Title: Thunderbolts*
Describe This Movie In One The Suicide Squad Quote:
BLOODSPORT: No one likes a show-off.
PEACEMAKER: Unless what they’re showing off is dope as fuck.
Brief Plot Synopsis: Morally ambiguous characters get in touch with their feelings when not whooping ass…
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 3.5 Stan Valcheks out of 5.
Tagline: “Not super. Not heroes. Not giving up.”
Better Tagline: “AKA the Avongers“
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: In the year since her sister died, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) has kept busy with missions assigned by new CIA Director, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), though she finds the work unfulfilling. Angling for a career change, she embarks on a secret operation that pits her against former Captain America John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Antonia “Taskmaster” Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), and Ava “Ghost” Starr (Hannah John-Kamen). Realizing they’ve been set up, they find unlikely allies in former Winter Soldier/current Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Yelena’s dad, former Red Guardian Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour).
“Critical” Analysis: Bless their hearts, they’re still going for it.
Thunderbolts* marks both the 36th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the end of Phase Five of same. To say Disney has been spinning its wheels since 2021 (which I’ve done on this very site more times than I care to admit) would be charitable, considering the only real advance on the overall MCU front has been unceremoniously terminating the multiverse and Hulking out Harrison Ford.
But there’s more — so much more — on the way. The MCU is set to hit the ground running in their next Phase with a new Fantastic Four movie, a reboot of the X-Men, and a movie version of Doctor Doom (Kang who?) that hopefully doesn’t suck. Thunderbolts* is as much a bridge to those as it is an attempt to give its characters some emotional catharsis.
The movie opens with Yelena Belova (the new Black Widow, not that anyone in these movies goes by their nom de superhéro anymore) lamenting how tedious and empty her life has become. She might as well be speaking for everyone who’s experienced the last 17 years of these movies. Her behind-the-scenes work in black ops for new CIA Director de Fontaine has her yearning for something more meaningful that will, not coincidentally, give her more of a public profile.
She’s not alone. Her not-quite-so-estranged anymore father Alexei has the same problem, pining for the days when he wasn’t a mere limo driver but was celebrated as a champion of The People. John Walker is still dealing with being referred to as “thrift store Captain America” (though it should be said that Russell is far more engaging here than in Captain America and the Winter Soldier). While new Congressman Barnes is learning that Capitol Hill doesn’t encourage direct action as much as Avengers Tower did.
You can see where this is going. Via various previous MCU properties you may or may not have watched, Belova, Walker, and Starr have all been actively recruited for various missions by de Fontaine. Their teaming up is less a conscious decision on the CIA Director’s part than it is a survival tactic when de Fontaine betrays them, leading to Bucky and Alexei independently seeking them out and joining the cause.
Said cause is “Bob” (Lewis Pullman), the seemingly normal dude that turns up in de Fontaine’s underground fortress of war crimes. Naturally, Bob is not what he seems, and the assembled anti-heroes quickly realize that, even together, they can’t take on this new threat in a straight-up fight.
That’s right, the Second Battle of New York isn’t so much “Hulk? Smash.” as it is “Bill and Ted trapped in Hell.” It’s an interesting approach, even preceded by the usual dustups, giving us that multiverse feel even if it doesn’t bog otherwise mess with alternative timelines.
The credits tell us Thunderbolts* is “based on the Marvel comics,” and that much is true, inasmuch as there was a comic book called Thunderbolts, and it was published by Marvel. The source material began with Baron Zemo and former members of the Masters of Evil masquerading as a superhero team called the Thunderbolts.
But none of the movie’s crew were part of that original group. Sure, Black Widow, Ghost, the Winter Soldier, and U.S. Agent all showed up in one or more of the umpteen variations that followed over the years, but rarely alongside one another. The MCU character with the longest actual tenure — across several iterations — is Taskmaster, and … well, more on that later.
But enough nerdery. Director Jake Schreier (Beef) and writers Eric Pearson (Godzilla vs. Kong, Black Widow) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) attempt to set Thunderbolts* in a quasi-realistic modern political arena that’s worked better in some Marvel movies (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) than others (Captain America: Brave New World). Some of the trappings are almost quaint (an impeachment hearing!), while others — such as de Fontaine’s smug ability to pivot on a dime — are depressingly familiar.
Louis-Dreyfus plays the CIA Director as a competent Selena Meyer, while Pugh gives Yelena more emotional heft than Scarlett Johansson ever could to her Black Widow. But it’s Harbour who’s the real revelation. His Yakov Smirnov accent is just as ridiculous as Pugh’s, but he’s clearly having a blast playing Alexei as a dumber (and less doomed) Old Man Logan.
Speaking of doomed, I don’t want to alarm any Olga Kurylenko fans, but I’m not sure why Taskmaster is featured so prominently in the promo materials.
Conversely, for you fans of The Wire, the movie reunites Wendell “Bunk” Pierce (as Congressman Gary) and Chris “Frank Sobotka” Bauer (as Holt, the leader of the SpecOps team sent after Yelena and the others). OK, maybe I’m the only one who cares.
Thunderbolts* closes the books on Phase Five not with a bang *or* a whimper, but more of a “huh.” It’s a definite step up over recent entrants; less cluttered than The Marvels, more essential than Brave New World. It’s (upper) middle tier Marvel, with real emotional stakes (or as real as they get in superhero movies) and a decent balance of action, humor, and existentialism that gives audiences a breather before returning to galactic threats.
Is There A Mid-Credits Scene? Yes, and it’s uncomfortably similar to the final scene of Old School.
Is There A Post-Credits Scene? A long one! It sets up both future conflict within the MCU as well as attempting to frame the upcoming Phase Six.
Ask A 15-Year Old:
RFTED: Did you like the movie?
15YO: I guess. But what was the message? Friendship is the answer?
RFTED: Well, you heard Yelena. None of them would be able to stop him physically.
15YO: Whatever. It was like Marvel’s My Little Pony.
RFTED: You’re so cynical.
15YO: You know what else? Bob was also “Bob” in Top Gun: Maverick!
Thunderbolts* is in theaters today.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
