Marvel’s Thunderbolts crashes into cinemas with a chaotic charm that, surprisingly, works—thanks in large part to Florence Pugh’s quietly thunderous performance as Yelena Belova. A misfit team of antiheroes, each haunted and half-broken, band together in a film that feels more like therapy in tights than your typical blockbuster beat-em-up.
Far from polished, Thunderbolts leans into its imperfections. With shifting tones, indie film influences, and action scenes drenched in melancholy, it walks a fine line between emotionally rich and narratively cluttered. But that’s the point—the film, and its characters, are a mess by design.
Pugh shines in the chaos. Her Yelena, all dry wit and buried wounds, leads a crew of Marvel castaways—Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and Bucky Barnes—through a swirling storm of betrayal, trauma, and reluctant heroism. The movie’s final act, a surreal showdown in “interconnected shame rooms,” aims high, if a bit unevenly, echoing Everything Everywhere All At Once with its psychological battles.
Still, Thunderbolts breathes fresh air into a tired MCU, proving that emotional vulnerability, even if half-baked, can make for captivating cinema. It’s not flawless, but it’s more human than most Marvel efforts—and maybe that’s exactly what the franchise needs.
—
Photo Credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com