Marvel's Thunderbolts*: The Worst People You Know Just Made a Great Point.
- Aline Ayumi
- May 7
- 2 min read
Marvel Studios’ Phase 5 continues to roll forward, delivering a surprisingly introspective and emotionally established entry with it's newest team Thunderbolts*.
Following the massive hype and fanfare of Deadpool & Wolverine, and the not-so-enthusiastic reception of Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel’s grip on audience attention had started to slip. Thunderbolts* introduces a team cobbled together from morally gray supporting characters, of whom now face their shot at the MCU's center stage.
From its opening scene, the film sets its tone with remarkable clarity. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), in a standout and highly anticipated return, opens the film reflecting on a strange void inside her, an everlasting emptiness that couldn’t be fulfilled since the death of her sister—or maybe, as Yelena describes it: “just boredom.”
As the plot develops, Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as CIA agent Valentina de Fontaine, now serving as Yelena’s handler, sends her to eliminate a thief who’s broken into one of Valentina’s classified facilities; Yelena discovers that four other vigilantes have been assigned the same thing. When they uncover that Valentina’s real plan is to have them eliminate each other, the remaining characters—Black Widow's Yelena Belova, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's John Walker, Antman and the Wasp's Ava Starr, and Marvel's newest: Bob—must place enough trust on each other to survive.
Despite what you may have read so far, Thunderbolts* doesn’t completely abandon the Marvel formula, but it does experiment more than most recent entries. The result is a kind of chaotic, Avengers-lite fever dream—a cocktail of dark humor, action, and psychological friction. It’s a beautiful story that doesn't separate good from evil, but instead, invites the audience to look inside. That loud and dark room where your bottled up past goes to hide, may carry answers from within, but that doesn't mean you have to face it alone. A reminder that no matter how super they seem, these characters are still human at their core.
As each Thunderbolt* is faced with their personal trust issues, the story makes it clear how they change, grow, and slowly learn to trust one another, an emotional throughline carefully shaped by director Jake Schreier and screenwriters Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo. Their character-driven approach grounds the film’s explosive pieces in genuine interpersonal takes.
The hypnotic action sequences are heightened by a skilled stunt team that emphasizes gritty, hand-to-hand combat, perfectly suiting the team's raw, overwhelmed fighting dynamic. Meanwhile, Marvel’s visual effects veterans craft seamless, high-impact sequences that showcase each character’s distinct powers, ensuring Thunderbolts* delivers both personal drama and blockbuster spectacle.
And—finally—it manages to engage without leaning on nostalgia. No multiverse cameos, no surprise Avenger drop-ins. Just flawed, desperate people trying to matter. It’s messy, it’s bold, and it just might be exactly what Marvel needed.
Marvel's Thunderbolts is now premiering in theatres—don't miss the rise of unlikely characters in a bold new chapter of the Earth Mightiest Heroes.
Written by: Aline Ayumi, Film & Enterteinment Coordinator
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