Original caricature by Jeff York of Florence Pugh in THUNDERBOLTS* (copyright 2025)
Florence Pugh is one of our greatest actresses and her new film THUNDERBOLTS* proves it. She not only deepens the character of assassin Yelena Belova, whom we’ve seen several times now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she adds a layer of world-weariness to her performance this time. It not only adds a layer of regret and introspection to the Russian, but I dare say, it all but channels audience reticence as we hold our breath fearing another ho-hum MCU outing. But when Pugh’s Yelena finds her passion again, rising to the task of finding a reason to go on and try to save the world, the act serves as a perfect metaphor for those of us being turned around in our thinking. We may have sighed coming into the cineplex, but we are cheering going out. Thanks to Yelena. Thanks to Pugh.
Such audience fatigue exists because Marvel hasn’t been exactly firing on all cylinders lately (MADAME WEB, anyone?) and also because MCU head honcho Kevin Feige still is committed to their chain narrative where every film and show must connect, from Loki to Agatha. It’s exhausting. But THUNDERBOLTS* feels more focused as its story seems more concentrated, more clear. The plot this time concerns a group of former CIA black ops who are now targeted for elimination by their corrupt boss to cover up the dirty deeds they’ve all been up to on her behalf (assassinations, international crimes, human genetics, etc.)
The Thunderbolts’ boss is CIA chief Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (a slyly evil Julia Louis-Dreyfus wearing a Tulsi Gabbard white streak in her hair) whom Congress is investigating for various skullduggery. The Thunderbolts manage to survive her attempt to burn them to a crisp in a warehouse along with all other incriminating evidence early in the film, and it sets them up not only for revenge but a mission to stop a genuine threat to the safety of the world. That would be Valentina’s scheme to create a super soldier far beyond that of Captain America and Bucky Barnes. In the human guinea pig know as Bob (AKA Sentry) Lewis Pullman plays a shaggy-haired nerd a million miles from the masculine profile that Chris Evans cut. Still, Sentry’s powers seems to combine all of the best traits of the Avengers from super strength to flying. But when he goes rogue, jacked up on the ‘substance’ in his veins, let alone hubris, the Thunderbolts spring into action to try and stop him. Those Thunderbolts include Yelena, of course, as well as Captain American impersonator John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the teleporting Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Barnes (Sebastian Stan) going rogue from his stint in Congress to help, and Yelena’s estranged father, the Red Guardian (David Harbour, funny in spots, but mostly playing it all too broadly.)
At first, Yelena is wholly reluctant but when she sees Sentry’s threat, as well as the fact that Bob cannot help but act out under Valentina’s control, something shifts in her. Yelena steps outside herself to worry about the stakes involving her fellow assassins, as well as the fate of the world. Most fascinatingly, she wants to save Bob/Sentry, not destroy him, and such nuances alone make this an unusual MCU entry. Not everything is so black and white here. Not the scenario, not the good guys vs. bad guys, not in Pugh’s smartly layered playing of it all. Most films struggle to make their third act as impactful as it should be; this one fills it with genuine thrills, chills, and emotion due to Pugh’s approach to the material, lending a seriousness to the film that one would usually find in her more dramatic roles.
Granted, this rag-tag group of Avenger wannabee’s feels equally like DC’s SUICIDE SQUAD – talk about mixing metaphors – but their bitterness lends this outing some real edge. They seem to be following Pugh’s lead by lending it plenty of heart too, and the rapport between all of them plays quite well. I wish that Pugh had Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop to play off of too since they made such a good “odd couple” in the HAWKEYE streaming series for Disney a few years back, but hopefully Feige, et al. will add that character to the mix sometime very soon.
No matter, for now THUNDERBOLTS feels like a nicely modulated, modest success as is. The action set-pieces play sharply, the acting is all on point with special kudos to Geraldine Viswanathan rocking her role as Valentina’s overworked assistant Mel, and it clocks in at a crisp, 126 minutes. Mostly though, the film succeeds due to the power of Pugh and all of the droll wit, big heart, and full commitment she brings to the material. She packs a punch, one the MCU should continue to capitalize upon. Now, let’s get Yelena in a one-off film with Kate Bishop, shall we?
