thuderbolts

‘Thunderbolts*’ Review: Marvel Delivers a Darker, Grittier Adventure with Heart and Humor

Superheroes, trauma, and a change in the MCU’s pace!

The Marvel machine has long relied on spectacle, synergy, and stars who feel like they belong on lunchboxes. Thunderbolts* isn’t a movie about saving the universe. It’s about broken people trying to stay functional long enough to not destroy themselves. And that, oddly, might be the most compelling thing the MCU has done in years.

Forget the multiverse. Forget portals in the sky. This story unfolds on a smaller canvas, it’s grounded, morally messy, raw, and steeped in emotional fallout. The Thunderbolts don’t fly, they bleed, brood, and bicker. Led by Florence Pugh’s Yelena and David Harbour’s scene-stealing Red Guardian, the team feels less like saviors and more like survivors.

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Image Credit | Marvel Studios | Walt Disney Studios

The plot? A covert mission, shady government handler Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who channels pure chaos, and a mysterious figure named Bob (Lewis Pullman), whose inner demons are literal. It’s not rocket science, but it doesn’t try to be. What the film lacks in narrative originality, it compensates for with raw character dynamics and more importantly, time to breathe.

The comparisons to Guardians of the Galaxy are inevitable. This, too, is a squad of mismatched loners learning to function as a team. But where Gunn’s films relied on colorful irreverence, Thunderbolts trades in grayscale realism. The humor is dry, the palette washed-out, and the stakes are mostly internal. It’s less about the vibe and more about survival.

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Image Credit | Marvel Studios | Walt Disney Studios

The cast delivers. Pugh, once again, proves she’s a powerhouse of an actor, she’s the emotional anchor the MCU desperately needs. Yelena’s mix of sarcastic deflection and unspoken sorrow is pitch-perfect. Harbour’s Red Guardian, a relic of faded glory, brings warmth and pathos beneath the bravado, along with some of the films funniest moments, his comic relief is perfect. Wyatt Russell’s John Walker is still a guy people love to hate, he carries his wounds like medals, masking unresolved trauma with forced bravado and a chip on his shoulder that never quite falls off, he’s shaped by personal loss and a desperate need for validation, which, for the first time allowed me to warm to him.

Florence Pugh, once again, proves she’s a powerhouse of an actor, she’s the emotional anchor the MCU desperately needs.

While Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost is finally given a sliver of depth, it’s still only scratching the surface of her character. Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster returns with little more than a shrug from the script, her presence is brief and sadly feels like an afterthought in a film juggling many players. But it’s Pullman’s Bob who lingers. A man teetering between godhood and complete collapse, his character’s duality becomes the film’s heaviest emotional swing.

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Image Credit | Marvel Studios | Walt Disney Studios

And that’s the thing. Thunderbolts isn’t a typical Marvel movie and that’s very much by design. Directed by Jake Schreier with a team of indie-leaning creatives, the film is littered with cast and crew boasting A24 credentials, and it shows, even when being filtered through a Marvel lens.

But make no mistake this isn’t a full-on genre rebellion. Marvel still can’t resist its structure: early exposition dump, mid-movie twist, CG-fueled finale. The final battle, set near the ruins of Avengers Tower, satisfies but it’s predictable. And while the emotional weight is refreshing, some viewers may find the tonal shifts jarring. One moment, we’re cracking jokes about helmets; the next, we’re staring into the black hole of mental illness. The balance doesn’t always land.

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Image Credit | Marvel Studios | Walt Disney Studios

But there’s something quietly radical here, the film’s best moments don’t come from fights, but from conversations. Red Guardian reminiscing about past glory, Yelena questioning the point of it all, or Bucky Barnes navigating the hollowed-out role of “the good soldier turned public servant.” For once, these people aren’t just cogs in a franchise—they’re characters with scars, both seen and unseen.

If Avengers was about unity, Thunderbolts is about loneliness. And that difference matters. It won’t be everyone’s favorite Marvel movie. It’s not built to be. But it might be the one some viewers needed right now, a bit bruised, and all too human. Thunderbolts stands as a much-needed breath of fresh air in the MCU, it’s a thoughtful and refreshing approach that’s been lacking in recent Marvel films. Is this a one-off experiment or a new blueprint? Time will tell.

Thunderbolts* is now playing in cinemas worldwide.

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1 thought on “‘Thunderbolts*’ Review: Marvel Delivers a Darker, Grittier Adventure with Heart and Humor

  1. best marvel film in ages, so much better than cap america actually looking forward to marvel project now.

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