'Thunderbolts*' Florence Pugh Shines in This New MCU Classic

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Thunderbolts* is the newest MCU movie directed by Jake Schreier and stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Geraldine Viswanathan in this movie where a group of anti-heroes are brought together to at first be eliminated, only for them to work together to stop a dangerous threat. When Thunderbolts* was first announced, I wasn’t that excited for it. It felt like the MCU was going down in quality, and it seemed that the only movies that effort was being put into were Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Deadpool & Wolverine. The franchise needed something new, fresh without nostalgia. Also, outside of Yelena and Bucky, I wasn’t a huge fan of this lineup of characters. There were also concerns that Marvel was trying to replicate DC’s Suicide Squad movies.

Luckily, Thunderbolts* is its own movie and story that was one of the best surprises from the MCU in a few years. The story was one of the strongest from the MCU since Avengers: Endgame. The performances were some of the strongest in an MCU movie, particularly from Florence Pugh. She’s one of the best young actresses working today, and I always enjoyed her performance as Yelena. Yelena is one of the best characters in the MCU introduced after Avengers: Endgame, and Pugh does well in showing the many sides to her character, from her quips to sarcasm to the more emotional moments and how she opens up about her struggles. I hope she’s in more MCU projects down the road.

David Harbour as Red Guardian was the funniest performance and my second favorite in the film. He provides a lot of humor and heart to the movie. Sebastian Stan is once again terrific as Bucky Barnes, who is now a Congressman and plays the role of unofficial leader of the Thunderbolts. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who is trying to get rid of these anti-heroes, and she plays her role well. She’ll likely be compared to Viola Davis as Amanda Waller from the DCEU, but she is different with her actions, sneaky behavior, and condescending smirks. Lewis Pullman does well in playing Bill, who becomes Sentry as well, a new character who is the sympathetic antagonist of this movie. Sentry is an overpowered villain done right. Wyatt Russell as John Walker and Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost also do well, and it’s nice to see these characters return.

Thunderbolts* has entertaining action and fun sequences, but what it nails the best is the character moments. They explore these characters well, mainly Yelena and Bob, and their pasts in flashback sequences, along with character banter that lets these characters bond and understand one another. It feels like this is what the MCU has been lacking in some of their recent movies. The movie explores deep themes like depression and regrets well. I wish the movie had explored and had flashback sequences for other characters besides Yelena and Bob. The only other character who got a brief one was John Walker. Also, the character Taskmaster was completely wasted.

Thunderbolts* is a more gritty MCU movie than I expected it to be. Also, Thunderbolts* continues this recent trend in the MCU of finally answering questions that were left unanswered for a while, like who brought Avengers Tower during Spider-Man: Homecoming and what happened to characters like Ghost, who seemed forgotten. Sentry has the power to send characters to a place called the Void, and it adds to a more tense, suspenseful third act. The movie has a post-credit scene that is a nice set-up for the upcoming MCU movies.

Overall, Thunderbolts* is one of the best surprises from the MCU since Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Florence Pugh and David Harbour are the best parts of the movie. The villain Sentry is a powerful villain done well. The grounded, more serious tone blended with humor is what MCU movies should be more like. Thunderbolts* has me more excited for Avengers: Doomsday, and I can’t wait for The Fantastic Four: First Steps this July.  If you are a fan of the MCU, I highly recommend this one.

My final grade for Thunderbolts* is an A-. Have you seen Thunderbolts*? Let us know in the comments below.