When Marvel is out of heroes, they’re left with the Thunderbolts (name pending)
Directed by: Jake Schreier
Written by: Eric Peterson, Lee Sung Jin & Joanna Calo
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Rated PG-13 for strong violence, language, thematic elements, and some suggestive and drug references
Release Date: May 2, 2025
Runtime: 2:06
This review may contain spoilers, despite Marvel Studios marketing
This isn’t like Suicide Squad
So let’s get this straight – this isn’t a Marvel version of the Suicide Squad movies from DC. Sure, it has a couple of villains on the team, one gorgeous blonde with no powers and a distinctive accent, and all gathered by a high-ranking government official.
Okay, it’s kinda like Suicide Squad…
MCU recap
Thunderbolts* is number 36 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU) lineup and the 13th film in its Multiverse Saga.
This is also the end of Phase 5 for MCU films. Which means… Yeah, I don’t know; it’s sorta “gee whiz” information at this point. It’s certainly the end of something.
For those needing a refresher, the movie brings back former villains and anti-heroes from Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Disney Plus’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This film is a redeeming chance for all (okay, most) of these secondary characters in the MCU.
“WE ARE THE THUNDERBOLTS!”
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), two mind-controlled agents of the Black Widows’ Red Room, are now freed. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a former villain who quantum shifts or something weird like that. John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the disgraced Captain America now known as U.S. Agent (Oh, I get it, the initials spell out U-S-A). Somehow, all of them are now working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, HBO’s VEEP), director of the CIA.
Also, Red Guardian (David Harbour) has a limo service now, “protecting you from boring evening.”
All these Marvel misfits come together when de Fontaine needs to rid herself of dark ops evidence (including them). Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the former Winter Soldier, shows up to recruit them to take de Fontaine down… oh, and save New York from a new threat.
You know, the usual.
Annnd then there’s Bob (Lewis Pullman, Top Gun: Maverick). Bob wakes up in one of de Fontaine’s secret facilities looking (and is) just as confused as everyone else about why he’s there. Dude is wandering around in hospital scrubs and shoeless while everyone is fighting.
Bob is also living proof of de Fontaine’s illegal operations, including human experiments on making more superheroes the government can control. This sounds a bit like The Boys.
“Bucky, you have the wrong people”
The focus is more on Yelena and Bob. Both characters have the epitome of serious dark history.
This darkness is explored in what is known as the Void, a manifestation of everyone’s inner demons, memories, regrets, addictions, etc. Hinted at Black Widow, Yelena has a ton of dark stuff in her past, starting when she was just a little kid. A lifetime of killing for governments and/or under mind control has left her feeling empty and often turning to alcohol alone in her home.
Bob has a different past, filled with domestic abuse and being a serious drug addict. Bob’s manifestation of the Void forms into a separate, warped personality, further tormenting him.
Some of Walker’s darkness is shown, too, when he gets exposed to this Void. While not as thoroughly explored, it shows him also at a low point in his life after publicly failing as Captain America.
Red Russian has some attention. He is shown owning his own limo business and spending his free time at home, cheering at old videos of him in his prime in Russia. The aged “super soldier” is stuck in the past. No wonder he was eager to join this team.
Not much at all about Ghost or Taskmaster. They’re here, they fight, and yeah, they’re here. Same with Bucky, but we already have his life story with multiple movies and shows.
Feeling a little like “Hooked on a Feeling”
Still, the group was handled well. Watching them bicker and argue with each other the whole time really worked with these characters. Even made hated characters like Walker (who was seriously hated in Falcon and the Winter Soldier) more likable.
In fact, it brings a lot of the fun and charm you got from Guardians of the Galaxy.
In the end, they band together when innocent bystanders are almost crushed by the Void attacking the city. It’s a moment worth the applause I saw in theaters.
It’s been a while, Marvel
The biggest thing after watching this – I’m excited for the next movie, which is something lacking in recent Marvel movies. They just felt more like “Welp, that’s a movie. Guess I’ll go mow the grass or see how many gray hairs I have now.”
It really has been a while since I sat in the seats and felt “Alright! I’m excited! Can’t wait” when Marvel hints at the next thing coming soon. Iron Man 2 ended their credits with Thor’s hammer found in a crater in the New Mexico desert, Spider-Man’s identity being exposed at the end of Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Thanos revealing himself at the end of Avengers. Lately, these movies haven’t hit that same feel, but Thunderbolts* finally got me eager for Fantastic Four and Avengers: Doomsday.
What was up with that asterisk (*)?
I mean, it’s a big reveal at the end, but Marvel marketing is spoiling it after a week of the movie being released. I don’t even know if it’s even worth keeping quiet now. But The Kaiz will… for now.
Ms. Marvel Pitches In
Just a side note: actress Iman Vellani (MCU’s Kamala Kahn aka Ms. Marvel) has her own Letterboxd with her review of Thunderbolts*. I just found that interesting.
“This team can be the heroes on the Wheaties box”
Thunderbolts* has both humor and action that are blended enjoyably well, adding tragedy to nearly all characters’ backgrounds. The action is explosive and feels real (not all CGI), the comedy is damn funny, and the tragedy really fleshes out the characters in this crazy mixed-up Marvel world. Makes them feel real.
This movie is one of three Marvel movies this year and is already looking to be the best one (depending on how The Fantastic Four: First Steps turns out). It’s a surprise turnout, again reminding me of how Guardians of the Galaxy was received in 2014. Super-powered misfits joining a team seem to really work for Marvel.
And for the mid-credit scene, Red Guardian gets his wish for the team on a famous cereal box. The final end-credit scene shows the team settling in over a year later, receiving a signal from a fancy ship heading to Earth. This fancy ship sports a big blue ‘4’ on the side. Oh, I‘m excited!
Thunderbolts* is currently playing in theaters.
