The following may contain spoilers for the Marvel movie Thunderbolts*. By reading this, you acknowledge and accept the risk of being spoiled by this review. This review is a personal reflection of the film and does not represent the opinions of every Journalism II staff member.
We all know what it is like to feel alone. Some of us prefer our own company to that of others, but we cannot bear solitude. This defines us as humans, our loneliness. We are united by a constant need to feel connected and understood. Marvel Studios incorporated this fact into their newest production, disguising a mental health commentary as a superhero movie.
Thunderbolts* is the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, releasing in theaters Friday, May 2. The film brings a ragtag bunch of characters together in an action-packed bundle of pain and respite. Empathy and comradery are fundamental aspects of the movie, underscored perfectly by the characters chosen to embark on this mission for a better life. Most of the cast consists of familiar faces from previous MCU installments. Comic fans should be delighted to know that the audience is introduced to a new player for Marvel’s upcoming Avengers picture, Avengers: Doomsday. This powerhouse is said to wield power surpassing the collective strength of the original Avengers team combined. This unlikely champion comes in the form of Robert Reynolds (Lewis Pullman).
Robert “Bob” Reynolds appears as an anxious young man clueless to his circumstance. It is through him that the movie explores the miserable crevices of the human mind, materializing as an entity known as “the Void”. The Void manifests as an inky darkness creeping at the edge of one’s mind, later swallowing the city of New York in its inescapable darkness. To overcome this threat, the Thunderbolts are forced to rely on something other than their practiced violence. They have to rely on each other.
The characters are united in their history, brought together in hopes of being more than what they are. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is the unofficial protagonist of the movie, as the opening sequence includes a monologue about her life following her appearance in the Disney+ series, Hawkeye. This movie builds upon what we already know of Yelena through her debut movie, Black Widow, and her time in the Red Room. Furthermore, it provided insight on her relationship with her “father”, Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour). They represent two sides of familial isolation, feeling abandoned and unwanted. Despite not digging into Alexei’s past beyond what we saw in Black Widow, his role in the film served to ground and comfort Yelena in a way he had not done before. The comedic attitude used to disguise his shortcomings was broken down and the two share a grounding “resolution” to their history.
The movie was expected to dig into the character’s backstories much more. In this aspect, the movie lacks balance and subtle characterization. Thunderbolts* excels in developing a handful of the characters, but I feel that the cost of this is the overall connection between the team. Each member has some kind of backstory constructed from their prior roles in MCU projects, but Thunderbolts* fails to establish a meaningful bond between most of these characters during its two-hour run time.
Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), otherwise known as Ghost, was the antagonist of Ant-Man and The Wasp. We get to know quite a bit about her past through her initial appearance, however very little is done to connect her previous role to the new story. Her powers are used as a convenient plot device, reducing her character to battle sequences and get away scenes. In terms of development, we get little more than vague remarks about what we, as an audience, already know.
John Walker (Wyatt Russel) falls into a similar category. We know a great deal about him going into Thunderbolts* thanks to his antagonistic role in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series. Unlike Ava, Thunderbolts* does offer a bit more substance to his character thus far. We learn that since his final scene in the mentioned series, his wife took their son and left. This is a result of John’s own negligence, stemming from his fragility regarding his role as the failed Captain America. I expect more from this character in the future. As of now he has done little to change or do better. The themes of the movie do not follow through in John’s character especially.
The leader of the team comes across as supporting cast, and this is what troubled me the most when watching. James “Bucky” Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, is a character we have seen grow and develop over every phase of the MCU. From brainwashed assassin to an ant-hero trying to find his way in life, Bucky is likely the character we are closest to. Nonetheless, beyond bringing the team together against a mutual foe, he is widely overlooked. Bucky is the perfect fit for the leader of this new team. Out of all of them, he is the one who has had the most time and effort put into healing from his past, with focus on his years as the Winter Soldier. The movie could have solidified this idea using the Void, showing futile efforts to take advantage of his mind. Using Bucky’s character to show that everyone has bad days, no matter how much we have healed, would have greatly contributed to the message of the film. Bucky has not been given the time to grieve his best friend, Steve Rogers, on screen. Thunderbolts* was the ideal opportunity to show this side of Bucky beyond the frustration he felt towards Sam Wilson in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. This type of scene could have been the last efforts of the Void to “break” Bucky, reconciling with his loss being what leads him to the quiet space in the void where the team eventually finds Bob.
Even with its shortcomings, this movie deserves the praise it has received. It is a powerful message that reaches its audience unlike any Marvel movie before. The style of filming and the soundtrack are absolutely astounding. It is refreshing to see a movie utilize filming locations and practical effects rather than relying so heavily on a green screen and CGI. Thunderbolts* contributes to the incoming Marvel era, ushering in new stories with quality and care fans have been missing.
See Thunderbolts* in theaters now and stay for the post-credit scene. I assure you, it does not disappoint. Marvel’s next film, Fantastic Four: First Steps, releases July 25, 2025. Based on what the studio has released in recent months, it will be fantastic.
