Thunderbolts* Review: Fighting the Darkness
Theatrical Movie Review - Comic Book/Superhero
Depression rates have been rising in the U.S., and with it, a rise in loneliness. I wouldn’t have expected a really beautiful exploration of that from the MCU, but Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts* is not just a fun comic book movie, but a thoughtful examination of how isolation can lead us to some dark places.
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). When she isn’t blowing up secret labs or working as an assassin, she sits at home, missing her family. She explains to Valentina that she wants out, and Val agrees, saying she just needs to do one more job. When Yelena shows up to eliminate Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), they are met with John Walker (Wyatt Russel), and Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) - all villains, all there to eliminate the others. There is also Bob (Lewis Pullman), a confused man who seems to have access to their worst memories.
After this group escapes Valentina’s plans to get rid of all of them, they meet up with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), hoping to turn Valentina in to the authorities. However, she reveals that Bob had been the subject of some of her own experiments, which gave him powers that amplify everything about him, both good and bad.
Thunderbolts* is a much smaller-scale film than many others in the MCU, but that isn’t a bad thing. At one point, Yelena asks, “So we just punch and shoot?” and honestly, that works for this. Sometimes, you need a superhero movie that isn’t about a world-ending threat against literal gods to ground the franchise a bit. And this movie does that well.
The entire cast is solid, but the standouts are absolutely Harbour, Pugh, and Pullman. The three of them provide not only the most levity in the film, but also the most heart. And among them, Pugh shines the brightest. I will add this to my unending frustration that performances in genre films are often overlooked when awards are being handed out.
Like other MCU films, Thunderbolts* operates on the assumption that you have kept up with the franchise, giving no meaningful introduction to the characters. There are a few for whom this lack of backstory hurts their involvement in the film, but even if you are less familiar with the characters, the themes are strong enough to carry this movie.
The visuals in this are striking. It is a distinctly different-looking movie from others in the MCU, and while it may be a little on the nose in its representation of themes like depression and trauma, it remains effective.
Thunderbolts* is a movie about coming to grips with the painful aspects of your past. Each of our characters has been profoundly hurt and has, in turn, hurt others as a result of that trauma. But it is also a reminder that while you can fight the darkness alone, the only hope you have of winning is with a team.
Rating: 4/5
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on May 4, 2025.