Thunderbolts* (The New Avengers) Review

As CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine faces Congressional scrutiny into her activities, she and her staff scramble to hide all evidence of her hidden crimes. Whether it is paper, software, hardware, or people, she’s determined to destroy it all.

Unfortunately, that includes all her former covert operatives, including Yelena Belova. After the death of her sister Natasha, Yelena continues to struggle to find her place in the world. She’s simply wandering through life without relationships or purpose.

When Valentina calls her for one last job, she agrees. But as she arrives at the location of her assignment, she encounters disgraced Captain America John Walker, former assassin Ava Starr aka Ghost, and Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster. The group quickly realizes they’ve been sent into a trap.

They also encounter the mysterious Bob, a seemingly innocent civilian with no remarkable characteristics. The group of dysfunctional misfits must find a way to work together and survive Valentina’s deadly trap. But even if they survive, they must face off against Valentina’s remaining CIA resources and the horrifying ramifications of her misguided efforts to replace the Avengers.

The trailer for Thunderbolts* showed the anti-heroes questioning if they’re capable of saving the world. They’re outmanned, they’re completely dysfunctional, they’re all physically and spiritually broken, and they’re tremendously underpowered to face the threat they’re against.

However, that’s exactly what makes them the best group possible to save the day. They’re all looking for redemption in one form or another, and that unique perspective gives them what they need to do. And that theme of finding hope and redemption is what makes this latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) unique.

If you saw Black Widow or Hawkeye, you know Florence Pugh is excellent as Yelena Belova. But can she carry a movie by herself? The answer is yes. Yelena is the heart of the story, and it is largely told through her eyes. Her humor, dry wit, and sarcasm make her a fun character, but her compassion for Bob and her father/daughter relationship with David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov solidify her as a fan favorite.

If she’s the new leader of the MCU, she’s earned it. She may not be the strongest member of the team, but her experiences make her well-suited to lead them as they face challenges even the Avengers would have struggled to deal with.

While Yelena provides a lot of humor along the way, both David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian and Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent are the primary comic relief. Alexei is desperate to become a hero again and craves the adoration of the masses. His enthusiasm for forming the Thunderbolts is an amusing counter to the cynicism of the rest of the team. It’s also fun as he constantly embarrasses Yelena.

Meanwhile, Wyatt Russell is perfect as the arrogant John Walker. He’s everything Captain America isn’t – prideful, over-confident, selfish, and void of empathy. Throwing him into the band of misfits is like putting fire and fuel together. The end result is an amusing tension between the alpha male and the tough women. Despite his negative qualities, you still end up liking him thanks to Russell’s charm.

A new addition to the cast is Lewis Pullman as Bob. The less you know about him going in, the better. But Pullman does a great job of playing a tortured soul. He’s probably the most fractured of this group of broken people. As the heroes travel their road to redemption, they’re pulling him along with them. That emotional teamwork makes you root for them to save Bob along with themselves.

The trademark end credit scene is one of the better ones, and its significance makes up for the disappointing post-credits scene in Captain America: Brave New World.

While dealing with mental illness and depression is at the core of the story, it’s not always pleasant and is in stark contrast to a lot of the humor and lighthearted moments in the rest of the film. By the end of the movie, where the heroes are literally battling depression and hugging it out, it kind of drags the overall mood down. The film ends more on a serious note and not on the high note you would hope. It’s kind of tonal whiplash.

And as great as Florence Pugh is playing Yelena Belova, a lot of her role feels like a retread of what we’ve already seen. Didn’t she exorcise her demons in Black Widow and Hawkeye? Didn’t she already come to terms with Alexei as a flawed father figure before? Hasn’t she accepted that Natalia is dead and gone? It felt a little like her character hadn’t progressed when Thunderbolts* starts.

One minor gripe – the character of Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster, is totally underutilized. Olga Kurylenko is barely seen and quickly forgotten. It feels like her character is done a disservice after surviving the horrors shown in Black Widow. And her exit from the film seems unlikely after seeing what she was capable of in Black Widow. Marvel has a bad habit of dumping some of their better comic book villains in the cinematic garbage bin, and this is one of them.

As you walk out of the theater, you start to realize Thunderbolts* has a lot of unanswered questions. What is the nature of the main villains’ powers? Where is Rachel Weisz as Melina, Yelena’s mother figure? Why in the world is Bucky a congressman? Why is there no apparent connection between the president being named “Thunderbolt” and their team naming themselves the “Thunderbolts”?

The list goes on and on. Matters aren’t helped when the end credits scene flashes forward 14 months and starts making references to events we haven’t even seen hints of yet. The audience walks away feeling slightly shortchanged.

Thunderbolts* is the course correction that Marvel Studios has needed, but not the dramatic win they still need. It’s worth seeing on the big screen, but Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are required viewing ahead of time. This film also tees up a lot of what’s still to come in the MCU, so you’ll want to check it out for that reason alone.

THUNDERBOLTS REVIEW SCORE: 7 OUT OF 10

Marvel Studios‘ Thunderbolts* opens in theaters on Friday, May 2, 2025. The film is rated PG-13 for strong violence, language, thematic elements, and some suggestive and drug references.