Thunderbolts*

Marvel's newest - and most depressed - team of misfits.

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What I've been watching and playing over the last seven days...

MOVIES

Thunderbolts*

Movie summary: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. (IMDb)

Okay, so the real name of the team may be public knowledge now, and that name is actually the title in the movie itself, but it was still being advertised as Thunderbolts* when I went and saw it, so that's the name I'm going to use for this post.

And no, I'm not going to spoil what the real name is, as it was a pleasant surprise to me and may end up being the same for others.

To be fair, the name doesn't really matter all that much for this film anyway, and Thunderbolts* is used pretty much exclusively as a joke anyway.

Not that you have to worry about this being another Thor: Love and Thunder that doesn't take itself seriously, as this is actually pretty heavy going for a MCU movie.

The reason for that is because one of the core themes of the film is centred on mental health, especially that of the ragtag bunch of randoms thrown together to form the team.

The majority of the focus is given to Yelena (Florence Pugh) and how much she is suffering living an incredibly lonely existence that is implied to having her on the edge of being suicidal.

The rest of the team have their issues too, with Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) having a similar background to Yelena and John Walker's family having left him after his problems in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

It's only Bob (Lewis Pullman) who gets as much focus on his issues as Yelena with hers though, and pretty deservedly considering that the world might end if his mental health issues overwhelm him.

Hell, the entire climax of the movie revolves around Bob's mental health and how much Yelena identifies and empathises with him, resulting in probably the most unique way of resolving a story yet in the MCU.

I'd go so far to say that Thunderbolts* is right up there with Avengers: Infinity War and Doctor Strange - especially the latter - for how well done the ending is handled.

That's not to say the rest of the movie is poor, as this really feels like one of the most 'grown-up' Marvel movies made and not just because of the focus on mental health.

There's still plenty of humour here, but it feels very organic and character-driven much like in Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Black Panther, unlike some other MCU movies which could've cut back a little on the joking around.

My biggest gripe with Thunderbolts* is how dark the movie is, not in terms of the story, but in terms of the lighting, as it can be damn hard to see what's going on at times.

I genuinely think that watching it at home might wind up being a more enjoyable experience simply so that I can increase the brightness in some of the earlier scenes.

I'm not against muted colour schemes and can also understand why a movie focusing on mental health isn't going to look all bright and cheerful, but at least don't force the audience to strain their eyes!

Fortunately, the second half of Thunderbolts* is set during daylight and at least a physical relief to watch, even if what's happening on-screen might be hard to watch for those with similar mental health issues to the characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed Thunderbolts*, which tackles a more serious subject than usual for a superhero action move and does so quite brilliantly, but the first hour is so badly lit that it has to be marked down a little. [8/10]

GAMES

Jurassic World Evolution

I have to admit that I have given up on this having played a little further, and will write more about it next week thanks to not leaving myself enough time to do so this week.

TV

No TV shows watched in the last week thanks to still being busy following house move, but am planning on picking up where I left off with Andor soon.

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