The never-ending saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears to be approaching a final act of sorts, as the franchise’s next three theatrical releases set the stage for a fresh start in the near future. Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World failed to deliver a story worthy of Sam Wilson’s leading role as the star-spangled hero, due to its obligations to the wider MCU. This summer, The Fantastic Four: The First Steps will introduce audiences to Marvel’s first family in an alternate, retro-inspired timeline, laying the groundwork for the Russo Brothers in Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars. However, before all this, we have Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*, a new black sheep in the franchise.
Thunderbolts* is a particularly unique entry in the MCU because, while it’s mostly a disconnected and standalone story, it also technically serves as a follow-up to many lingering threads from past feature films, such as Black Widow (2020) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), as well as Disney+ original series like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). Set after the events of Captain America: Brave New World, the movie brings together the MCU’s latest team of ragtag antiheroes, the titular Thunderbolts: Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), congressman Bucky Barnes aka the former Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko).
The movie immediately centers Yelena as our central character from the first shot, showing us her dishonorable line of work and effectively placing the audience into her headspace. Over the years of working as a skilled mercenary, Yelena has become increasingly disillusioned with life, drifting and constantly seeking the next thrill to fill the void in her heart. When one last job for shady broker/CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) goes south, our group of antiheroes is forced to put aside their egos to stop the Sentry (Lewis Pullman), a manufactured “all mighty” superhero who’s in the middle of his own identity crisis and long-lasting struggles with mental health.
One of the more notable observations about Thunderbolts* is that it is one of the best-looking MCU films in recent years. Directed by Jake Schreier (Netflix’s Beef, Robot & Frank) and shot by Andrew Droz Palermo (The Green Knight, Moon Knight), the world is effectively dreary and muted in color, yet it never looks dull. In addition to feature-length filmmaking, Schreier boasts a long career directing music videos for artists such as Haim, Benny Blanco, and Kendrick Lamar. That experience working on pure aesthetics shows in Thunderbolts*, especially when the latter half introduces interesting visual gimmicks from a shadowy void that consumes the New York skyline and traps our characters in surreal mazes of their most traumatic memories.
In an era of Disney productions that are made for cheap in ILM’s Volume or feature green-screened actors stitched together in frame entirely in post-production, it’s a refreshing sight to see practical sets and mapped-out action set pieces in Thunderbolts*. There is finally a proper sense of immersion and tangibility that Marvel releases have particularly failed to deliver. Also, a surprisingly deliberate amount of pacing and blocking in non-action scenes could briefly distract you from the fact that you are, indeed, watching an MCU movie, before the occasional expositional dialogue, quippy humor, or worldbuilding moment kicks in.
The plot is simple, standing apart from the incoherent convolutions of recent MCU outings. Where it makes up for its lack of complexity is charm and emotional depth. Written by Marvel scribe Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo (The Bear, Hacks), the script offers a familiar but dependable tale — we love watching characters with tortured pasts grow to respect one another and become a stronger whole. Unlike the Guardians of the Galaxy team, however, the titular Thunderbolts are not so much a strong found family unit as they are a group of lonely guns for hire forced to tolerate each other in unique circumstances.
Courtesy of Disney
The entire ensemble cast (save for Taskmaster, who has little screentime) is at their best, even if they weren’t particularly standout characters in the past. Wyatt Russell’s John Walker is a prime example of this. Once a confusingly written character in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he is perfectly calibrated here: still a narcissistic brute, but you can’t deny that his heart is in the right place. Russell plays the character’s lack of self-awareness to hilarious degrees. David Harbour’s Red Guardian is written in a much more chaotically sincere way than his appearance in Black Widow, too.
Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes returns with a high amount of swagger as an MCU veteran. Bucky’s cool aura feels like second nature to him now. Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost is arguably the underserved from the Thunderbolts team, yet she provides an enjoyable dry wit to balance the group dynamic, nonetheless. As previously mentioned, though, Florence Pugh takes center stage here, and it’s her best performance in the MCU to date. She was already a likable character in Black Widow and Hawkeye, but Yelena is a fully realized leader in Thunderbolts*. Pugh captures the character’s wave of depression while always highlighting her empathy, proving once again that she is one of the most exciting stars in the MCU right now.
Thunderbolts* impresses on a thematic level as well, treating its themes of suicidal ideation, depression, and isolation with great care. This can be seen in Lewis Pullman’s magnetic portrayal of Bob, aka The Sentry, who is thankfully never the butt of a joke. Marvel has a history of deflating hefty themes with cheap humor and weightless action, so this movie’s genuinely heartfelt message and commitment to that core theme are a welcome surprise. Every character in Thunderbolts* is fighting both their internal and external conflicts. The narrative finds conclusions to these emotional dilemmas, not with a flashy, laser-show third act, but through human connection. Without exaggeration, this could be the most cohesive MCU film in quite some time.
The few times Thunderbolts* does translate as inauthentic is when the tie-ins to the larger universe are heavily emphasized. References to Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk, the over-emphasis on the image of a newly purchased Avengers Tower, and hokey foreshadowing for future films are sorely noticeable only because the rest of the movie is of higher quality than these forced tendencies. It shouldn’t be impossible to ensure that these referential moments align closely with the tone of each respective project, rather than being awkward or out of place. But for now, it’s a barrier that Thunderbolts* doesn’t quite overcome to be more than an MCU flick.
Ultimately, Thunderbolts* is the first MCU entry in a long time that feels like it has a pulse and a true vision behind it. Although it never rises above the typical trappings of an MCU movie, it does make significant strides in addressing the weaknesses of previous installments. It is visually and thematically cohesive, full of likable characters and thrilling set pieces. Above all else, though, it succeeds in making us care about its misfit cast of tortured souls. Who knows what the future of the MCU holds, but as it stands, Thunderbolts* is a great superhero flick and one of the biggest surprises of 2025.
Marvel’s Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2!
Release Date: May 2, 2025.
Directed by Jake Schreier.
Screenplay by Eric Pearson & Joanna Calo.
Story by Erc Pearson.
Based on Marvel Comics.
Produced by Kevin Feige.
Executive Producers: Brian Chapek, Louis D’Esposito, Scarlett Johansson, & Jason Tamez.
Main Cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, Olga Kurylenko, Geraldine Viswanathan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wendell Edward Pierce, & Chris Bauer.
Cinematographer: Andrew Droz Palermo.
Composer: Son Lux.
Production Company: Marvel Studios.
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Runtime: 126 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
