Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts*
After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must go on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Alex | Pop Culture Brain reviewedMay 2, 2025
Is it good or is it just Marvel good?
I saw Thunderbolts so here’s the good and the bad without spoilers
We’ve had a lot of ups and downs from Marvel Studios in the last 5 years
And so it’s become to get too optimistic about any new MCU movie
But with Thunderbolts they really nailed it
and it kind of makes you wonder, where has this Marvel been?
Let’s start at the end, the third act of this movie is astonishing
It was a surreal and thoughtful breath of fresh air that actually gave us something a little different than the typical big battle sequence
And that’s because it came from an entire movie that was character forward and grounded in actual emotions and relatable human struggle
Thunderbolts remembered that superhero antics can be fun but we also need to care about and get invested in the characters as people
To that end this movie was surprisingly dark but in a mature and considered way
Honestly, it reminded me of the best Marvel TV shows, specifically Wandavision and Loki
But it even harkened back to Legion in some great and unexpected ways
It seems the studio took all the lessons it learned from those shows that really invested in their characters
And applied it to a big screen story
I also loved how this reflected and refracted the 2012 Avengers
And despite this being a darker and more emotional outing, it still had time for some wit and humor in the right places
Largely thanks to David Harbour who is clearly having fun with his time in the MCU
But the movie is held down by Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman
Who are both excellent and a large part of why this whole thing works
Pullman got one of the best Marvel character introductions in years
Also shout out to this feeling like a whole story that didn't come off as if it was recreated in post and thru lots of reshoots
On the negative side, I thought some of the CGI looked a little cartoony at times
And the time span and geography of the story felt fuzzy
Did it take place over a few days or several weeks?
If it’s the former a lot happens and there’s a significant amount of travel going on in quite quickly
Also Ghost and Bucky felt tacked on, and weren't as richly shaded as the rest of the characters
But those flaws didn’t bring down the whole experience for me
To answer my first question, this is a flat out great movie — Marvel or not