A group of misfits band together and form bonds of friendship when they find themselves pitted against each other in a deadly trap. Led by former Black Widow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) they find themselves tackling a new threat spreading across Manhattan. 

Thunderbolts* takes a gaggle of B and C list heroes and villains and forms them into a superhero team that show their mental scars on the surface. Whilst the films villain is very obviously a reflection on mental health and how it impacts individuals, making this new ragtag group of heroes the perfect people to face into the new danger. 

The group consists of Yelena, her father The Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) taken from the film Black Widow. John Walker (Wyatt Russell) from the TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) from the film Ant-Man and the Wasp. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who has featured in many films to date but began all the way back in the first Captain America film. And finally, Bob (Lewis Pullman) who is the only new addition in the main group. 

Yelena is depressed following the death of her sister and has thrown herself into work, quite literally so in the opening shot of the film. Whilst every other character in the group is also struggling with their mental health in one way or another. Bob most specifically has little memory of how he arrived in this position but does know that he suffered from something that sounds very like bipolar… making his burgeoning superpowers erratic. 

There is some fun to be had in the way that the group slowly bonds with each other. Moments even give glimpses of the sort of joy experienced watching the Guardians of the Galaxy verbally spar with each other. The Red Guardian’s role is very much that of the joker with a heart of gold and it reaps some rewards. 

The most enjoyment however comes from the two leading ladies. Florence Pugh holds the entire film together delivering a family friendly version of depression steeled with determination and most of all friendship. But the previously unmentioned antagonist, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is so devious it is hard not to find her the most engaging. This is the character’s fourth appearance in the Marvel Universe, but the first where she actually gets something significant to do. And boy does Julia Louis-Dreyfus take her opportunity, playing a politician who knows just how bad she is and who is completely unashamed by it. 

My attention did waver suitably to ponder the question of whether Kurt Russell and Bill Pullman had been in a film together as I watched their sons together on screen. The answer, I believe is no. But I suspect the largest issue there is how Thunderbolts* had let my mind wander so. 

The overall result is hit and miss. There are good and bad moments in every facet of the film as a whole and the outcome is something that seems fine. Florence Pugh is a huge boon to the film and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole right now and it is her presence that makes this worth watching.