After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
In the wake of “Avengers: Endgame’s” colossal success and its masterful wrap-up of a 22-film saga, Marvel Studios has found itself in uncharted territory. Despite releasing solid films like “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” and the latest Guardians of the Galaxy installment, nothing has quite captured lightning in a bottle like “Endgame” did – though it eventually lost its box office crown to “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
The studio’s ambitious post-Endgame strategy backfired somewhat. By flooding screens big and small with movies, TV shows, and animated content, they inadvertently exhausted their audience’s appetite for superhero content. Now, as they gear up for their next big team-ups – “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” landing in theaters May 2026 and 2027 – some fans worry about how new heroes will stack up against a villain played by Robert Downey Jr. But “Thunderbolts*” might just be the fresh start Marvel needed.
The story begins with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s CIA director, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, in hot water, facing impeachment over illegal operations. As she and her aide Mel (played by Geraldine Viswanathan) rush to destroy evidence, she sends out a team – Florence Pugh’s Yelena, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, and Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster – right into what turns out to be a carefully planned trap meant to silence them all.
Their salvation comes from an unexpected source: a mysterious man named Bob (Lewis Pullman), followed by backup from David Harbour’s Red Guardian and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes. The plot thickens when Bob’s true identity emerges – he’s the Sentry, a superhuman created by de Fontaine’s secret experiments. As his mental state deteriorates, his dark alter ego, the Void, emerges, turning Manhattan’s residents into shadows and blanketing the city in otherworldly darkness. The story reaches its climax as Yelena desperately tries to tap into Bob’s humanity before the Void consumes everything.
“Thunderbolts*” shines by building on existing character dynamics instead of starting from scratch with new faces—a mistake that hurt “Eternals” when it tried to develop ten new characters at once. The audience’s existing connection to characters like Yelena and Bucky allows for deeper emotional storytelling and more complex relationships.
Jake Schreier, known for directing music videos and acclaimed films like “Robot & Frank” and “Paper Towns,” brings something special to the superhero genre. His balanced approach weaves together action, character growth, and shifting moods masterfully. The film’s greatest achievement is how it strips away its heroes’ invincibility, portraying them as flawed individuals whose grit compensates for their limited powers.
The cast brings their A-game, emphasizing the human side of their characters over their superhero personas. This grounded approach works surprisingly well, even amid the film’s fantastical elements. For Marvel Studios, “Thunderbolts*” marks a return to what they do best – delivering high-octane action while keeping audiences emotionally invested. After a period of uncertainty, this film suggests the Marvel Cinematic Universe still has plenty of stories worth telling.
Available on Digital July 1st, and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD July 29th
