With every new Marvel movie, you’re likely to hear “OMG MARVEL IS BACK!”. In most cases, that’s a bit hyperbolic. What exactly makes a Marvel movie, a Marvel movie? Thunderbolts* is one of those movies where you can pretty easily point to what makes it special in regards to recent Marvel movies. The films either take superheroes and place them in a familiar genre or subgenre OR they take those super people and they go through human emotions that we all feel and deal with daily. Thunderbolts* falls in that latter category.

It follows a group of heroes/antiheroes that get thrown together to deal with a threat that only the Avengers would have the chance to stop. The group features Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). They form the main group, but the film also features Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), her assistant Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan), and the mysterious Bob (Lewis Pullman).

Thunderbolts* really dives into some themes that mainstream studio movies don’t get to. That’s the biggest thing I could draw from it. Yes, this is a big movie that’s setting the table for arguably two of the most important Marvel movies coming up. But that doesn’t mean that this is only a stepping-stone type movie. It’s a nice standalone story as well.

The story follows Yelena Belova as she navigates a world without her sister and really without anyone else to care about her. Her family is broken with her dad, the Red Guardian, out of the picture. She’s doing mercenary work for Valentina, but wants something more out of life. It’s a place we all have been before where we’re looking for something more out of our work life. That leads her to an offer from Valentina to get rid of a loose end at a secret facility.

Of course, those loose ends all include various mercenaries like John Walker, Taskmaster, Ghost, and Yelena. At the facility, they’re also greeted by a mysterious character named Bob. Why is Bob there? Who knows? You’ll find out, but it turns out that Valentina is in some hot water with the US government over a medical experiment trying to make superheroes to “protect the world” now that the Avengers are gone.

From there we learn more about Bob, the plot by Valentina, and of course about the Thunderbolts. That’s all you really need to know. The important thing about this is what brings all of these characters together. They’re broken people. A team of broken people can’t really be a team, can it?

So what about this story makes it so relatable? I mean, I’m not part of a superhero team trying to fight a newly created all-powerful villain. Well, if you’ve dealt with depression in your life, you know how it feels. It’s like a weight all over your body at points. Sometimes it even gets to the point where it’s crippling. Each of the characters in Thunderbolts*, even Valentina, feels lived in. They feel whole and have edges. It’s even something that it is a team of basically regular people (besides Bucky and Red Guardian) going up against a foe that will knowingly decimate them. That’s how we live our lives. We’re going up against things that are far more powerful than us, and regular people still do it.

The performances in Thunderbolts* are great. Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman are the highlights with Pugh taking the reins and making this her movie. Pullman is exceptional as Bob/Sentry, bringing a lot of personable traits to the performance. The rest of the team have some fun moments and their arcs are all well-written. John Walker provides a lot of the best moments going between a failed family man and a mercenary for hire. The dynamic between Red Guardian and Yelena is once again powerful.

The action in the film is also top-notch, but the most powerful scenes, especially in the finale, are less action-filled than you’d think. This is a cerebral Marvel film in more than one way.

The effects and settings also look pretty nice with no noticeable seams. It doesn’t look like Marvel is using the Volume for their productions any longer, so even if it’s on a green screen, the action doesn’t look tremendously fake.

A Return To Form For Marvel Studios

Not to say that the past couple of Marvel movies have been bad, I’ve enjoyed them enough, but they haven’t captured that human element that makes us connect to these characters like Thunderbolts* does. The movie recaptures a feeling that places you, as the audience, alongside the heroes, at least mentally. We can relate to them, and that’s what makes the narrative here that much more powerful.

Much will be said about what Thunderbolts* leads to, but don’t breeze past the movie that Jake Scheier and Co. have created here. Thunderbolts* is about as relatable as superhero movies come. This team of losers, misfits, and outcasts should easily grab you by the heart for one of Marvel’s best films in a while. The action is on point, but the emotion is where it hits hardest. As someone who has dealt with and continually deals with depression and inadequacy, Thunderbolts* really hit hard. Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman really take this movie to a new level emotionally.

Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2nd, 2025.

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