Thunderbolts*

I’m not sure how Thunderbolts*  will eventually fit into the MCU and if it will ever qualify as an “Avengers” film, but it sure injects some creativity back into the Marvel films after many such recent entries as Captain America: Brave New World, Eternals, Ant-Man, The Marvels, and the Wasp: Quantomania, and The Marvels. Director Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank, Paper Towns) does a solid job in his first big movie entry, and Thunderbolts* certainly feels like a return to form as it holds much better writing, a more singular visual style apart from the blandness in some of the recent ones, and there is certainly some more creative freedom on display thanks to the screenplay by frequent MCU co-writer Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarök, The Fantastic Four: The First Steps) and TV writer Joanna Calo. Finally, a more distinctive MCU film returns, and despite its potential to be perceived as a generic Avengers tale, Schreier infuses this saga with wit, energy, speed, enthusiasm, and unexpected nuance. This is what summer movies are all about: pure escapism that is well done and holds some merit with character depth and exciting action.

The story does a really effective job of introducing each of the characters; it begins not too far off the recent events in Captain America: Brave New World, as it’s referenced how President Theodus Ross transformed into the Red Hulk and smashed up Washington D.C. The story begins where we are introduced to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who is a trained Black Widow assassin who is destroying a laboratory for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) so she can cover up her involvement with a rogue superhuman project in which she faces impeachable offenses by the United States Congress.

As Belova is embarking on her duties, she is confronted by John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), who is referred to as a dime store version of Captain America. They battle it out, and suddenly we see other superheroes appear, such as Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and then a mysterious young man appears named Bob (Lewis Pullman). It’s quickly revealed that each superhero and Bob are pitted against each other by de Fontaine. They end up getting confined in the laboratory in which they band together to attempt to break free from a near inescapable building where the operative doors trap them inside.

Courtesy Marvel Studios

Meanwhile, we have Captain America’s old sidekick Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who ends up receiving further intelligence of Fontaine’s schemes, and he seeks out to locate the new stable referred to by Yelena’s old friend and father figure Red Guardian. A member of the Thunderbolts who is the Russian super soldier counterpart to Captain America and a father figure to Belova. Both Red Guardian and Bucky Barnes seek out to locate the Thunderbolts as Fontaine sets out the military to locate and destroy the newly formed stable once she finds out her plan went awry.

The team comes together, and the chemistry and synergy between the entire cast are superb. I have always been a champion of U.S. Agent. Ever since I was eight or nine years old, I read U.S. Agent’s appearances in the Captain America and Avengers comic books, even when he got his own comic book. U.S. Agent was always a more complex and darker variation of Captain America, and Russell does a satisfying job of capturing a man wrestling with his personal demons and flaws. Each of the characters wrestles with their purpose, age, relevance, and other insecurities and traumas that bring them depression. This all leads up to a showdown in New York, at the Avengers Tower that is renamed Watchtower.

Courtesy Marvel Studios

The action sequences are a selling point, as is the aesthetic. While not quite as visually innovative as Chloe Zhao’s Eternals, which is certainly the singular MCU film that just happens to be very disappointing due to the writing, Thunderbolts* impresses the most with its character depth. Especially the third act; it’s not typical hero vs. villain stuff. The film takes you into some dark places and into the mind. Especially when Bob’s superhero powers are revealed and the set piece becomes more internalized, that is on par with the aesthetics Michel Gondry used in his beloved 2004 masterpiece Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Schreier experiments around and uses the set pieces to create a more distinctive feel. He also gives each character a moment to shine where they aren’t just one-dimensional cape crusaders with throw-away lines. Like the strongest superhero films, such as Spider-Man 2 and Superman, we are given vulnerabilities and character nuances. We know what’s at stake; it’s not just another superhero film with characters attempting to save the world from another villain. The narrative at work shows how we are pawns to the power structure, and we must band together to combat the negative forces that arise. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is quite an electrifying power structure. As Fontaine, she is a very effective villain that brings a dark charm, wit, and sophistication to her role in which she resembles Tulsi Gabbard.

Like the X-Men and Avengers comics and films, there is a substantial number of characters, subplots, and messages, and they are given a similar canvas, and this excels in refreshing ways. Meanwhile, in regard to Thunderbolts*, it’s going to have some tough competition this summer depending on how the new Fantastic Four and Superman movies do as will be interesting to see what takes the crown of what the best superhero film of 2025 will be. Already, Thunderbolts* will give those films a run for their money. So many superhero movies come and go; there are many that are disposable, many mediocre and forgettable, but Thunderbolts* certainly remains a standout as of late.

THUNDERBOLTS is now showing in theaters