Thunderbolts* is Marvel Studios’ second entry for 2025 and puts forth characters that are at best side characters and at worst, difficult to name for even followers of the MCU. It’s not a stretch to call this the MCU’s Suicide Squad, although that was also thrown out there for the Guardians of the Galaxy when it first came out. The comparison does feel more apt here. All that aside, the important thing is that this is the first non-sequel since Avengers Endgame that legitimately feels like a return to form and I feel comfortable calling it a great movie.

Point 1: Humour and Heart

There are many reasons why most of the MCU projects in the last 5 years have fallen flat, but I think prime among them is that much of the quippy humour that became a core part of the franchise started to lose its potency when you either didn’t care about the characters or it felt insincere. When I say insincere, I mean that too often you could find humour cutting into the moment as if there was a mandate to make a joke rather than being organic to the characters and the story. 

There is a reason that even after the Thanos movies, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was great. It’s because the jokes felt right – these characters would say these things in these situations. You didn’t feel like everything was set up just to make a joke or that emotional moments were undercut by the need to get a laugh. And it’s not just because Guardians 3 was a sequel to a beloved pre-existing series either. Thor Ragnarok is possibly one of the most beloved movies of the MCU yet its sequel fell flat due to the issues with its humour, among other things. 

I say all that to in turn praise Thunderbolts for its ability to make the humour flow from the characters’ personality in a way that feels very MCU, but earned. It doesn’t feel out of place or taking away from the situation at hand. Julia Louis Dreyfus does admittedly ham it up a bit much, but her presence is sporadic at best and the focus of the film is more on the main team. 

Yelena’s humour really seems to come from the heart of someone having a hard time and using humour as her only recourse to dealing with it. Red Guardian is the stereotypical loud funny guy which could have been annoying but David Harbour is just too charismatic and manages to sell it as endearing. Although those two are the main standouts in that department, the others too have their moments and make what could otherwise be a heavy subject matter into something that feels like it earns its humour through the heart of the story and its characters.

Point 2: A Team Ass Team

As fun as the Avengers were as a team, they never really felt like they belonged together. Everyone’s personality was massive and they worked together because it needed to happen rather than because they wanted to. That’s not a criticism by the way. That’s literally the crux of the first Avengers movie’s story arc. Anytime they came together was due to these massive threats that no one character could handle alone. Otherwise, they at best tolerated each other and that led to its own type of comedic interactions. 

It’s not like the Thunderbolts team likes each other at first, but there are multiple times where they could have split up but they choose to stay together. That always feels like it gives more of a team vibe than when it’s just out of necessity. That’s why the Guardians worked so well. They didn’t want to be a team but even when they had a chance to split up, they gravitated towards each other and recognized how they were more similar than they were different. 

I legitimately loved the team dynamic in this movie with Florence Pugh’s magnetic performance leading the charge, but everyone doing their part as well. I’m not one to generally push this narrative much generally, but the female representation and the fact that the women are well written really changes the scope of interactions for the better. We have gone from teams having one token woman to this being more or less led by a woman and Ghost being a major part as well. It’s a breath of fresh air and the aspects that bring them together really make you feel for them.

Point 3: It’s Okay to be Sad

At the end of the day, the main reason this movie works as well as it does is because it’s not cynical. Mental health is at the core of the ethos of the film and it deals with it very respectfully and in the right way while also acknowledging all the associated difficulties. It doesn’t pull punches to get there either. 

Yelena and Alexei are dealing with grief, loneliness and a general feeling of purposelessness. John Walker is struggling to understand his failures and overcoming the shortcomings of his ego. Ghost is a constant mess of trying to contain her physical form and not knowing when it will give out. Bucky is trying to come to grips with solving things the right way despite the red tape of bureaucracy and struggling to balance that with the ways he knows he could do things given his abilities. And Bob… Well I think I will let you discover Bob’s story for yourself. But I will say that Bob is the heart of this film and without him, all of this would fall apart. 

I really came out of the film feeling like this movie had something to say and it avoided falling into the pitfalls of both the genre as well as the way people can approach mental health topics to deliver a very satisfying finale. I really felt for everyone and loved the way they decided to resolve the crisis in a way very few Marvel movies have had the maturity to do. 

I love Bob.

Point 4: What Are We, Some Kind of Marvel Movie?

I can say all these great things about the movie, the writing, the characters and so on. But the elephant in the room is that it is still a Marvel movie. That comes with its own baggage, for better or for worse. 

For the most part, Thunderbolts avoids the pitfalls of the MCU, but there are some things it can’t fully rid itself of. All of these characters have been introduced in other films or shows, but as we know, with viewership waning since the end of the Thanos arc, most viewers will have no idea who anyone other than Bucky Barnes is. That leads to the need to constantly weave in exposition to inform the audience who each person is and what led them here. It’s not too hamfisted but it’s definitely there.

Another stereotype now of MCU movies is the bad CGI. I personally didn’t find anything to be bad here. Maybe a couple of hiccups here and there, but for the most part the film did a great job of keeping things grounded even in moments it could have easily been very janky. 

Finally, MCU movies have to end in a way that can set up what’s to come in the future, whether that’s just the end of the movie or the obligatory end credits stingers. Thunderbolts is no different here and it’s definitely for me the weaker parts of the film, but it’s part of the MCU deal. I specifically thought the post-credits scene felt like it was potentially spoiling an upcoming movie and I’m not sure how I feel about that. 

I liked this movie a great deal and I really hope that this is a sign of Marvel relearning how to make good movies and not just a one-off good thing. It’s a shame that there are not enough IMAX screens that both Sinners (masterpiece) and this can play in IMAX at the same time, but I can at least assure you that most of the movie does take advantage of the bigger aspect ratio.

Even if you’ve checked out of the MCU movies, I think this is a great one off watch or re-entry into the franchise and I highly recommend you give it a shot.