Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Thunderbolts*

This is the best marvel film since Winter Soldier! Now I know to many that could be a bold statement but I had to think about it because I love Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 but I feel this film exceeds that in terms of character work and storytelling and that is a huge compliment to this film because I love the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy. Now their is no surprise to anyone Marvel has struggled in the last couple years to find their footing in terms of where they want this massive universe to go in terms of world building and for the characters that surround it. As Endgame was a 10 year build up of something they worked towards it which is why it worked so well but since that film they have had a problem in terms of how to rebuild the universe people care so much about with new sets of characters that will eventually lead to a massive event film. Now there have been some solid entries like Shang - Chi and the ten rings, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and I will say this is the kind of film we used to get from marvel that focused on character growth, emotional beats and never compromised style over substance. This was the film we have not seen from the MCU in well over a decade and I think that it does things tone wise and with the themes of the film that have never been touched on to this extent and it has quite the powerful message in it as it tackles themes of Depression, anxiety, suicide, self doubt, identity crisis and the sense of wanting to belong to something that represents hope. Thunderbolts* is a film that will touch your heart and bring a tear to your eye with how well handled the story is and how incredibly fleshed out the arcs of each character is. Thunderbolts * is a film that is a huge course correction for the MCU and one of the strongest films they have made Thunderbolts* is an incredible accomplishment when they put story over style. 

Firstly, This film has so much depth and complexity to it there is so much I wanna break down about it. Now having that trailer come out in the style of A24 and crediting the multiple creatives that have worked on various projects on popular A24 titles I think was such a smart marketing idea to draw people into this film to tell them that this film will be different in it’s approach of storytelling unlike previous entries for this franchise. Now the way this film takes on the key tone of depression is heartbreakingly raw and it never tries to use any humour to lesson the dramatic weight of the moment. The film talks about the struggle of what it is like to not know your place in the world and to try to fill yourself up with things in order to feel more whole in a place in your life where you feel very empty emotionally inside. The film tackles each member’s personal struggle each one being impacted differently either from Anxiety, depression and even suicide and Marvel has never really gone that mature in terms of storytelling for their films before. The other film that comes to mind that delved deep into very mature themes was the first Iron Man and sure other films have discussed serious topics but never to the extent this film does. The character we follow that is struggling more then ever is Yelena and how she has been trying to cope since the loss of her sister and then we again see how other character have their own personal struggles and how they go about expressing their pain in order to cope with it. The film is about misfits who don’t fit in and what happens when they are confronted to have to work with one another and the character of Bob is so vital to the theme of self hatred and depression as the character the void is used as a metaphor to describe the empty part of their heart that fills them up since being broken for so long but that very name the void later on has a face which is dark with yellow eyes and is culminated to be depression, anxiety, self doubt and all those things rolled into negative psychical being which I think is so powerful as it is about not letting the voices in your head get to you. The film easily could of just been another paint by numbers team up film that gave big exposition to fill in the gap to Doomsday for Marvel but it didn’t it went out of its way to tell a entertaining film that will help a ton of people with it’s heavy focus on mental illness and speaking on these very real topics people face in their day to day lives. The film goes places that end up shaping to be the most powerfully impactful Marvel film within the MCU in a very long time and the sheer way it is shown and executed is astonishing. 

Secondly, The performances from everyone is spectacular! Now there are two performances in particular that really stand out for me that left a big impression on me. The first one I will say is Florence Pugh who once again reprises her role as Yelena and explores to a heartbreaking degree the sheer sadness within her heart since the loss of her sister and how mentally she has been dealing with it since then. Florence shows the utter hardships she has been facing since her sister has been gone and how she feels so emotionally numb. Florence Soars in what I think is so far the finest hour of her as the character yet. Then you have David Harbour who reprises his role as the Red Guardian and now I will say he is for sure the comic relief of the group and he never feels exhausting in terms of comedy but it never comes across that way with David’s presence as he knows when to input that comedy gold into a scene to just add a little more energy to the moment and he tops it off perfectly. I liked what he did in Black Widow but what he brings to the character this time around is even better as we also get to see a more dramatic side to him as Yelena’s dad more then ever as she needs him to be her support system and he is more then willing to be that for her and it is very touching. David Harbour does a tremendous job with the comedy wit of the role but also knows when to take a moment seriously and genuinely flesh more about who he is on a human level. The rest of the cast is solid but the two takeaways in terms of performance is for sure Florence and David.

Lastly, Thunderbolts* is the finest Marvel film I have seen in a very very long time it delves into themes of mental illness in a way marvel has never done that will spark so many conversations from this film. The cast assembled all jell so well together and make you genuinely buy into them as a team of misfits that all have things going on in their personal lives and the film explores what is tearing all of them apart emotionally. Marvel soars at giving a film that is not trying to have five million side characters and setting up a whole new sequel that I gets distracted to tell the actual film none of that happens it focused on telling a good story with well rounded characters we have come to love team up and give an entertaining Marvel film and it gave me that fun Marvel feeling I haven’t felt in quite sometime Thunderbolts* is a step in the right direction and one of the strongest entries they have ever put to the screen. Thunderbolts* is Marvel learning after a while to put story over style and the result is a terrific film Thunderbolts* is a damn good film. I recommend everyone go see this film I have been a Marvel fan since I was a kid and I have not spoken so highly about a marvel film like this in a long time please see this on an IMAX screen if you can.

This film centres around group of misfits who are assigned to take each other out but then quickly learn to work together 

Rated PG - 13 :  Some Drug References|Language|Some Suggestive References|Strong Violence|Thematic Elements

Florence Pugh : Florence delivers a heartbreakingly brilliant turn as Yelena this time around! The film picks up after the events of the snap for her as we see how much of her life she has missed out on and is trying to fill in the blanks of her life to make sense of the madness that has gone around her. She shows how hollow her heart has become since her sister has now passed on and how much of a devastating blow that was to her mental health as well as her guiding light through hard times. The film opens with her discussing something is wrong with her there is an inner conflict happening within her that she is struggling to deal with. Now Florence plays the character with her heart on her sleeve as the character is known to use humour to lighten what is usually a serious situation around her and this time she still has that witty sense to her for sure but a lot of the sadness and wear and tear on her heart has for sure become the for front of what is occupying her mind this time around and the way Florence has become such a pro at knowing what best suits the character and which emotional beats to hit in certain scenes to make her pop is excellent timing. You can see the light and brightness dim from her as so much darkness has surrounded her lately it has been hard for her not to just give int to it. As when she was brought up she was made to believe her family was her blood family but then she learns that was all lies and was sold as a child soldier and then after that totally clouded her sense of reality and she finally reunited with her sister after so many years she finally felt like she had her family back but after she looses her sister she takes another emotional blow to the chest and all of these things that have happened to her have started to make her more of a emotionally battered person and she has no idea how to deal with all these things so that is another reason for her sense of loss going on in her head. The way she then is thrust into a situation where she has to get along with people that have their own stuff going on and at first they all do not like one another but they learn they have more in common with each other then they like to think as a ton of them are dealing with their own mental health issues their own ways and in some way they can bond over that. Florence brings Yelena to new places we have not seen her explore as mentioned the comedy takes more of a backseat in terms of the arc of this character this time around and I think that is so well deserved given the nature of what this character has been through it makes sense for her to become more jaded and a lot more emotionally lost then before and I love she takes the time to show that and not just printed like she is fine. She knows she isn’t in the right head space and exploring those flaws and the emotional pain she feels Florence shows in amazing devastating ways that will touch your heart as the arc she has within the first frame is someone who is lost and does not know their purpose and we also see the trauma she has not openly spoken about told visually in heart shattering ways. By the end of the film she has this ragtag group of friends she can lean on and the full circle arc she comes to is a beautiful one and I think the way she went about exploring the place we find Yelena in during the events of this film was outstanding she never repeats the same beats of the character she finds new ways of exploring her and showing dauaicnes aspects of her that keep us learning new things about her which is what makes her such an engaging presence onscreen. Florence Pugh gives a sensational performance of a woman that shows what happens after someone has suffered so much loss and heartbreak what emotionally would be left of that person how hollow and empty would they feel if they felt they had no guiding thing helping them and She explores the psychological torment  that has been going in with Yelena it is her best outing of the character so far Florence Pugh shines once again as Yelena! 

Jake Schreier : This guy did a freaking great job at brining Thunderbolts* to the big screen! Now I know he was involved in the coming of age film Paper Towns a while back and made a few small indie projects but that is really it he hasn’t had much experience in terms of big franchise films and having this be his first is no easy feat. He took on the film like it was a indie project what I mean by that was he was mot trying to be so ambitious and set up multiple things sure their were things he had to line up for the future roadmap of marvel but that was most likely the studio telling him those things to incorporate into the story. As he wanted the film to focus primarily on the emotional and mental well being of these characters and show them at their most vulnerable which is why people like Marvel we like them for the reliability factor we love them for the focus on personal struggles and how they go about sorting that out. Here Yelena is a mess she has no idea where to go in terms of her personal journey her father has barley been in her life since the passing of her sister so she is not exactly happy with him but she wants her family to still be a part of her life when she needs them most. Their is a character brought into the film called Bob who is a great metaphor for PTSD and anxiety and how someone goes about handling themselves with that he also has depression he explores each single character and where their head is at and then he throws them all together and forces them to work together. We learn about what each character has to overcome and each person around them helps lift them up and show them that they are seen and their personal struggles matter in a very emotional way. Jake brought such an amazing sense of heart and awareness to mental health that has not been touched upon in a way like this before the whole sense of the Void and that becoming a person that spreads hate and instills anxiety and self doubt is so powerful he really made a great character piece that Marvel has not had like this in years. The film has great focus on character first and style second as the success of this film comes from the sheer care and heavy involvement of how invested you are into the characters as their have been so many marvel films that care more about the visual appeal of a film they forget to focus in on the characters that surround the setting and Thunderbolts* makes it very Clear that Jake wanted to tell a film that fleshed out these characters while sure giving the fun action set pieces but that is not it’s defining characteristic the part people take away from the film is the way the characters bounce off one another. Overall Jake Schreier did a tremendous job at bringing this team to the screen and I hope he is involved in the future of these characters as he perfectly understands the tone for how these characters should be shown overall he did a solid Job.