Writer’s note: The second paragraph of this article (just below the first image) contains a basic outline of the film’s premise. There are no spoilers that weren’t already inferred in the film’s own trailer. However, if you want to completely avoid potential spoilers, skip over the second paragraph.
There are always plenty of Marvel films and TV shows released every year, but the overall quality of their output has been lacking since 2020. While the odd project still manages to stand out, the Marvel brand doesn’t hold the same weight as it did from 2012 to 2019. Where once their logo inspired feelings of confidence, control and purposeful storytelling, it now feels uneasy, uncertain, and directionless. Films such as Captain America: Brave New World (2025), The Marvels (2024), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) had their moments, but all failed to capture what made the previous films so beloved. Additionally, this has resulted in the (upcoming) Avengers: Doomsday (2026) feeling like less of an event than previous Avengers films. With only two films releasing ahead of Marvel’s next big climax, there’s not a lot of time to rebuild the hype. The first film intended to rebuild Marvel’s confidence is Thunderbolts* (2025).
The story begins with the reintroduction of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the former Black Widow assassin and sister of the deceased Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson). For the past few years, Yelena has been completing black ops missions for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). However, Yelena has been adrift in this new reality, feeling aimless, purposeless and lonely. Promising to help lift Yelena out of her depression, Valentina sends her on a final mission, to assassinate the vigilante Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). All is not as it seems, as Yelena is also being targeted for assassination by former Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell). The group quickly discovers that Valentina has set them up to kill each other, as she is trying to erase all evidence of her illegal operations. One of these operations is mysterious experimentation on a hapless meth addict named Bob (Lewis Pullman). This conspiracy causes the group to band together in an effort to expose Valentina, which puts them in the crosshairs of former Avenger and current US congressman, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
Unlike every other blockbuster based on a comic, book, or TV show, Thunderbolts* isn’t drawing inspiration from a single piece of source material. For example, to make a Harry Potter film, you generally just need to look at one book, and you’ve got a basic story template to start writing your script. Thunderbolts*’ narrative is made up from an array of characters, concepts and ideas left over from other Marvel films. If there are any elements from previous films or TV shows which didn’t find a resolution, it’s folded into this story. Not only that, but some fresh ideas from the bottom of Marvel’s comic book barrel have found their way into this film. This has the potential to be extremely messy, as there’s no telling if all these unrelated pieces would make sense when put together. Not only that, but the bar for entry may be high, with audiences needing to have seen multiple films and TV shows to make sense of what’s going on. Despite this, Thunderbolts* holds together surprisingly well, and manages to neatly explain who all of these people are without grinding the story to a halt.
This is achieved in a very simple yet effective way: Thunderbolts* has a tight screenplay and story structure. Even with all of it’s characters and the conspiratorial plot, it’s easy to follow how things get from point A, to B, and to C. Even with the film’s relatively fast pace, there’s plenty of time dedicated to simple conversations, where characters get to know each other and unpack their feelings. Granted, not everyone is given the same level of attention, as there are too many characters who are only there to serve a plot function. However, those who are spotlighted display many interesting layers. Most shockingly, the story is structured in service of a single narrative theme, which is something Marvel hasn’t delivered in a long time. When was the last time you saw a Marvel film’s opening scene promise an analysis of a theme, and then follow through with that promise by the end?
It’s not completely smooth sailing the whole way through, with the middle act abandoning its thematic focus for a short time. This is definitely the least interesting part of the film, as Thunderbolts* defaults into a series of little action set pieces. These are enjoyable to watch, but they are the least unique aspect of the story, given that they could’ve appeared in any blockbuster from the past few years. This is also where much of the film’s comedy is placed, and (like most Marvel films) it’s not always funny. Happily, this lull isn’t detrimental, as Thunderbolts* does indeed return to its unique structure for the finale. At this point, we all expect Marvel action to be a big, bombastic and computer generated slugfest. While there’s still plenty of visual effects on display, Thunderbolts* feels far more grounded, favouring believable stunt work and on-location cinematography. Not only that, but the climatic battles are very intimate, being much more about the character’s feelings than about their fists. It’s a refreshingly small scale adventure, one which has more in common with films from the 1990s or early 2000s. However, this may be underwhelming for those hoping for a more exciting romp.
With that in mind, most modern superhero films have the plot as the A story, and the character drama as the B story. For example, in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), the team must stop the villain from acquiring the magic ball in order to save the planet from destruction. In achieving this task, the heroes learn a lesson along the way. In Thunderbolts*, this is reversed, as the character drama is the A story, and the plot is unimportant, background information. This brings us back to the film’s narrative theme, which isn’t just a subject to be interpreted, but is actually the point of the film. That point being a super-heroic deep dive into depression, anxiety and mental health. It’s an unusual thing for a Marvel film (or any action blockbuster) to explore, but Thunderbolts* does so in an elegant manner.
As with most character driven stories, what brings it all to life are the performances on screen. Florence Pugh is perfect as Yelena Belova, easily delivering one of the most likeable, charming and engaging performances from any Marvel film. With the likes of Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America no longer driving the ship, Marvel Studios would be silly to not put Pugh as Yelena front and centre. Wyatt Russell also stands out as John Walker, providing a humane and sympathetic window into an unlikable and smug individual. Lewis Pullman also makes a strong impression as Bob, who is the central focus of the film’s analysis of mental health. Unfortunately, Hannah John-Kamen doesn’t have enough to do as Ghost, which is a shame considering her undeniable talent and charm. The main drawbacks in the cast are David Harbour and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Red Guardian and Valentina. Despite being excellent and respected actors, both are overplayed to a cartoonish degree, and neither are given particularly compelling characters to work with. They serve their purpose to the story, but beyond that they still haven’t found their voice.
In the coming weeks, it’s possible that Thunderbolts* will feel overpraised. The term “Marvel is back” has already been thrown around a lot, and that statement is already being greatly misunderstood. Thunderbolts* isn’t the best film Marvel has produced since Avengers: Endgame (2019), but it is the film it most needed to get back on track. Even with its flaws, Thunderbolts* does exactly what it needs to do, and does it with confidence. It takes the franchise back to what made it popular in the first place, and it successfully charts the course forward to bigger and better things.
7.5/10
Best way to watch it: Right now, while Marvel is in its slump.
