Mental Health is the main theme in a Marvel movie? Now I’ve seen everything. Although the good news is “Thunderbolts*” is well cast, Yelena Bulova is portrayed by Florence Pugh, effectively conveys her inner feeling apathetic and without purpose very well. Basically, she’s depressed during the entire film. Although she carries the film from start to finish. Sebastian Stan reappears in his Bucky Barnes role as Captain America’s brainwashed friend with a bionic arm that can be used as a weapon or a shield, and who is now a member of Congress. You’ll also meet Bob, a newcomer to Marvel films played amazingly by Lewis Pullman; he struggles from manic issues, including hyper highs and lows, as well as blackouts. I’ll reveal his powers later into the review.
Jake Schrier (Robot & Frank 2012) serves as director, while Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo co-wrote the script. Another character is Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, played by a hysterically funny David Harbor in a Russian accent. He’s a member of the Thunderbolts*, a Russian super soldier counterpart to Captain America, and a father figure to Yelena. Ava Starr is Hannah John-Kamen, the unstable science experiment of “Ant-Man and the Wasp”; John Walker, a US agent, is Wyatt Russell, a broken soldier who was demoted from being Captain America.
Lastly, the main protagonist, Yelena, carries the movie from start to finish. We first meet her character as she’s in Malaysia working on her ‘clean up’ business, which involves killing persons who try to interrupt a diabolical plan. We see her super strength and skills during her hand-to-hand combat. She’s similar to a human machine gun, killing quickly and efficiently, although she takes no pleasure in it as she’s bored and depressed.
We are shown disturbing flashbacks of Yelena’s childhood during her captivity in the Red Room, where she witnesses the killing of another child and is taught to hurt others. Parents, I would caution against bringing children to this film as it is disturbing and not suited for kids. Some critics are noting that it should be rated R instead of PG-13, and I agree.
The oddball flawed characters who eventually come together as the ‘Thunderbolts*’are former Black Widow agent Yelena, Belova (Florence Pugh); Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan; Yelena’s adopted dad and Russian super soldier Red Guardian, David Harbour; Ava Starr aka Ghost played by Hannah John-Kamen; John Walker, plays Wyatt Russell the disgraced former Captain America who now goes by US Agent; Bob (Lewis Pullman) is a man who plays the role of Bob Reynolds, also known as Sentry. He is a civilian who was experimented on by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to become a super soldier, eventually becoming the Sentry. Bob is also revealed to have a dark side, the Void which is a manifestation of his inner trauma. Lastly, combat expert Taskmaster Olga Kurylenko.
The CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, is experimenting on human test subjects to create a fighter she calls the “Golden Guardian of Good.” Her ideal for this fighter is white, male, and blonde. One of the test subjects is Bob; the Thunderbolts* work together to fight against Bob while encouraging him to fight his evil nature. Bob is all-powerful and can withstand gunshot wounds, explosives, etc., and he appears to be invincible. I enjoyed watching his performance as he’s role is so conflicted.
I’m not sure the 3D glasses did much to enhance the movie. My thoughts are they darkened the film, which I prefer lighter in the first place. Overall, Pugh carries the movie from start to finish, and I enjoyed viewing her performance. I wasn’t a fan of the mismatched script and kept waiting for an interesting storyline to follow. Again, I would not bring children. The nonstop punching, slamming, deaths, and all-around violence are incessant.
Sarah Knight Adamson May 4, 2025
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