Yelena, Bucky, Red Guardian, Ghost, John Walker and Bob are an awkward collection of histories that should never have been placed in the same movie. That is exactly why the group works.
The film's strongest instinct is to let the characters dislike themselves before asking them to save anybody else.
Florence Pugh carries the ache .
Pugh gives Yelena an emotional directness that makes the jokes land harder. She can be funny and deeply unhappy in the same scene.
Sometimes the superhero story is just a depression story with a bigger budget.
Sebastian Stan's Bucky provides a calmer counterpoint, while David Harbour understands exactly how ridiculous Red Guardian should be.
The team is better than the plot .
The villain and larger mythology are less interesting than the people stuck dealing with them.
When the film pauses for character, it becomes surprisingly intimate. When it rushes toward the next franchise beat, the personality thins out.
A useful kind of Marvel movie .
Thunderbolts* does not reinvent the genre, but it finds a useful emotional lane inside it.
These people are not heroes because they are pure. They are heroes because, for once, they choose to stay.
