In addition to bringing back and teaming up a gang of anti-heroes from past projects,Thunderbolts*is set to introduce a new one who could very well become the most powerful and dangerous figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Lewis Pullmanplays the role of Robert “Bob” Reynolds, better known as the unpredictable superhero The Sentry, who, like his comic book counterpart, hasa villainous alternate personality known as The Void. The role was initially given toSteven Yeun, who had previously worked with directorJake Schreieron the Netflix seriesBeef.While fans of that actor might understandably be disappointed that he ultimately had to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts, Pullman’s body of work shows that he is more than capable of bringing the complex figure to life, withhis role in the stylish, underrated neo-noir,Bad Times at the El Royale, in particular, highlighting some of the qualities that make him a great choice for the part.
Written, directed, and produced byDrew Goddard,Bad Times at the El Royaletakes place in the late 1960s on a night when an eclectic group of strangers, most of whom are involved in different sorts of crimes (already starting to see the similarities toThunderbolts*), gather at the titular, mysterious hotel, which is situated on the Nevada/California border.Pullman plays Miles Miller, the only on-site employee of the El Royale who becomes one of the film’s key characters. Miles’ unusual behavior includes being extremely slow to answer the guests’ ringing of the front desk bell to check in and urging the man claiming to be Catholic Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges) to stay at a different establishment because “this is no place for a priest.” His sketchy demeanor adds to the tense atmosphere created by the guests’ own eccentricities and the unusual nature of the hotel itself.
Arguably, the central theme of the film is duality, and this is perhaps best highlighted by Miles’ role. Upon finding “Father Flynn” injured in the hotel lounge, Miles begins to repeatedly beg the priest to hear his confession. His obvious, profound feelings of guilt also lead him to reveal the hotel’s illicit practices: seemingly all the rooms in the El Royale are connected by a corridor behind their walls, with one-way mirrors and audio equipment allowing employees to perform surveillance on the guests. Miles elaborates that the hotel’s mysterious “management” also sometimes requires him to film the private activities of influential guests. However, he clarifies thathis complicity with the illegal, invasive practices isn’t what he wanted to confess.
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“We all just punch and shoot?”
At the end of the film, the El Royale is invaded by cult leader Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth) and his followers, who are pursuing sistersRose (Cailee Spaeny)and Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson), after Emily forcibly removed the thoroughly brainwashed Rose from the cult. When Flynn and singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo) bravely fight back against the armed cultists, Miles is able to free himself in the commotion, and a gun lands at his feet. Having been knocked over, Darlene urges Miles to help her and Flynn, but he tearfully refuses to kill any more people. When a shocked Darlene asks how many people he’s killed, he replies, “123.” Flashbacks then show that Miles has been a naturally gifted marksman since an early age and thathe served as a sniper in the Vietnam War, during which he killed numerous enemies with almost mechanical precision.However, this has come to haunt him, as has his being the only survivor of a particularly horrific battle.
Lewis Pullman’s Performance as Miles Miller Prepares Him to Play The Sentry
Darlene resigns herself to dying and reassures Miles that he doesn’t have to kill anyone. However, a steely resolve then comes over him, and he takes up the gun, killing Billy Lee and the other cultists. Tragically, Miles himself is then mortally wounded by a vengeful Rose. Although Billy Lee had revealed that Flynn was not really a priest (in truth, he’s a bank robber named Dock O’Kelly who came to the El Royale to find money his brother stored there a decade ago),the latter pretends this isn’t true and hears Miles’ confession and tells him he’s forgiven before his death.
Although it naturally becomes more frantic as the situation becomes more dire, Pullman imbues Miles with a somber anxiousness throughout all his scenes, which both helps gradually build the film’s tension and emphasizes the extent to which his guilty feelings are tearing him apart. The tension between the two sides of Miles is made especially apparent when Emily accidentally shoots him, with the character consequently spending the rest of the movie with half his face covered in blood and shotgun pellets, but even without this visual aid, Pullman’s expressions, especially those of his eyes, effectively convey how the character is at war with himself. The actor also makes both the character’s fear of his soul being damned and loathing of his own violent capabilities palpably striking andall these skills will serve him well as Bob Reynolds.
In Marvel’s comics, Bob is often not wholly aware that he is both The Sentry and The Void but is nonetheless similarly frightened of his own dangerous power while simultaneously being tempted to use it — sometimes for selfish reasons but also, often because of his desire to redeem himself and even from plain, heroic, altruism ones. The Void is so powerful and Bob’s mental health challenges so severe that many of the storylines involving the character end in tragedy, but ifThunderbolts*were to successfully give his arc a more triumphant ending, or at least a bittersweet one like Miles’,it could imbue the film with a great deal of heartand having Pullman in the role will certainly help achieve this.
Bad Times at the El Royale
