'Thunderbolts*' Review: Marvel’s Thundering, Purposeful Return Top Blockbuster Form
The Marvel recipe Goes back to a More organic flavor, making for their strongest film in years
It’s hard not to see Thunderbolts*, the latest installment of the famed Marvel Cinematic Universe, as some kind of mediation on the current state of the franchise. The film follows a group of outcast, ‘hero-lite’ characters from various modern Marvel projects as they work to find a sense of belonging, and individual purpose. Purpose is one of the main themes in the film, with each member of the titular group grappling with their own sense of purpose and identity. Many of the film’s discussions on the topic of purpose are again, hard not to see as some kind of statement on not only the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the comic-book movie genre as a whole. It’s no secret nor recent development that the MCU, as it currently stands, is not the impenetrable cultural juggernaut it once was, with the interest (and financial support) of audiences and critics alike, gradually waning. The term ‘superhero fatigue’ tends to be thrown around in discussions as to why the MCU has seen a rough patch in popularity, which bolstered more tangible arguments during the earlier part of this young decade, in which a whopping 16 Marvel Studios projects were released between the beginning of 2021 and the end of 2022, many of which featured the members of Thunderbolts*’ ensemble.
However, as it stands, in 2025, Marvel Studios has reacted accordingly, with president Kevin Feige and his ‘parliament’ having significantly reduced the brand’s yearly output on both the television and feature film fronts. While existing properties such as Deadpool and Wolverine and Daredevil proved to be hits, it can’t help but feel as if there is still a big hole at the centre of the MCU. Directly addressed in the film is the concern that the Avengers are no more, and that there are no dependable heroes, again relating to the meta-textual situation in our real world, with an ‘Avengers-sized hole,’ if you will, which is where Thunderbolts* comes into play, as a reminder of the purpose that the genre at large can still provide.
A common malalignment of the MCU is the homogeneity of projects, with criticism often citing a safe, ‘house-style’ approach to the visual direction, comedic similarities, and CGI-heavy third acts. When marketing Thunderbolts*, Marvel opted to make a discernment that the film was not a ‘typical’ Marvel film, but rather a Marvel film in the vein of studio A24, a studio whose reputation has been built on releasing more specifically curated, artisan-esque films. Thunderbolts* marketing material highlights the various department heads on the film who have worked on more ‘indie’ projects, such as cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo (The Green Knight) or composers Son Lux (Everything Everywhere All At Once) To many, this may seem like a desperate marketing play, or just flat-out disingenuous, with one of the biggest brands in cinematic history trying to co-opt and appropriate an aggregated, colloquial, and effectively, manufactured ‘indie’ identity.
Thunderbolts* is far from sharing descriptors with the aggregated definition of an independent film, and is still very much a fully-functioning early-summer blockbuster for all intents and purposes, but compared to recent feature films on the Marvel front, notably this year’s Captain America: Brave New World, a higher level of artistic pedigree is on full display in Thunderbolts. On paper, Thunderbolts* reads as nothing too unique, with the ‘rag-tag group of outcasts’ having been a prominent aspect of the Guardians of the Galaxy series, and even the early Avengers films, to a certain extent. It would also be easy to see a world in which Thunderbolts* is unable to find a distinct creative identity, tying together plot threads and characters from the likes of Black Widow, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and other past franchise entries. Ample credit must be given to the lead creatives, director Jake Schreier (Beef, Skeleton Crew) and writer Joanna Calo (The Bear, Beef) for managing to make Thunderbolts* feel relatively organic. In large part, this organic feel can be attributed to the script by Calo and co-writer Eric Pearson (Black Widow, Thor: Ragnarok), the latter of whom is evidently no stranger to the Marvel blockbuster. All the Marvel hallmarks can be found in Thunderbolts, big action set-pieces, quick quips and jabs, exposition galore, and allusions to future projects, but none of them ever feel like the main elements of the film. The film’s narrative is able to combine various pre-established characters and elements of its universe, put them in a relatively simple premise with a strong emphasis on the emotional core and aforementioned themes of purpose, identity, belonging and discovering what it truly means to be heroic.
The film truly finds strength in its emotional core about purpose and emptiness due to the film allowing these concepts to be multilateral, and affect all members of the titular ensemble. Thunderbolts* being a ensemble film in of itself is refreshing, with very few of the numerous superhero offerings of the decade thus far having been team-focused, and the reluctant team element allows for the individual thorniness of each of the lead anti-heroes to create a fun dynamic. The team dynamic is a large part of why The Avengers, and the franchise at large, have endured so prominently, after all.
The film’s true protagonist comes in the form of Florence Pugh reprising her role as Yelena Belova, a prodigy child assassin and sister of the late Black Widow. Yelena proved to be the most compelling, and frankly fun character in her previous Marvel appearances, and here she is given centre stage. The film opens with a brief voice-over monologue from Yelena as she describes her struggle to find purpose as an assassin, as we see her jump from a very high building, the second tallest building in the world, in what was an impressively practical stunt on Pugh’s behalf. Immediately, her arc is set up very well, and the rest of the film does not let down on this front. Watching Yelena overcome her personal demons (quite literally) is immensely satisfying, and honestly sort of inspiring, with the ever-great Florence Pugh giving the action hero much added dimension. With this film, Pugh further solidifies herself as one of her generation’s brightest young stars, having succeeded in leading films of many genres, now adding action-blockbuster to her resume.
Likewise, the rest of the ensemble is a delight to watch. David Harbour returns as the Red Guardian, the USSR’s washed up Captain America response, bringing the same comedic levity he did in Black Widow, albeit now a bit more tastefully, and in-line with the emotional arc of the film. Wyatt Russell returns as John Walker, another disgraced national super-soldier, who now finds himself a covert government asset, still seeking redemption after his failed Captain America stint. Walker proves to be a very welcomed addition to this roster, with his inherent thorny, abrasive making for a good foil to the other team members, and Russell again is able to ground the character in tactility. A more obscure super on the team is Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, a matter-phasing mercenary last seen as the adversary in 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp. This character stands out due to to her unique powerset, but is the most shortchanged of the ensemble all the same. Despite a few neat moments during action sequences, Ghost, like her last appearance, is afforded little depth, and her sad origin as a government experiment is only touched on in passing during Thunderbolts*, which is a shame, as her character does fit the film’s thematic throughline quite well. Sebastian Stan returns as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, with this appearance making Stan the sole actor to appear in all phases of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Stan again brings a calming stoicness to the table, which is intentionally played up here to counter the more comedic and abrasive personalities of the group. Seeing Barnes try to do some good in the political world, and later as a hero during the film’s climax, further cements his arc as one of the most satisfying in the larger Marvel universe.
New to the Marvel universe is Lewis Pullman, as the mysterious Bob. Without giving too much away, Bob, in a spiritually kindred way to Yelena and the rest of the the Thunderbolts, serves as the heart of the film. Pullman succeeds at bringing a very off-kilter energy to an established ensemble, providing the film with moments of comedic absurdity, empathy, and even direct fear. The ensemble is pitted up against Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Valentina, the corrupt CIA boss who spends the film trying to save herself from impeachment and trying to tie up her loose ends in the process, which come in the form of the film’s heroes. Valentina is assisted by aide Mel, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, who in a small role is able to play well off of the ensemble.
By the end of the film, all members of the ensemble walk away with some semblance of a complete character arc, which may sound like the bare minimum for any narrative, which it is. Yet, it is a refreshing turn from the franchise, and adds to the film being cathartic with its thematic explorations. Though it can be said that some of the aforementioned themes do get brushed over without a full due diligence, the ambition with these themes in Thunderbolts*, especially toward the third act, the coalescence of all of the film’s elements is ultimately hard to root against. While a Marvel superhero movie is anything but an underdog story, a great compliment in the film’s favour is that it’s able to make you root for it all the way. Where most superhero films, when reduced to simplest terms, are about fighting against something in name of saving the world as an outcome, Thunderbolts* proves to be a welcomed rarity, being character-driven, focusing on fighting not in opposition, but fighting to save everything, again accentuating its emotional impact.
Ultimately, Thunderbolts* succeeds due to its tangibility. Marketing gimmicks aside, bringing in creatives with backgrounds far from studio films proves to be a very welcome addition. Having practical action sequences and sets helps to further accentuate the very real character arcs amidst the super-powered chaos. The film’s very witty script flows quite well and is able to pack in a lot of varying elements without feeling overstuffed. Again, it is naturally hard to praise Thunderbolts* without referencing it in relativity to its larger contextual universe, which makes the asterisk in the film’s title deeply ironic, and prescient all the same. In any case, it is always great when a film of such a large scope in terms of budget, and cultural discourse, feels like it had a tactile intent, purpose, and identity. Beyond being a great MCU/superhero movie, it is just a flat-out great movie that works very well on so many levels. At once, it is an instrumental film in the future of a massive franchise, but never feels abundantly burdened to operate as one. While there are huge, Avenger-level threats augmented by CGI, they feel visually inspired with substance and emotional importance. At once, it is a breezy, action-packed early-summer blockbuster, and fully functional as a ‘popcorn film,’ but also as a mostly tangible character piece. Yet, the film still exists in a weird paradox, further adding to the irony of the title’s asterisk, without giving too much away. While it proves to be a successful film with much individual merit, the larger cloud of the team’s return in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday still looms in the background, which in a way, hampers the film’s reading in isolation. Nonetheless, we can only hope that Thunderbolts*, with all its merits, proves to be a bastion of purpose for the franchise to strive toward.
Thunderbolts* opens worldwide on May 2nd, 2025.