Film Review: Thunderbolts*

Welcome back to the blog readers. As you may already know, Marvel has kind of been in a bit of a lull right now, where not many of the projects have been slam dunks. There have been some major wins since Avengers: Endgame (2019) like Deadpool & Wolverine, Agatha All Along (both 2024) and Daredevil: Born Again (2025), so would this film be one of those or would it end up like Captain America: Brave New World (2025)? Stick around to find out.

Thunderbolts* was directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo and a story by Pearson, based on Marvel Comics. The film stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In the film, a group of antiheroes are caught in a deadly trap by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and are forced to work together on a dangerous mission.

NOTE: I will not be spoiling the film in this review, so you are safe to proceed if you have not seen the film.

I felt for this film the way I did going into the aforementioned Deadpool & Wolverine. Even though this was a bunch of B and C-level characters in the projects they were previously in, I was interested in seeing this ragtag group of antiheroes do their thing. And I became a fan of Jake Schreier with his episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (2024-25) that I opine is the best of the series. And it is so refreshing to say these words: this film absolutely ruled. The cast was all stellar (especially Florence Pugh and Lewis Pullman), the messages of the film really resonated, and the writing was absolutely genius.

I need to start by talking about the love of my life. Other than Timothée Chalamet, I have an unrequited love for Pugh. Ever since I saw her in Fighting With My Family (2019), she has been the epitome of beauty and class. Add on Academy award nominee and you have it all. Since Pugh took on the role of Yelena Belova, she has been nothing but electric. But this film was able to turn this character on its head with an honest and vulnerable portrayal of loneliness and abandonment issues. Pugh plays into these emotions beautifully, so much in fact that I found myself really resonating with the things she was saying (more on that later).

I next need to talk about Lewis Pullman and what he was able to do as Bob / Sentry. Lewis Pullman is the son of Bill Pullman, who is one of my favorite actors. Having appeared in projects like Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Lessons in Chemistry (2023), and 'Salem's Lot (2024), Pullman has begun to make a name for himself. But Sentry is a character that this guy was born to play. He has to play on some of the same tropes that Pugh does, but getting to see this guy go nuclear as the Void was downright terrifying. Plus his voice is perfect for this character, like I have never seen anything like this.

Now I need to talk about the writing of this film. Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo are the two behind this script and you can tell. Pearson has been a longtime Marvel executive that is usually brought in to touch scripts up and bring them to their full potential. I do have to say that Pearson absolutely brings the heat to this script. There is humor where it needs to be (and David Harbour is a national treasure, protect him at all costs), there is heart where it needs to be, and when we have to get dark and gritty, we can do that without a hitch. This is an all-encompassing script that is one of those Best Adapted Screenplay nominees without actually being nominated.

And finally, I need to talk about the message and themes of this film. Before I get into this film, I want to mention director Jake Schreier and how he usually brings themes of mental health to his films, chiefly Paper Towns (2015) (ironically a film that Ryan Lott of Son Lux scored). Getting to explore the realm of mental health, depression, and loneliness through the lens of Yelena and Sentry is so refreshing for Marvel because it really talks to the human struggle. These individuals do not have powers, special abilities or special talents, they are just humans who have done some bad and are looking to do some good. And I think Marvel did a great job of humanizing all of these characters through this lens of mental health. I found myself resonating with a lot of what Yelena and Bob were saying, and her conversation where she says how alone she is really made me emotional. I almost teared up at this one because I really felt it.

In conclusion, Thunderbolts* is a phenomenal look at mental health from the guise of a superhero film with a star-making performance from Lewis Pullman. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.