Thunderbolts* (2025) - Film Review

Another month, another new installment in the ever-growing MCU, whether audiences now want it or not. The good news in the case of "Thunderbolts*", led by Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan, is that it fares much better than the previous MCU offering, "Captain America: Brave New World". Compared to "Captain America", "Thunderbolts*" has far more focus and a clearer idea on what it's supposed to be and follows through on its intention. The only real bad news is that you still need to do some homework to better enjoy it.

Granted, it's not as overwhelming as other MCU offerings tend to be in that regard. But that does mean some folks may not be able to enjoy it as much as they want to. Yelena (Pugh) is in something of a mental slump. Though she proceeds to complete missions to further the cause of calculating CIA director Valentina (Julie Louis-Dreyfus), who's on the verge of impeachment, she's dissatisfied and empty inside. Valentina promises Yelena that her role will be complete after one final mission. Said mission however proves to be anything but.

When Yelena crosses paths with disgraced figures such as U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), they realize this was all a scheme to have them disposed of. With the Winter Soldier (Stan) of all people coming to their aid alongside Red Guardian (David Harbour), our titular ensemble has to figure out how to better help supernatural Bob (Lewis Pullman) before his destructive powers bring the world to ruin once more. Comments have been made about this basically being the equivalent of "Suicide Squad" for the MCU.

Such a comparison is accurate in what the plot centers on, but has differences as far as its quality goes. For one thing, despite a few plot developments later on not exactly being earned, the narrative makes more consistent sense than the 2016 "Suicide Squad" did. When our heroes go up against our main threat in this title, it makes more sense for them to do so since we had build-up to this moment prior. When Harley Quinn and company battled the main foe in "Suicide Squad" though, it didn't make any logical sense within that universe.

You've got your usual comedic banter here amongst our ensemble as you'd expect. What we have here is a case of the actors doing a better job at making the comedy more appealing than the actual script itself. Of course, this team doesn't get along at first until they utilize their strengths to work together. This is tried and true material you'll be delving into, with comedic skits involving the meaning behind the group name. It's uninteresting material to work with half the time, but the actors do their part to elevate it, especially Harbour.

The action is hit or miss, with the practical set pieces having more weight than the quick CGI we get every now and then. What's also hit or miss in hindsight is the film's finale. It does something different than a typical final battle with the villain at least. What happens after the climax is where the debate begins. It doesn't feel like the last moment with the team feels right for what was being built up. The post-credits scene isn't bad this go around. At least it finally sets up something. The mid-credits scene was just a bunch of nothing.

My take on "Thunderbolts*" is that it's a solid entry in the MCU for what it is. The film doesn't push the envelope further after that though. Much of what annoys MCU haters will be found in some capacity here. Pugh, Harbour and even Louis-Dreyfus have the most juicy roles on offer here. I'm not sure if I'm sold on the future "Avengers" entries yet, as it's been a messy buildup up until now. But if Marvel continues on their current trajectory with "Thunderbolts*", then maybe I'll be more excited about it as the studio wants me to be. We'll see.

Final Verdict: 7.5/10