Ronit J

Thunderbolts* (2025) Synopsis:

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

Thunderbolts* (2025) Review:

I was honestly not excited for Thunderbolts*. The trailers felt very lacklustre, like a wannabe Suicide Squad. However, I was delightfully surprised to see many folks talk highly of this movie, including Rohan Joshi. While I did have my qualms, I went in with managed expectations. And honestly, I think Thunderbolts* was a good film.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a very flawed film. But, it succeeds where most recent MCU entries have failed: telling a coherent story and doing good by its characters. For the most part at least.

Honestly, alternate superhero franchises like Invincible and The Boys are doing a much better job than the mainstream big two. In fact, my favourite on-going superhero story is indie author JCM Berne’s Hybrid Helix. If you haven’t already read it, you must check it out. However, going into Thunderbolts*, I made it a point not to compare it to any of those. And so, here is my complete review:

Coherent Storytelling, Interesting Characters, and Heart

From character motivations, to plot, to an interesting climactic finale, Thunderbolts* delivers on all fronts. We start off with a conflict being set up when Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is up for impeachment. In a desperate attempt to hide her secret projects, she has Yelena (Florence Pugh) eliminate a target in a secret facility. When everyone else turns up to kill one another, it soon becomes apparent that Valentina had set them all up in an attempt to erase all of their illegal activities and acquit herself of being involved.

When Rohan Joshi said the film has heart, he was not kidding. Yelena was on the verge of quitting her mercenary ways, and to be dragged back in feels like a personal attack. Knowing the positive impact that Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff had on the world, you can feel Yelena struggling to live up to that legacy. All this clearly drives her actions, each of which affects the story in a meaningful way.

As the second half of the film kicks off, things really start getting interesting. Sentry’s mental issues manifest as The Void, a villainous entity whose appearance and climactic battle stretch beyond the physical. The way the film portrays this scene was equal parts creative and haunting. I’m glad that the MCU took this route, allowing the filmmakers to experiment and do justice to every character. It’s these tiny touches of care and sincerity that were lacking from recent releases, especially the OTT shows.

The MCU Needs a Reboot

While all the praise stands, Thunderbolts* suffers from one major problem that brings down its overall quality. It is an MCU film.

Not that it’s an MCU film like Ragnarok or any of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. No, it’s painstakingly an MCU film. If you haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp (Ghost), Black Widow (Yelena, Red Guardian & Taskmaster), The Falcon & The Winter Soldier (Bucky, U.S. Agent & Valentina), or Hawkeye (Yelena), you might not really care about any of the Thunderbolts*. While Yelena and Red Guardian get their due establishing moments, as does Sentry, the rest more or less defer their character backstories to other properties. Where Gunn managed to introduce and develop multiple characters in Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad and even Superman (2025), Thunderbolts* takes that part lightly.

The film manages to give each character their individual moment, but I didn’t really care of any of them, except Yelena and Red Guardian. And I’ve watched everything the MCU threw my way until 2023. If that’s not enough, the film heavily relies on major events that are driven by other properties (Captain America: Brave New World), further diminishing its individuality.

All that, plus the poorly timed humour in many scenes, the dull and tedious first half, and some arguably mediocre action scenes, made Thunderbolts* an above average film at best. A decent way to spend your time, but the flaws were hard to ignore.

If you ask me, the MCU needs a reboot. And if you’ve seen Superman (2025), you can see all the benefits of doing just that. We got our Avengers: Endgame. Now reboot and give us new stories.

Thunderbolts* (2025) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

As Sentry/The Void traps everyone in their mental prison and forces them to relive their traumatic pasts, Yelena breaks free. She travels through Void’s past instead, finding his consciousness and trying to reason with him. The other Thunderbolts* also manage to make it there. Void attacks and almost defeats them all… until they hug him and try to express comfort. The affection that he never knew overpowers The Void, and everyone is freed.

Once back out in the real world, Yelena sees Valentina and is about to attack her. But, Valentina tricks them all into walking into a live press conference, where she introduces them all as the ‘New Avengers’. As the scene ends, Yelena whispers into Valentina’s ear that they own her now.

A new era is about to dawn, and this film marks the end of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Honestly, the entire climactic scene, including the mushy hug and mental healing with compassion aspects, was outstanding. They felt genuine and sincere. If the whole film had received this level of attention, this film could easily have been a masterpiece.

Thunderbolts* (2025) Mid-Credits & After-Credits Scenes Explained

Mid-Credits Scene: Alexei is out grocery shopping. He strikes up a conversation with a stranger, trying to persuade her to buy a brand of cereal that features him (Red Guardian) on the pack. But, she awkwardly walks away, leaving him disappointed.

Post-Credits Scene: The New Avengers discuss Sam Wilson’s copyright infringement suit, considering whether they should change their name. Red Guardian suggests several silly alternatives and misspellings. They are interrupted by the arrival of an other-dimensional spacecraft, which is revealed to be the Fantastic Four’s ship.

I loved the mid-credit scene, but the after-credit scene felt a little too much. The jokes didn’t really land, and the Fantastic Four tease didn’t work for me like it would have fifteen years ago. I’m sick of these teases that are irrelevant, considering we already know the MCU’s calendar. I just want low-stakes easter eggs that are fun but not mandatory watches.

Is Thunderbolts* (2025) worth watching?

Depends.

Thunderbolts* has more than enough flaws that make it an above-average film at best. It has all the problems you’d expect from a Marvel movie.

However, where most recent entries were duds, Thunderbolts* manages to tell a coherent story with heart. The second half was genuinely interesting, with The Void’s visualisation and climactic finale almost scratching that epic itch we’re used to from classic MCU films.

I’d say give it a shot.

In Conclusion:

Thunderbolts* (2025) is a good film with many flaws. I genuinely feel that the MCU will benefit from a soft reboot like the DCEU, and from divorcing its many properties to make them more standalone and independent.

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What did you think of Thunderbolts*? Let me know in the comments below.

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Until next time!