Anyone who remembers the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie will recognize some of the narrative techniques here: establish the grimy backstory of the roguish heroes, force them to become allies, and transform them into an ersatz family by the end. However, in contrast to the rainbow-coloured, cosmic goofiness of the Guardians movies, Thunderbolts* is decidedly more grim and dour. All of these lead characters have lots of blood on their hands, and they’re pretty depressed about it.
Read MoreVilleneuve’s script makes it obvious that no matter how much free will Paul attempts to display, his fate is preordained. He will rise up to lead the Fremen, even if that means setting off a chain reaction of events that begets ever more bloodshed. It’s proof of Villeneuve’s skill and the abilities of the cast that we’re hardly ever in the dark about the characters’ feelings – they don’t get lost amid the larger, bombastic action setpieces happening around them.
Read MoreIt took Scarlett Johansson seven appearances in other MCU films before her titular character received her own standalone film – through no fault of her own – and while we should applaud it because it’s a well-acted and well-produced film, know that it also doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the library.
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