Por Max Vásquez
redaccion@latinocc.com
By all appearances, Thunderbolts is just the latest chapter in Marvel Studios’ sprawling cinematic saga. But peel back the glossy surface, and what emerges is a refreshingly grounded and character-driven film that marks a turning point for a franchise in urgent need of reinvention.
Much has been made of Thunderbolts as the intersection of two of Hollywood’s most influential forces: the commercial juggernaut of Marvel and the indie credibility of A24. While this isn’t a formal collaboration, the fingerprints of A24 alumni are unmistakable. Director Jake Schreier and writer Joanna Calo both worked on Netflix’s Beef, while cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo (A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) and editor Harry Yoon (Minari) lend the production a tone and texture more often seen in arthouse cinema than in multiplex blockbusters. Even the score, crafted by Son Lux (Everything Everywhere All at Once), hints at Marvel reaching for something more artistically resonant.
And while Marvel’s marketing seems eager to bask in the cool glow of A24’s reputation, the film itself is not some left-field experiment. It is still unmistakably a Marvel movie, complete with familiar characters, high-stakes missions, and set-piece action. Yet it manages to feel, in the best sense, smaller and more personal than the franchise’s recent cosmic misfires. Thunderbolts isn’t trying to save the multiverse. It’s trying to save itself.
The story centers on Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the scene-stealing Black Widow alum who here takes center stage. Haunted by the ghosts of her past, Yelena is pulled back into action when CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) attempts to erase her and others like her from existence. What follows is less a superhero adventure than a slow, bruised march toward redemption, featuring a cast of Marvel’s most broken and discarded characters.
Among them are the disgraced John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the silent assassin Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the Winter Soldier still searching for a future beyond his violent past. They are joined by David Harbour’s Red Guardian, providing much-needed levity with his bumbling but endearing father-figure energy, and newcomer Bob (Lewis Pullman), a powerless mystery man whose quiet presence becomes the film’s emotional compass.
What sets Thunderbolts apart isn’t just the ensemble, but the way Schreier and his team frame their journey. The film opens with Yelena standing on the edge of a skyscraper, contemplating the emptiness inside her. It’s a surprisingly introspective moment for a Marvel blockbuster, and the film returns often to that inner turmoil. There are action sequences, including a standout hallway fight shot from overhead in a clear homage to Oldboy, but they feel less like spectacle and more like expressions of the characters’ inner battles.
The film’s climax isn’t a city-leveling brawl but an emotional reckoning set inside the characters’ collective psyche. Rather than saving the world, they confront their deepest fears and regrets, in scenes that feel more like therapy sessions than typical Marvel finales. It’s a bold narrative choice that pays off, offering audiences something they haven’t seen in the franchise for years: vulnerability.
Of course, none of this would work without the performances. Pugh continues to prove herself as one of the most compelling actors of her generation, effortlessly balancing Yelena’s deadpan humor with raw emotional depth. Harbour, too, shines as a man desperate to reconnect with his daughter and redeem his many failures. Even Louis-Dreyfus, often relegated to cameos in previous films, gets more room here to flesh out her morally ambiguous role.
Despite the film’s many strengths, Thunderbolts doesn’t fully escape Marvel’s franchise machinery. There are nods to future installments and characters yet to be introduced, and a mid-credit scene reminds audiences that the Avengers, or some version of them, will eventually return. But unlike recent entries, these franchise obligations don’t overshadow the story at hand.
Instead, Thunderbolts stands as a reminder of what Marvel can still achieve when it focuses less on universe-building and more on character. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, nor does it deliver the kind of indie cred its marketing suggests. What it does is tell a human story with heart, humor, and surprising intimacy—a rarity in today’s superhero landscape.
And for now, that’s more than enough.
