The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has had lots of highs and lows. From “Deadpool and Wolverine” being a recent high and “The Marvels” being a recent film that was poorly received by audiences, people desperately want the next big hit. Well, fans are sure to have found that in the MCU’s most recent team-up film, “Thunderbolts*.” 

Directed by Jake Schreier, “Thunderbolts*” follows Yelena Belova, former Avenger Black Widow’s sister, as she struggles to find her place in the world. To deal with this, Yelena starts working for Val, the head of the CIA, who is currently on trial for impeachment. Val sends Yelena on a mission to take out a target and destroy evidence, where Yelena finds other MCU stars John Walker/US Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster. Together, they discover a highly classified, dangerous secret that needs to be dealt with. With Bucky Barnes and the Red Guardian joining the team along the way, the Thunderbolts have to take down The Void.

The plot of this film is amazing. Unlike recent entries into the MCU, this film has a self-contained story. The film does not constantly try to set up other films or storylines, it only focuses on the story that the viewer came to see. In modern MCU, this type of story seems rare, especially now that a lot of movies fill themselves with unnecessary cameos to gain community hype. However, “Thunderbolts*” stays in its own lane and benefits heavily from that.

The pacing of “Thunderbolts*” was done well. The first act was paced nicely, and set up the film and the potential danger of all of these characters and their knowledge. When the second act of the film came around, it dragged a little bit. There was a small portion of the film where the characters are on the run, and it involves a lot of scenes in the car. Just because this limited the different settings of the film, the car sequences dragged a little bit. 

However, by the time the third act rolled around, the car sequences felt insignificant and forgotten about because the third act fight sequences and conflict were just that good. This film has a well-earned conclusion, which is the only time this film sets up future MCU projects.

The theme of this film was one of the heaviest messages that the MCU has ever dealt with. The film tackled mental health struggles, specifically depression and bipolar disorder. The film addresses these serious messages very delicately and delivers a somber message that will surely stick with the audience.

The characters in “Thunderbolts*” were magnificent. Audiences might wonder why any of these characters are relevant and deserve their own movie, because they have always been side characters in other people’s movies. But, watching this film, it is very clear why these characters are at the forefront. This roster of characters work perfectly together and they convey the message of the film beautifully. 

Yelena, played by the talented Florence Pugh, is the leader of the team. Pugh does an amazing job at making Yelena seem like a lost character who does not know her purpose, and makes her funny at the same time. The audience can feel the loneliness through the screen and see Yelena’s pain. The emotional distress that Pugh is able to communicate was amazing, and makes Yelena the perfect troubled leader of this team of misfits.

John Walker (U.S. Agent), played by Wyatt Russell, is translated perfectly from where he left off in the “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” show on Disney+. U.S. Agent is a rude character who thinks he knows everything because of his military past, but he ends up not making the best decisions. His “know-it-all” attitude is a good addition to the team because he ends up making snarky comments and jokes to the other Thunderbolts, where he can be humbled.

Red Guardian, played by David Harbour, was the obvious choice to be the comedic relief of this film. Red Guardian was an obvious choice to sew the team together as he is the father of Yelena but is also a Super Soldier like Bucky Barnes and John Walker. Harbour is able to show his acting range through the role of Red Guardian. Harbour can play serious characters like Hopper in the series “Stranger Things” but can also play the role of a doofus, like in “Thunderbolts*.”

These characters were all amazing and contributed a lot to the team and felt needed. However, both Ghost and Taskmaster felt sidelined in this film. They did not contribute much to the team besides sometimes making a key play once in a while. But, with a large team and most of them having their own character arcs, it makes sense that one or two characters might not be developed as much.

One of the best parts of this film is that the team actually feels like a family. In “The Avengers,” the team felt more like co-workers; the Thunderbolts feel like family. They treat each other with equal respect and value, and poke fun at each other like a family does. 

Everyone feels like they care about each other on this team, and if something bad were to happen to one of them, it would leave a heavy impact on the rest of them. This was amazing because there was real chemistry behind the team rather than the team feeling like a forced team-up movie. What brings the Thunderbolts together even more is that they all share a common goal: saving NYC from The Void.

The Void was an amazing villain for this film because he felt like a real threat, his powers were terrifying and he was brutal. Seeing a villain like The Void makes the viewers wonder what all of these powerless heroes are going to do to stop a god-like character. But this team was assembled for a purpose, and by the end of the third act, the viewers get a sense that this film is not about how powerful every individual is, but the family aspect of this team.

The visuals in this film are outstanding. It is sad to say, but after 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel visual effects have looked rushed and unfinished in a lot of movies, such as “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” But, “Thunderbolts*” does an amazing job at making this film feel complete and perfect visually. From the camerawork to the CGI, the visuals in this movie are marvelous.

The cinematography and camera angles in this movie were very out of the ordinary, especially for a superhero picture. The transitions and camera angles used made this film feel so unique. For example, towards the very beginning of the film, there is a fight scene that takes place in a hallway. In the fight, it is all one long continuous shot, but the camera shoots the scene from the ceiling. This makes the film feel so different from most superhero pictures, and there are even city skyline shots that are long and make this film feel real. 

The way that the camera captures the essence of the film’s settings was also amazing. “Thunderbolts*” has two main settings, the desert and New York City. When the characters are in either of those settings, the viewer really feels immersed in the setting, due to the camera. There are a lot of establishing shots in this film that make the settings feel real and important. To add to that, the color palette also added a layer of depth to this. 

The colors in this film are mostly gray and dull. So, mixing that with New York City makes perfect sense. There are tons of silver buildings and gray roads or sidewalks, so our heroes having mostly color-blocked gray costumes makes them fit right into this city and setting. The audience is able to connect the location to the characters more because of the clear and thought-out usage of the color palette. The color palette also matched well with the CGI and visual effects of the film. 

Another thing this color palette contributes to is the theme. The parallels from the muted and gray color palette latch onto the overarching message of finding yourself in the darkness. This is a brilliant way to use the colors, because most of the characters who have lost themselves wear gray and muted costumes, which help portray the message of the film.

In “Thunderbolts*”, none of the characters on the team have any godlike superpowers. Most of them are either powerless or have super strength like Captain America. What makes this nice is that little CGI has to be used to show their powers. There do not have to be shots of the team flying around the city, so most of the CGI is used for the villain, whose powers allow him to turn people into shadows. This was the only notable usage of CGI in the film, and it looked beautifully done by the VFX team.

All things considered, this film was an amazing return to the glory days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film had a self-contained story that only used 1% of it to set up future projects, and used the other 99% to its complete advantage.  For fans who can not get enough of the Thunderbolts, stay around for that post-credits scene! And if you still need more of this team, they will be returning in 2026 for “Avengers: Doomsday!”

Thunderbolts scores 5/5 from me.