (Probably when it needed viewership the most!), all because I was mad that the asterisk was revealed.
Well, I can tell you that the meaning of the asterisk is cute, but it’s not a game-changer. So, that was another bungle on my part. Honestly, by not seeing Thunderbolts* in theaters and waiting for it to come home, I think we sent the wrong message to Disney.