PHOTO COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

Marvel has done something unexpected with “Thunderbolts.” It made a bold choice.

The studio hasn’t done that with its mega-franchise in some time. Arguably, it hasn’t taken a big swing since the cliffhanger ending of “Avengers: Infinity War” back in 2018; since then, the narrative choices have been safe. (Occasionally, those choices are still very satisfying; “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Deadpool vs. Wolverine” were both blatant fan service, but rendered in low-stakes ways for the series’ overarching narrative.)

“Thunderbolts,” however, chooses an odd path. It’s primarily a story of mental illness and existential dread, as a pair of characters — Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, and … let’s just call him Bob, played by Lewis Pullman — question the meaning of their lives. Both clearly struggle with depression, in a metaphor made real (if a bit too heavy-handed) that emerges as the film’s central conflict.

There’s a villain — Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as recurring politico Valentina — but she’s off to the side. The real enemy here is the abyss within us all.

“Thunderbolts” is sold as a team-up of misfits, as Belova and Bob meet up with a crew of baddies from prior Marvel outings; Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) all overcome Valentina’s schemes and team up for the greater good or something like it. In this case, though, the marketing is something of a feint; it’s meant to invoke the similar “Suicide Squad” films from the studio down the street.

This … isn’t that. This is a movie that deals with small-scale, human problems among superhuman characters. Marvel historically hasn’t been all that good at that; the shaggy “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” used misery to pull on heartstrings but had a hollow core, while various Avengers were presented as traumatized after their cosmic battles but simply shook off their troubles when the time to fight arose.

In “Thunderbolts,” the troubles are the fight. I’m not sure that’s going to satisfy the series’ fans or turn around the fortunes of the greater franchise (that job would seem to belong to the “Fantastic Four” film due in a couple of months). But Marvel hasn’t surprised me in a long time, so I’m pleased.

My Rating: 8/10

“Thunderbolts” is now playing in theaters.