REVIEW: "Thunderbolts*" (2025)

(Courtesy  IMP Awards) 

WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on May 9, 2025. 

My first viewing of the latest entry in the MCU had me place it somewhere between what you would expect from a Marvel movie and not what you would expect, considering a few cliched genre tropes and an abundance of CGI action on display. The more I think about it, though, I realize that the themes and ideas and characters here represent more of what we wouldn’t have expected. In one word, Thunderbolts* (yes, that asterisk is intentional) is surprising. 

On the surface, the film is a high-concept assembly of anti-heroes introduced over the last couple of phases of movies and streaming series. From Black Widow, there’s Red Room assassin Yelana Belova (Florence Pugh), her surrogate father/super soldier Alexei Shostokov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and fellow assassin Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Then there’s the teleporting Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen, from Ant-Man and the Wasp), and the publicly disgraced, one-time Captain America a.k.a. “U.S. Agent” John Walker (Wyatt Russell, from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). Initially pitting these characters against each other is CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), on trial for impeachment and desperately trying to shred any and all evidence of recent, shady operations involving the aforementioned people. At least until Bob (Lewis Pullman), for unknown reasons, shows up. 

Filmed partially for IMAX (with an exclusive countdown intro promoting the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, out this July), this conclusion to the long-running franchise’s Phase 5 may initially make viewers draw comparisons to DC’s own league of anti-heroes, The Suicide Squad. Granted, our main characters have made terrible choices, have been villains one time or another, and still carry that guilt with them. “Without purpose,” Yelena tells us, “I’m just drifting.” Along with themes of mental health, Thunderbolts* embraces and emphasizes themes of PTSD, depression, misery, loneliness, and trust issues, as if these characters feel literally trapped in a void. The latter of which partly stems from not really knowing people or identifying with them. (“You can’t hold this in all alone. You have to let it out.”) Bucky Barnes a.k.a. the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) has been around the longest, and understands these issues all too well. 

The film walks a tightrope between quirky and melancholic, witty and deep, serious and jaw-dropping. The fact that quite a few cast and crew members are veterans of A24 productions (hence, a special trailer that played in the style of that highly regarded indie studio) adds to the story’s more grounded, “outsider” aesthetic. Director Jake Schreier has directed episodes of the Netflix series Beef, while composing team Son Lux provided the score for the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once and Andrew Droz Palermo did the cinematography for The Green Knight. All bring something unique to the table—or, should I say, warehouse? (You’d have to see the movie for yourself to find out the reasons behind that team name and asterisk.) 

I mentioned in my review for Captain America: Brave New World how that movie sort of mirrored earlier franchise entries and took a back-to-basics approach. In some ways, Thunderbolts* does as well. Sure, it has dynamic brawls and action sequences (including the warehouse where our titular anti-heroes meet, a desert highway chase in a service limo, and Yelena’s preliminary jump from a skyscraper into a research lab). Not to mention a CGI sequence that feels obviously uncanny. There’s also talk of the former generation of Avengers and superheroes as “ancient history.” 

Again, these are characters that want to disappear, remain in hiding, and/or be defined by their past mistakes. And yet, they’re called to help, challenged to rise above the belief (er, lie) that there are no good people left in the world, and challenged to display unexpected acts of heroism and be more than they seem or think they are; even transcending what appears on Wheaties cereal boxes. “You can either do something about it now,” Bucky tells them, “or live with it forever.” 

The risks that this movie takes, along with strong and layered character arcs, are otherwise done in very unlikely but plausible and believable ways. Not to mention psychological, surreal, and emotional. These help elevate this very character-driven journey as one of the MCU’s best entries to date. (Yes, Alexei, it is a cool name.) 

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