Marvel’s newest film “Thunderbolts*” is the final film of phase five of the MCU.
The asterisk in the title is very important and will be discussed in the spoilers section of this article.
This film stars Florence Pugh as Black Widow, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Wyatt Russel as US Agent, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Each character in this film besides Sentry have appeared in various other MCU films and television series as villains or anti-heroes.
Thunderbolts as a film allows these characters a chance at redemption within the Marvel Universe itself and within the eyes of the viewers.
*Spoilers ahead*
As the film begins we see that Black Widow has been participating in quite destructive acts. She eventually meets several other characters in a bunker after being sent there to monitor Ghost.
Black Widow, Ghost, US Agent and Taskmaster have all been sent to the same location by Fontaine with the intention of destroying the facility and killing each character in the process.
During this sequence Taskmaster dies after being shot in the face
Luckily each character recognizes the situation and are able to save each other as a group before the facility is destroyed.
During this encounter they meet a mysterious man named Bob who is unsure of his identity and eventually helps the group escape.
Later in the film, Fontaine has helped Sentry awaken his powers and he begins to become shrouded by ‘the void’
The Void attacks New York and warps innocent people out from reality.
Black Widow gets warped and finds herself reliving traumatic memories from her childhood.
Eventually Black Widow and the other thunderbolts who have also been warped manage to convince Bob to fight back against the Void and restore the people who have been warped.
Following this ordeal, Fontaine reveals that this new ragtag team of characters is now “The New Avengers.”
The asterisk in the title is meant to represent the fact that the Thunderbolts are actually The New Avengers.
Something I found odd about the film is that Taskmaster appears heavily throughout the promotional material despite being killed towards the beginning of the film. There are several promotional images from later in the film where Taskmaster is oddly included within the images.
Ultimately this film was quite enjoyable and provided an exciting theatrical experience.
The cinematography is similar to that of other MCU films and doesn’t necessarily stand out.
The writing is what makes this film special. Each character is very well written and their dialogue is real and relatable. These characters are able to branch out and feel unique despite them previously being side characters in other MCU projects.
One of the aspects I enjoyed most about this film is that despite each character being from other films or shows, the film itself can be understood and enjoyed without watching those previous projects.
Currently the film has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and has received a 7 out of 10 from IGN
The post credit scene has me excited and looking forward towards upcoming MCU projects.
The cast of this film is set to return in the 2026 film Avengers Doomsday.
You can find showtimes of “Thunderbolts*” at AMC Owings Mills 17 theater.
