After many flops and failures in the box office, “Thunderbolts*” has revived the Marvel franchise.
Following protagonist Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the sister of Black Widow, and a group of antiheroes (now known as the New Avengers) as they navigate a post-Avengers world. They face a seemingly indestructible character with a troubled past named Sentry (Lewis Pullman). The villain is able to engulf all of New York in a shadowy expanse known as The Void, trapping them in their darkest memories.
Released on May 2, 2025, director Jake Schreier did an amazing job incorporating elements of childhood trauma and blinding anger into Sentry’s rationale for attempting to share his pain with others.
Schreier also addressed the impacts of mental health on a troubled individual. This is seen in Sentry, formerly known as Bob, attempting to make an impact in the world by sacrificing his life in a scientific study to “make him stronger”.
Manipulation is also a common theme in this movie, as seen by corrupt congresswoman Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tricking Sentry into obeying her, even when this backfire.
A stand-out part of “Thunderbolts*,” was its opening, where Yelena quite literally jumped off the second-tallest building in the world, Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Anti-hero John Walker’s (Wyatt Russell) past was also a key part of the movie’s success. Initially selected as the new Captain America after Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) death, his violent tendencies and uncontrollable anger led to his removal and eventual divorce with his wife.
Walker’s character development could be strongly seen throughout in his scenes of solely dialogue with other characters that allowed him to open-up.
Comedy was a shining factor in “Thunderbolts*.” with Yelena’s father, Alexa Shostakov (David Harbour), being its main source of comedic relief not only for the audience, but the characters as well.
The rest of the New Avengers, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) helped complete the astonishing movie.
The film is a must-watch, but be aware that it’s a cast of entirely new superheroes not known by many.
