Film Talk: Thunderbolts* looking to strike true for the MCU

I’ve pulled few punches about this – I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe has lost its way a bit in recent years, and satisfying efforts since Avengers: Endgame have been few and far between.

Select additions to the pantheon have kept the MCU on life support – namely Tom Holland’s sensational (nay, spectacular) turns as Spider-Man and, of course, the eternally delicious Deadpool & Wolverine.

But as a general rule, misses have outnumbered hits, and things just haven’t been that great.

However, as Kevin Feige and Co.s’ Phase Five comes to a close, could things finally be on the up again? 

Thunderbolts* is an epic, big-screen adventure, with impressive stunts and awesome fight sequences. But at its heart it is something deeper and darker, as its titular team of unconventional antiheroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker – come together to face the threat of a misunderstood young man with a mind shrouded in shadow.

Leading this latest addition to the MCU is Florence Pugh, returning as Yelena Belova – a meticulously-trained Black Widow assassin. When we meet Yelena this time around, she’s feeling directionless, lost, and fatally dissatisfied with her life of fighting and killing.

“I was very grateful that the intention… was to actually show the truth of the character… what maybe someone is feeling after all of the trauma that happened to her,” said Pugh.

“She’s incredibly strong, (but) she’s also just so desperate to have a sense of community.

“Being able to grow with the character in a real way – I was just very impressed that we were allowed to do it. And we were also allowed to show someone that isn’t well, and is obviously not well, and doesn’t know how to cope.”

Does ‘deeper’ do the trick then? Let’s take a closer look...

THUNDERBOLTS* (UK 12A/ROI 12A, 128 mins) ***

Released: May 1 (UK & Ireland)

It takes an army to conjure a thrilling, action-packed spectacle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Florence Pugh is the major general of this irreverent and surprisingly poignant instalment from a hit-and-miss phase five of the comic book-inspired saga.

Reprising her role from Black Widow as Natasha Romanoff’s adopted sister, Pugh delivers a powerhouse performance soaked in grief and guilt that elevates Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo’s knockabout script.

She sensitively shines a light on the timely issue of mental health and provides Jake Schreier’s picture with an unexpected and mighty emotional wallop in moving exchanges with co-star Lewis Pullman.

Cacophonous set pieces place an emphasis on physical action, in-person stunts and practical effects rather than the usual blitzkrieg of digital wizardry and allow us to remain close to the cast as they perform intricate fight choreography.

Droll and self-deprecating humour fizzes deliciously in moments of calm, for instance when David Harbour’s former Soviet super soldier remarks that the eponymous misfits deserve immortality on the front of a cereal box and Pugh’s daughter replies that saving the world is not a merchandising opportunity.

Additional scenes nestled in the end credits explain the teasing asterisk after the film’s title, and bombastically light a fuse on a cataclysmic phase six of the MCU. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), director of the CIA, faces impeachment at a widely publicised hearing chaired by congressman Gary (Wendell Pierce) over allegations of corruption and impropriety linked to the OXE corporation.

Away from the media and the efforts of newly appointed congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to expose her, Valentina conspires with morally conflicted assistant Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan) to destroy evidence of wrongdoing and tie up four loose ends: Yelena Belova (Pugh), Ava Starr aka Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and super soldier John Walker (Wyatt Russell).

Valentina lures the four clueless lackeys to a subterranean bunker to kill each other, but their death match is interrupted by a mysterious young man with no memory named Bob Reynolds (Pullman).

He joins the duped assassins’ daredevil escape with help from Yelena’s father, Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian (Harbour).

Valentina intensifies efforts to terminate the newly christened Thunderbolts, named after a children’s sports team from Yelena’s tragic upbringing.

Bucky joins the ranks of the mismatched, bickering heroes, who possess the power to save the planet… or unleash a terrible darkness that will consume it.

Thunderbolts* is a scrappy, freewheeling romp that deftly tackles depression while still delivering high-octane, slam-bang entertainment.

Pugh is a marvel – no pun intended. Her extraordinary and emotionally raw work leaves us with a lump in our throats.

Louis-Dreyfus’s slinky villainy oscillates between light and shade, enriched with Viswanathan’s effervescent comic relief.

Phase five of the MCU began messily with Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania but it ends with a satisfying bang.

​PARTHENOPE (UK 15/ROI 16, 137 mins) ***

Released: May 2 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

Celebrated Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino remains on home soil for a sensual coming-of-age drama starring newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta in the title role.

Named after a siren of the sea from Greek mythology, 18-year-old Parthenope is aware of the power she wields by virtue of her looks.

Her brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo) is in her spell and he resents the interest shown by local lad Sandrino (Dario Atia) in his sister.

Parthenope contemplates a life on the screen where her youth and beauty can be immortalised forever but fate conspires to propel her in a different direction. Meanwhile, many men adore and covet her except for embittered gay American writer John Cheever (Gary Oldman).

TWO TO ONE (UK 12A/ROI 12A, 115 mins) ***

Released: May 2 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

German actress Sandra Huller, Oscar-nominated for her performance in Anatomy Of A Fall, headlines a comedy drama directed by Natja Brunckhorst set during the reunification of East and West Germany.

In the summer of 1990, childhood friends Maren (Sandra Huller), Robert (Max Riemelt) and Volker (Ronald Zehrfeld) stumble upon a forgotten fortune in East German currency.

The windfall, discarded in government storage, will be worthless once divisions between east and west are healed to affirm a single sovereign state.

Maren, Robert and Volker join forces with their friends and neighbours to orchestrate a hare-brained scheme to trade the soon-to-be-defunct cash for goods.

The cunning scheme will outwit incoming westerners and enrich the conspirators’ lives in a crumbling apartment block but after many years living under strict socialist values, sudden wealth upsets the group’s dynamics.

BORROWED TIME: LENNON’S LAST DECADE (UK 12A/ROI 12A, 140 mins) ***

Released: May 2 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

In 1970, Paul McCartney publicly confirmed John Lennon’s departure from The Beatles, several months after Lennon had privately announced his intention to leave to his band mates.

For the next 10 years, until his murder at the hands of Mark David Chapman outside his New York residence, Lennon continued to make music and became a figurehead of anti-war protests alongside his wife Yoko Ono.

He also devoted quality time away from the media spotlight to raising youngest son, Sean.

Alan G Parker, director of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today… Sgt Pepper And Beyond, helms a feature-length documentary that combines rare archive footage and previously unseen interviews to chart this vibrant period of the celebrated singer-songwriter’s life.

OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH (UK PG/ROI PG TBC, 85 mins) ***

Released: May 8 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

David Attenborough narrates a feature-length documentary directed Toby Nowlan, which relates the vital importance of the world’s oceans to the future of life on Earth.

Released to coincide with the veteran broadcaster’s 99th birthday, the film will be available on National Geographic and Disney+ later in the year and the early cinema presentation includes exclusive content.

Reflecting on his many decades in front of the camera, Sir David discloses why the stability of our planet relies on healthy oceans. 

Previously unseen footage of coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean celebrates the rich diversity of life beneath the waves.