‘Thunderbolts*’ evaluate: Florence Pugh cannot rescue this flop from the MCU’s worst impulses

Superhero fatigue has gotten so intense that even the protagonists are bored now.

Thunderbolts*, the thirty sixth Marvel Cinematic Universe film, kicks off with charismatic murderer Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) bemoaning how tedious her life has change into. By way of a beleaguered voiceover, she laments that she’s caught in an unfulfilling rut of labor, work, work. Certain, she’s a extremely expert mercenary whose work entails life-or-death confrontations. However amid all of the espionage and homicide, she’s misplaced her joie de vivre.

Wanting bored, the fan favourite from Black Widow and Hawkeye flawlessly base jumps off a dizzyingly excessive skyscraper right into a top-secret laboratory, the place she slays a slew of minions with ease (in a clichéd hallway combat scene). We will assume director Jake Schreier intends this contradiction of hard-hitting motion (with no blood, as a result of PG-13) and Yelena’s blasé angle to be humorous. Nonetheless, she may as properly be talking for these viewers members who’re exhausted by the identical superhero film beats being hit time and again, with lessening affect via repetition. Like Yelena, a few of us are numb to the violence and conspiracies as a result of they’ve change into routine.

Sadly, Yelena and her eponymous crew of antiheroes will not save us from this downward spiral. As a substitute, we get a large number of a film that balances hijinks, heroics, and a half-hearted message about melancholy with all of the grace of a black widow with eight damaged legs.

Thunderbolts* is The Avengers, however worse in each respect.

The premise of Thunderbolts* is mainly the MCU’s reply to Suicide Squad (or its standalone sequel, The Suicide Squad). A shady authorities muckety-muck brings collectively a batch of infamous villains, who — regardless of their variations — will combat as a crew to save lots of the day from a world-threatening huge unhealthy. The one actual distinction between these spinoffs from completely different comedian manufacturers are the names — and that CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) did not imply for her crew to hitch forces.

She’d introduced Yelena, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) collectively anticipating them to kill one another, giving her a clear slate for her newest political maneuvering. However after they survive her lure, these wild playing cards loop in Pink Guardian (David Harbour), The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), and a few befuddled dude named Bob (Lewis Pullman) to combat again.

From this very Suicide-Squad framework, nevertheless, Thunderbolts* turns into an aching retread of The Avengers (2012). Dialogue will proclaim that there is no method they will come collectively as a crew! They’ve completely different powers and completely different priorities; personalities will conflict with harsh phrases and harsher bodily blows. Nonetheless, via some bonding/motion sequences and heart-to-heart-moments, they will unite simply in time to battle a high-flying evil in midtown Manhattan, on the base of Tony Stark’s tower, the place the Avengers iconically assembled. Besides this time, it is not a fleet of alien invaders led by an excellent beguiling supervillain. The heroes aren’t bursting with character (and even wielding boomerangs). And worst of all, it is not all that thrilling or entertaining.

Florence Pugh is constrained by Yelena’s mopey plot line.

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*”.
Credit score: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel 2025

After the dying of her adopted sister Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff, the dynamic murderer who has launched 1,000,000 crushes and bevy of memes is now not quipping and charismatic. Certain, whilst she sought revenge in Hawkeye, she was chaotically flirty as she delivered threats alongside a suggestion for mac-and-cheese. However in Thunderbolts*, she — like too many MCU heroes from post-Snap MCU — is deep in grief, providing sulking over spirit or snark.

For some confounding purpose, somewhat than tailor a superhero team-up film to Yelena’s usually spirited power, screenwriters Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo took the funniest character on this assortment of misfits and put her in Brooding Batfleck mode. Thus, Pugh should shoulder the film together with her character’s biggest powers — her wit, humor, and winsome vulnerability — all tied behind a severe face (not even her signature onerous frown!).

This leaves Harbour as Pink Guardian to be comedian reduction, which he does with ease. However his half is one be aware — a collection of father jokes spiced up along with his damaged English/Russian accent. To his credit score, Stan is wryly humorous because the ever-vaguely irritated Winter Soldier. However his half is so small that his greatest moments contain trailer-worthy stunts and pulling his steel arm out of the dishwasher. (Actually, although, that may be a nice comedic beat that’s character-driven!)

What do you could keep in mind concerning the MCU earlier than seeing Thunderbolts?

John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov / Pink Guardian (David Harbour), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) in Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*”.
Credit score: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel 2025

Pearson and Calo give sufficient context to this assortment of supporting characters that you can observe Thunderbolts* simply superb with out revisiting Black Widow, the Captain America and Avengers films, the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. And but, it simply would not matter, as a result of each considered one of these antiheroes is being diminished to the identical cliché.

Trauma of their previous has led to them to make unhealthy selections, which makes them really feel unhealthy about themselves, pushing them to hunt the next function in life. Very like the Rick & Morty episode “The Vindicators,” which parodied such superhero team-ups, they’re all the identical, separated solely by their trauma equipment, be it a defend, a phase-shifting means, or Bob’s mysterious skills. And to that finish, it is onerous to flee the sensation that Disney and Marvel Leisure are scraping the underside of the barrel with Thunderbolts*.

Certain, Yelena and Bucky are fan favorites. However who was aching to see most of those different characters? And even when these antiheroes have followers, will they be glad by the slapdash strategy this Avengers retread provides, even staging climactic confrontations in the identical areas because the 2012 film? This time, there are not any epic gods, no cocky billionaire with a mech swimsuit, no raging Hulk or America’s ass. It is only a bunch of bickering mercenaries sporting black physique armor and sullen expressions as they fight suicidal melancholy made manifest because the comedian guide villain The Void.

The texture-good message of Thunderbolts* is offensively undercooked.

John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Alexei Shostakov/Pink Guardian (David Harbour) in Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*”.
Credit score: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel 2025

Calo has a stellar resume, having labored on such daring and critically heralded comedy collection as Hacks, BoJack Horseman, and The Bear. So maybe it was her pitch to make the actual villain of Thunderbolts* psychological sickness so extreme it may possibly actually suck in anybody close to its sufferer. And it’s an intriguing idea. As teased in trailers, The Void can increase his hand and — poof! — whoever falls beneath his shadowy grasp vanishes from the streets of New York Metropolis right into a flat shadow, as if incinerated onsite. However what meaning throughout the film cuts deeper, pitching the captive right into a Being John Malkovich (or Harley Quinn or Gravity Falls) thoughts labyrinth of trauma.

Yelena’s expertise with melancholy proves essential on this climactic battle. It isn’t a lot her lightning-fast reflexes or marksmanship that save the folks of Manhattan, however her empathy. To the filmmakers’ credit score, Thunderbolts* has a singular strategy to discussing melancholy, displaying that even heroes (or antiheroes) can battle with it. Nonetheless, it additionally actually weaponizes melancholy in an excellent villain, then resolves the difficulty with a climax that has all of the depth of a Folger’s espresso business. (The Babadook did it higher!)

Thunderbolts* is a dizzying disappointment on a number of ranges.

John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Alexei Shostakov/Pink Guardian (David Harbour) in Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*”.
Credit score: Chuck Zlotnick / Marvel 2025

Should you’ve come to see a summer time film with wall-to-wall motion, witty banter, and massive personalities coming to blows, you will be confounded by the maudlin tone that hangs over most of this MCU providing. Should you beloved The Avengers and crave that feeling of seeing it for the primary time, this clumsy pretender will not ship. Leaning into clichés, Thunderbolts* lacks creativeness and seems like Kevin Feige and firm have shaken out their toy field and tossed in no matter motion figures had been left into their shrinking sandbox.

There’s not a compelling chemistry on this group or an enthralling thrust to the story as a lot as the sensation of a listing of fan expectations being checked off. Certain, there’s motion, callbacks, deep-dive comedian guide lore, and the occasional character-driven comedy beat. However general, Thunderbolts* seems like two to 6 concepts for a film haphazardly cobbled collectively. There’s little circulate, much less enjoyable, and a closing act that feels extra like a cheat than an achievement.

Thunderbolts* opens in theaters Might 2.

Should you’re feeling suicidal or experiencing a psychological well being disaster, please speak to any individual. You may attain the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline at 988; the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860; or the Trevor Undertaking at 866-488-7386. Textual content “START” to Disaster Textual content Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday via Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail [email protected]. Should you do not just like the cellphone, think about using the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline Chat at crisischat.org. Here’s a record of worldwide sources.